BEST OF THE UNRANKED: 157

                                           

The NCAA Division I championships are approximately two months away.  Still a lot of wrestling to be conducted between now and then, but with all that can change between now and then, one thing is likely to stay the same. 

There are only 33 slots per weight class & there are more than 33 wrestlers per weight class who are eligible to get them.  

I had someone say to me on Twitter that they were looking forward to my analysis on 157 lbs regarding this subject.  I can see why.  Only 33 spots available & I counted 45 eligible candidates.  

Once the dust settles, JT1Wrestle's "Best to not qualify 2026: 157 lbs NCAA DI" list is going to be LONG....

Daniel Zepeda
NC State

What he has going against him:  He's a fill in for an injured Jackson Arrington, thus putting him a bit behind the curve. 

What he has going for him: I'd be surprised if Zepeda wasn't ranked the next time rankings come out.  He's 9-1 on the season, a Southern Scuffle runner-up & he owns a 1:46 fall over Jude Swisher.  The ACC likely to allot 6 & no question about it, he's one of the 6. 

Gavin Drexler
North Dakota State

What he has going against him: The move up to 157 from 149 has NOT been kind to the Bison at all. He currently stands 5-8 for the year & looks like a shadow of his former self.  

What he has going for him: He was 8th in the nation at 149 lbs in 2025.  You can't tell me if he wrestled that good last year at 149 lbs, that he couldn't wrestle well enough to finish within the top 8 at the BIG 12 this season.  I'm not saying it is a guarantee, but it is certainly feasible.  If not clear already, I'm very confident that the BIG 12 takes 8. 

   R.J. Weston
     Northern Iowa

What he has going against him: Inconsistency.  The fact that if we were to hold a tournament to figure out who is currently #34 at 157, it'd be a 12-man bracket.  With Weston, you can see him winning at the BIG 12 against someone like Drayden Morton or Jared Hill.  You can also see him losing to someone out of sight, out of mind.  

What he has going for him: The guy has won some very notable matches in the past. This year alone, he's already taken out Laird Root (4-3) & he's likely to have a couple more notable wins before the regular season comes to a close.  The problem is, can he avoid the "shouldn't have lost this one" moments in between?  As said when looking over Drexler, pretty sure the BIG 12 allots 8.  Weston can be one of the 8. 

Bryce Lowery
Indiana

What he has going against him: He doesn't have enough quality wins yet. Unfortunately for the young Hoosier, Kal Miller is currently redshirting. Otherwise that 5-1 decision would hold a lot more weight than what it currently does. 

What he has going for him:  Pros & cons to being a BIG 10 wrestler, one of the pros is, come qualification time, the BIG 10 always gets a huge, healthy helping.  I say at least 10 allocation spots & Lowery is well within his means to nab one of them. 

Darius Marines
Michigan State

What he has going against him:  Doesn't have the quality wins yet.  

What he has going for him:  The Spartan freshman is currently 15-6 on the year as we finish up the last half of the regular season.  As mentioned when speaking about Lowery, the BIG 10 is likely to have 10 allocation spots here at 157.  Marines is within his means to be among one of the top 10. 

Jonathan Ley
Navy

What he has going against him:  It's hard to say right now.  A lot can change in a short amount of time and we still have just shy of two months before the EIWA championships.  With that said, if the EIWA tournament were today, I say that it'd only be the champion going.   Could Jonathan Ley upset Logan Rozynski? That's an awful tall order.  Even more pressing, before he even could think about Rozynski, he'd have to get past Luke Nichter. 

What he has going for him: He's had some good wins thus far this year & could pick up some more before the EIWA championships.   He has a 2-1 win over Colton Washleski & for whatever it is or isn't worth a 5-2 win over Gavin Drexler.  Going into the EIWA's, I don't think it really matters whether he's the *2 or the *3 seed.  If he wants an opportunity to try and knock off Rozynski, he's gonna have to beat Nichter. 

Luke Nichter
Drexel

What he has going against him: See above.  Luke Nichter is playing with the exact same hand that Jonathan Ley is playing with.  A likely *2 or *3 seed at the EIWA championships & either way that sets up a likely semi-final with Ley.  Making the finals would mean having to pull off one of the biggest upsets of his career in knocking off Rozynski. Unlike ZZ Top, this IS asking for much. 

What he has going for him: He has defeated Ley in the past & that bodes well for the Dragon heading into the EIWA championships.  An NCAA DI qualifier all the way back in 2021, he owns both a 12-4 major over Stoney Buell, as well as a 4-1 s.v. over Anthony White on the season. 

Nick Stampoulos
Lock Haven

What he has going against him:  Forest Gump has a few favorites this year in college wrestling and Nick Stampoulos is one of them.  When it comes to this Bald Eagle, you never know what you're gonna get.  I can't see him getting anything higher than a *5 seed, but I worry as the season progresses if he might end up a lower seed.  

What he has going for him: If he wrestles to his capability, I think he should secure the *5 or *6 seed.  The MAC looks to me like it should be taking the top four finishers of the weight class.  I can't see him knocking off D.J. McGee, but he's kept it awful close with Mason Shrader & I don't think Kaleb Burgess is out of his league either.  An NCAA DI qualifier in 2024, for what it is worth he owns an 8-2 victory over Gavin Drexler. 

Landon Johnson
Northern Illinois

What he has going against him: Landon Johnson faces the same music that Nick Stampoulos faces.  He's in a bracket likely to send the top 4, & on paper he's either the 5th or 6th best man.  This puts the Husky in a situation of having to upset to earn a ticket to Cleveland. 

What he has going for him: Again rinse and repeat about what I said about Stampoulos above.  Johnson was an NCAA DI qualifier last season.  Finishing in the top 4 in the MAC will be an absolute must. Something he is capable of doing. 

What they have going against them:  Each other 

What they have going for them: The PAC-12 is going to take the champion here, so unless something out of this world happens, one of these two gentlemen will be going to the NCAA DI championships.  Jaivon Jones, despite being unranked at the moment has a very impressive 4-1 s.v. over Charlie Millard on the season.  I personally can see Millard, only a freshman now, one day challenging for the NCAA DI title.   

As to Hamblin, no big wins on the season yet, but he was an NCAA DI qualifier last year. 


These two will meet very soon (January 23rd!)   

Not that seeding really matters cause a likely *1 is gonna likely meet a *2 in the PAC-12 finals, but it will give us an idea of how desperate of a situation this could be. 

Tanner Peake
Davidson

What he has going against him: Started off the season at 165 lbs & as a result has some bad losses.  He's not the most consistent wrestler in the world, but now that he's back at 157, things seem to be going better.  Problem is, I don't know if he has enough time or enough quality competition ahead of him to where we could see the SOCON possibly allot two to the NCAA DI championships.  Most likely if he wants to go, he's gonna have to pull off an upset. 

Let me also add in that in a day in age where we have some wrestlers on their 8th season of collegiate wrestling, Tanner Peake is four and out.  This is his fourth year of collegiate wrestling & it is also his final season of collegiate wrestling.  For everyone that likes to cry and moan about all the extra eligibility everyone is taking due to Covid, mission trips, medical redshirts, Olympic redshirts & whatever else I'm missing, perhaps take the time to let Peake know you admire what he's been able to accomplish despite not having those advantages. 

What he has going for him: I think the Wildcat needed something to happen to him to let him know that he IS top 33 material & that he DOES belong in the discussion.  I'm hoping that despite ups & downs, the Southern Scuffle was that something.  He pulled off a 2-0 win over Gavin Drexler & found himself on the award stand.  

At the end of the day, he's going to have to figure out a way past Kyrell Leavell.  The Citadel freshman stands in the way of Tanner Peake & Peake is going to have to figure out a way past him if he wants to be Davidson's first NCAA DI qualifier since 2015.