What can be said about 174 lbs that I haven't already said about 125 through 165? We have 6 returning All Americans, 3 R12'ers & 6 more qualifiers. Plus an assortment of Region place-winners who have victories over those who did make the NCAA DII national tournament. Add in all of the non-Region place-winners who have notable victories of their own. Plus of course freshmen we have yet to see compete at the DII level! This is gonna be a fun weight!
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| Cade Lindsey Fort Hays State |
The former Oklahoma State Cowboy had an excellent season for the Tigers this past season. A runner-up finish at the Super Region VI, he went on to take 3rd at the NCAA DII tournament. 36-7, he was also 3rd in the Midwest Classic, 4th at the Dakota Wesleyan Open & 6th at the UNK-Hospitality Open.
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| James Penfold Lake Erie |
Severe weather has stricken with thunder & lightning the past two NCAA DII tournaments as James Penfold has taken 8th & 4th place finishes respectively. 20-8 last season, he's also been 2nd & 3rd within the Super Region III. Losing a close match to Cade Lindsey, 3-1, he will look to win both a Region title & contend with the Tiger for the NCAA DII title.
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| Max Bruss Mary |
5th in the DII nation this past season, thus far Max Bruss has been 2nd-4th-5th-2nd in a very competitive Super Region V. 33-6 on the year, he won the Midwest Classic (4th in '22), with a runner-up finish at the Yellow Jacket Open & and 3rd place showing at the UNK-Hospitality Open. In what will be his final season on the mat, he looks to add hardware to his already impressive collection.
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| Cole Hernandez Western Colorado |
28-12 on the season, Cole Hernandez put together a pretty impressive showing last year as a sophomore. 6th in the DII nation, he was 3rd at Super Region III, 4th at the UNK-Hospitality Open & 7th at the Midwest Classic.
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| Anthony Des Vigne Central Oklahoma |
The future crime scene investigator won a Super Region IV title & placed 7th in the DII nation last season on a 32-8 record.
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| Nate Barrett Ashland |
In a weight class full of talented upper-classmen, Nate Barrett showed off his redshirt-freshman skills las season putting together 18 wins for a Super Region III title & an 8th place DII All American finish. In the lineup with him will be Corbin May, who with 17 wins on the season had a 4-3 victory over two time All American James Penfold. Officially Barrett defeated May 16-0 technical fall at the Great Midwest Conference last year.
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| Owen Butler Indianapolis |
Here's a guy who has made some genuine strides during the course of his career. Only winning two matches in his first season, he improved to 10 wins his second season. Last year, he upped it to 21 wins & qualified for his first NCAA DII appearance with a 3rd place finish at Super Region IV. Finishing one match shy of DII All American honors, he was also 5th at the Kaufman Brand.
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| Trey Sizemore Indianapolis |
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| Zeke Waltz McKendree |
One match shy of DII All American honors, Zeke Waltz collected some silver at both the Super Region IV & the Midwest Classic. 31-12 he was also 4th at the Kaufman Brand.
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| Kolby Kost Jacob Tvinnereim Augustana (SD) |
Every weight class in DII is gonna have some excellent wrestle-offs & as far as I'm concerned, this will be a good one at 174 lbs. Kolby Kost, 20 wins last season was 3rd in Super Region V, finishing one match shy of DII All American honors. On the season he had a 10-4 victory over All American Anthony Des Vigne. Jacob Tvinnereim, took bronze medals home from both the Dakota Wesleyan Open & the Yellow Jacket Open. He had a 3-2 decision over All American Cade Lindsey.
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| Dillon Walker Mercyhurst |
Dillon Walker was 2nd at the Super Region I & 5th in the DII nation in 2022. He won a Super Region I title last season, but came up a little short of a second All American honor. 19 wins on the season he had a 5-3 victory over All American James Penfold & he was 8th at the Midwest Classic.
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| Cole Casilio Gannon |
A scholar in the classroom & a tough competitor on the mat, Cole Casilio qualified for his first NCAA DII national tournament with a 2nd place finish at Super Region I.
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| Jack MacKiernan American International |
Jack MacKiernan spent most of his freshman campaign last season at 184 lbs. Moving down to 174 at the tail end of the season, he captured NCAA II qualification with a 3rd place showing at Super Region I.
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| Calan Staub Mount Olive |
Here's another super tough sophomore who had a standout freshman season. 14-3 on the year, Calan Staub won the Super Region II.
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| Hunter Haven Limestone |
19 wins on the season, Hunter Haven took runner-up honors at the Super Region II.
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| Dayton Fields Newberry |
The two time NJCAA All American had himself a pretty good start to life in NCAA DII last season. A 3rd place finish at the Super Region II, he was one match shy of a top 8 showing at the Midwest Classic.
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| Ethan Smith Drury |
9-8 on the season, but nonetheless Ethan Smith scored a 4-2 victory over R12'er Zeke Waltz, with a 4th place finish at the Super Region IV & a 5th place finish at the Lindenwood Open.
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| Ethan Baney Kutztown |
Ethan Baney has been oh so close to NCAA DII qualification the past two seasons with back to back 4th place finishes at Super Region I.
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| Kyler Pickard Belmont Abbey |
14 wins on the season, Kyler Pickard nearly made the DII national tournament in his first season with a 4th place finish at the Super Region II.
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| Connor Twigg Tiffin |
24 wins for the sophomore last season, who was 4th in Super Region III.
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| Cannon Potts Minot State |
14 wins on the season last year, Cannon Potts was one match shy of NCAA DII qualification with a 4th place Finish at Super Region V.
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| Brandon Matthews Seton Hall |
4th-4th-5th within Super Region I, Brandon Matthews has been as Tom Petty would say, "So close, yet so far away" from NCAA DII qualification a number of times in his career. He gives us good reason to think that he'll at least be in the hunt this season for a multitude of reasons. First off, he placed sixth in the prestigious Midwest Classic. Secondly, he defeated R12'er Owen Butler 13-3 major decision & he has a 10-0 major decision over DII qualifier Hunter Haven.
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| Jack Bond Lander |
The name is Bond, Jack Bond & he is another tough senior who's looking for his first NCAA DII qualification having been close the past two seasons with 4th & 5th place finishes at Super Region II. 21 wins last season, one of them was a 5-2 decision over R12'er Owen Butler.
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| Levi Farris Colorado School of Mines |
The Alaskan was 5th at the Super Region VI last season.
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| J.D. Johnson Newman |
6th-6th-5th in Super Region IV, J.D. Johnson will look to become a four time Super Region place-winner this season. He had 24 wins on the season last year.
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| Bret Heil Maryville |
The coaching staff at Maryville says that the best is yet to be for the Blue Springs, Missouri native. If that's true, then '23-'24 is the season for it. To be quite honest, as well as Heil has wrestled during the season, I'm surprised it hasn't translated to better post season finishes. Don't misconstrue what I'm saying. Placing 5th-5th-6th in Super Region IV is no easy task & should be held on high regard for the phenomenal accomplishment it is. However, this dangerous pinner has stuck an assortment of talent over the years. Last year alone, he pinned All American Anthony Des Vigne in 2:17, R12'er Zeke Waltz in 1:43 & DII qualifier Cole Casilio in 1:49. So what I am saying here is, right time, right place, I wouldn't want this guy to have an arm bar locked up on me in an important match.
NCAA DII wrestling seems to be full of wrestlers like Andrew Knick & how appropriate that he wrestles for a team nicknamed the oilers. Rather symbolic of his NCAA Division II career thus far since transferring from Ohio. He often digs & sometimes he finds oil & sometimes he doesn't. When he does find it though, it's black & it's rich. He actually defeated two time All American James Penfold at the Super Region III 5-3 s.v. but then slipped to 6th place. It wasn't the only time he defeated Penfold either. He also had a 10-4 victory over him earlier in the season.
In the lineup with him, perhaps challenging him will be Hunter Reid who defeated Bret Heil 8-6 last season.
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| Andrew Knick Findlay |
NCAA DII wrestling seems to be full of wrestlers like Andrew Knick & how appropriate that he wrestles for a team nicknamed the oilers. Rather symbolic of his NCAA Division II career thus far since transferring from Ohio. He often digs & sometimes he finds oil & sometimes he doesn't. When he does find it though, it's black & it's rich. He actually defeated two time All American James Penfold at the Super Region III 5-3 s.v. but then slipped to 6th place. It wasn't the only time he defeated Penfold either. He also had a 10-4 victory over him earlier in the season.
In the lineup with him, perhaps challenging him will be Hunter Reid who defeated Bret Heil 8-6 last season.
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| Peter McCrackin Simon Fraser |
You already know I get pretty excited seeing Canadians compete for our DII Canadian team. Peter McCrackin is one of them. 15 wins on the season & 6th in the Super Region VI.
I would definitely keep an eye on Alex Weber this season. 6th in the Super Region I, he had some impressive wins last season. 6-5 over All American James Penfold, 9-6 over DII qualifier Dillon Walker & a 4-3 decision over DII qualifier Cole Casilio.
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| Alex Weber Pittsburgh-Johnstown |
I would definitely keep an eye on Alex Weber this season. 6th in the Super Region I, he had some impressive wins last season. 6-5 over All American James Penfold, 9-6 over DII qualifier Dillon Walker & a 4-3 decision over DII qualifier Cole Casilio.
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| Vincent Galang King |
Academic all conference, Vincent Galang filled in for the Tornadoes at 165 & 184 as well last season. 14 wins on the year, he was 6th in Super Region II.
Cael Meyer is a guy I think will have an impact this season. He certainly did last year anyway. Despite an unfortunate 1-2 showing at Super Region V, he had many ups on the year. These included a 9-5 decision over R12'er Kolby Kost, a 12-5 decision over Cannon Potts & a 5:56 fall over Jack Bond.
I also wanted to throw a word in for a very tough Scott Kellenberger. He had both a 18-9 major over Conner Twigg & a 6-5 victory over R12'er Zeke Waltz. However, I didn't see his name listed on the Peacock roster. I was thinking he had more eligibility left, but maybe he doesn't.
6th in Super Region VI in 2022, Alex Holguin redshirted last season. Giving us a glimpse of what he's capable of for '23-'24, he finished 4th at the Midwest Classic. A 5-3 win over DII qualifier Dillon Walker, he majored All American Nate Barrett & he stuck Brandon Matthews in 2:09.
Every time I hear the words Notre Dame, I can't help but think of how a Falcon with its sharp talons & whetted beak would shred a leprechaun into pieces. But anyway....speaking of the real Notre Dame, they have two tough wrestlers at 174. Hank Carey who was one match shy of a top 8 showing at the Midwest Classic & Rodney Winston Jr, how had a win over DII qualifier Dayton Fields.
Rowdy Pfeil had two wins that particularly stick out to me last season. A 5-1 win over All American Cade Lindsey & a 6-5 win over J.D. Johnson.
20 wins on the season for Logan Hoffman. One was a 10-6 win over DII qualifier Dayton Fields. Another was a 9-5 win over Kyler Pickard.
25 wins on the season for Mike Smith. A 16-10 decision over Peter McCrackin.
13 wins on the sason, Tytus Coombs had both a 4:00 fall over Peter McCrackin & a 12-10 s.v. over Levi Farris.
10 wins on the season, Bryce Dagel defeated Cannon Potts 7-2.
18 victories for John Gholson in '22-'23. One of which was a 13-7 decision over Bret Heil.
17 wins for the Alaskan native last season. One of which was a 1:03 fall over Peter McCrackin.
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| Cael Meyer Upper Iowa |
Cael Meyer is a guy I think will have an impact this season. He certainly did last year anyway. Despite an unfortunate 1-2 showing at Super Region V, he had many ups on the year. These included a 9-5 decision over R12'er Kolby Kost, a 12-5 decision over Cannon Potts & a 5:56 fall over Jack Bond.
I also wanted to throw a word in for a very tough Scott Kellenberger. He had both a 18-9 major over Conner Twigg & a 6-5 victory over R12'er Zeke Waltz. However, I didn't see his name listed on the Peacock roster. I was thinking he had more eligibility left, but maybe he doesn't.
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| Alex Holguin Colorado Mesa |
6th in Super Region VI in 2022, Alex Holguin redshirted last season. Giving us a glimpse of what he's capable of for '23-'24, he finished 4th at the Midwest Classic. A 5-3 win over DII qualifier Dillon Walker, he majored All American Nate Barrett & he stuck Brandon Matthews in 2:09.
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| Hankey Carey Rodney Winston Jr Notre Dame (OH) |
Every time I hear the words Notre Dame, I can't help but think of how a Falcon with its sharp talons & whetted beak would shred a leprechaun into pieces. But anyway....speaking of the real Notre Dame, they have two tough wrestlers at 174. Hank Carey who was one match shy of a top 8 showing at the Midwest Classic & Rodney Winston Jr, how had a win over DII qualifier Dayton Fields.
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| Rowdy Pfeil Chadron State |
Rowdy Pfeil had two wins that particularly stick out to me last season. A 5-1 win over All American Cade Lindsey & a 6-5 win over J.D. Johnson.
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| Logan Hoffman UNC-Pembroke |
20 wins on the season for Logan Hoffman. One was a 10-6 win over DII qualifier Dayton Fields. Another was a 9-5 win over Kyler Pickard.
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| Mike Smith Minnesota State Mankato |
25 wins on the season for Mike Smith. A 16-10 decision over Peter McCrackin.
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| Tytus Coombs CSU-Pueblo |
13 wins on the sason, Tytus Coombs had both a 4:00 fall over Peter McCrackin & a 12-10 s.v. over Levi Farris.
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| Bryce Dagel St Cloud State |
10 wins on the season, Bryce Dagel defeated Cannon Potts 7-2.
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| John Gholson William Jewell |
18 victories for John Gholson in '22-'23. One of which was a 13-7 decision over Bret Heil.
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| Wayne Mellon Minnesota State Moorhead |
17 wins for the Alaskan native last season. One of which was a 1:03 fall over Peter McCrackin.
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