Between May 24th & July 20th, a period of nearly 3 months, I wrote preseason-outlooks on 433 wrestling programs between the NJCAA, NAIA, NCAA Division III, NCAA Division II, & NCAA Division I. Of all 433 teams I wrote about, Virginia was the one that I had the most difficultly assessing & evaluating.
Why? Because the talent IS there. The Cavaliers have the talent on their team in '2026-'2027 to send 9 weights to the NCAA DI tournament. I'll stand by that. Why they had such a rough go of it last year I do not know. Was there a team sickness? Everyone got the flu at the wrong time? I do not know, but if we're talking talent & ability, what they are capable of, then '26-'27 could turn out to be a very good year for the navy blue & orange.
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| 125 KeyVeon Roller |
KeyVeon Roller was an NCAA DI qualifier for the Cavaliers in 2025. He won 14 matches last year, including a win over Tyler Chappelle.
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| 133 Marlon Yarbrough |
An NCAA DI qualifier for the navy blue & orange in 2024, Marlon Yarbrough had a 6-5 win over Troy Hohman last year.
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| 141 Gable Porter |
21 wins on the season last year, Gable Porter qualified for the NCAA DI championships with a 4th place finish in the ACC. He also placed 5th at the Southern Scuffle.
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| 149 Wynton Denkins |
An NCAA DI qualifier in 2025, Wynton Denkins placed 5th last year in an ACC bracket that took the top 4. 4th in the Southern Scuffle two years ago, he was short one match of placing there last year as well. What gives reason for hope, is that of his 18 wins, he had a 3-2 decision over Collin Gaj.
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| 157 Jimmy Harrington |
A two-time NCAA DI qualifier for Harvard, Jimmy Harrington will compete for the Cavaliers this season.
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| 165 Nick Sanko |
7th at the Southern Scuffle two seasons ago, Nick Sanko was a match shy of placement this past year.
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| 174 Nick Hamilton |
Here's the one that really threw me for a loop last year. A two-time NCAA DI qualifier, who finished one match shy of being an NCAA DI All-American in 2025, I really thought that Nick Hamilton would be a top contender for All-American honors last year. That was not at all what happened, and I'm still very puzzled as to why. I really hope we see him back to form, cause if we do, he could very well be Virginia's best wrestler this season.
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| 184 Dom Baker |
Dom Baker was an NCAA DI qualifier in 2024.
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| HWT Brennan Morgan |
13 wins on the year, Brennan Morgan qualified for the NCAA DI championships with a 4th place showing in the ACC.
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