Lander (NCAA D2), Augsburg (NCAA D3), Grand View (NAIA) are No. 1 in men’s college preseason polls
by NWCA, NAIA and USA Wrestling
Two major college sports organizations with varsity men’s wrestling programs have released their preseason polls, as the 2023-24 college wrestling competition season has begun.
Below are the team and individual rankings for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). We have already posted the NCAA Div. I rankings, so this story will cover NCAA Div. II and NCAA Div. III, along with the NAIA rankings.
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has not yet published its preseason men’s rankings, which we will post when they are available.
Lander is No. 1 in NCAA Div. II Men’s Preseason Coaches Poll
MANHEIM, Pa.- A first-time #1, the Lander Bearcats, will open the 2023-24 season atop the preseason edition of the NWCA Division II Coaches Poll, released Oct. 30 by the Association.
The Bearcats, who finished runner-up at the 2023 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, top the poll with 82 total points and a poll-high eight ranked wrestlers. West Liberty sits at #2 in the preseason poll, with 69 points behind five ranked wrestlers. Defending National Champion Central Oklahoma is in the three-spot with 63 points, with St. Cloud State (56 points) in fourth with its six ranked wrestlers and McKendree and Upper Iowa tied for the five-spot with 48 points each.
NCAA Div. II Preseason Team rankings
Rank/institution/total points/ranked individuals/'23 NCAA finish
1 Lander 82 8 2
2 West Liberty 69 5 6
3 Central Oklahoma 63 5 1
4 St. Cloud State 56 6 3
5T McKendree 48 5 T17
5T Upper Iowa 48 5 16
7T Lake Erie 47 6 12
7T Indianapolis 47 4 7
9T Mary 46 5 13
9T UW-Parkside 46 5 15
11 Northern State 44 5 T20
12 Tiffin 38 5 11
13 Chadron State 32 3 T20
14 Pitt-Johnstown 31 4 T17
15T Augustana 28 3 24
15T Ashland 28 2 T20
17 Newberry 27 5 T27
18 Nebraska-Kearney 26 5 8
18 Belmont Abbey 26 2 33
20 Mercyhurst 22 2 19
21 Glenville State 21 2 9
22 Western Colorado 20 2 4
23 Millersville 18 3 32
24 Kutztown 15 2 23
25T Fort Hays State 13 1 14
25T Minot State 13 1 37
Receiving votes: Central Missouri-12; Gannon-12; Mount Olive-11; King-7; Southwest MinN. State-6; UNC-Pembroke-4; Findlay-4; Grand Valley State-4; American International-4; Adams State-3; Colorado Mines-3; East Stroudsburg-3; Simon Fraser-2; Davenport-1
This is a tournament power index ranking; the poll is not based on a team's dual strength.
TOP RANKED NCAA DIV. II INDIVIDUALS
125 Jaxson Rohman, Augustana
133 Gavin Quiocho, Glenville State
141 Zach Donathan, Tiffin
149 Wyatt Turnquist, Northern State
157 Nick Novak, St. Cloud State
165 Chase Luensman, Upper Iowa
174 James Penfold, Lake Erie
184 Ty McGeary, West Liberty
197 Dalton Abney, Central Oklahoma
285 Cale Gray, Indianapolis
Augsburg is No. 1 in NCAA Div. III Men’s Preseason Coaches Poll
Manheim, PA - The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) released their first set of rankings for the Division III Men's Coaches Rankings. These include the Team Tournament Poll and both the individual national and regional rankings.
Starting the season in the top spot is Augsburg (75.5 pts) who is coming off yet another national championship season. Filling out of the remainder of the top five is #2 Wartburg (44.5 pts), #3 Baldwin Wallace (43.5 pts), #4 Johnson & Wales (39.5 pts), and #5 UW-La Crosse (38.5 pts)
In the individual rankings, Augsburg starts the season with three top-ranked wrestlers while Wartburg has two. Johnson & Wales, UW-Eau Claire, Baldwin Wallace, UW-Lacrosse, and Alvernia each have a single wrestler at the top of their respective weight class.
NCAA Div. III Preseason Team rankings
Rank/Insitituion/Total Points
1 Augsburg 75.5
2 Wartburg 44.5
3 Baldwin Wallace 43.5
4 Johnson & Wales 39.5
5 UW La Crosse 38.5
6 Alvernia 38
7 North Central 36
8 UW Eau Claire 33.5
9 U.S. Coast Guard Academy 32
10 Wabash 28
11 Castleton 23.5
12 Stevens Institute of Technology 21
13 Ohio Northern 18.5
14 TCNJ 14.5
T15 NYU 14
T15 Coe 14
17 Williams 12
18 Concordia Moorhead 10.5
T19 SUNY Oswego 10
T19 Southern Maine 10
T21 Millikin 9.5
T21 McDaniel 9.5
T23 Penn College 9
T23 Ithaca 9
T23 Greensboro
Top ranked NCAA Div. III individuals
125 Joziah Fry, Johnson & Wales
133 Tyler Fleetwood, UW-Eau Claire
141 Sam Stuhl, Augsburg
149 Michael Petrella, Baldwin Wallace
157 Nolan Hertel, UW-La Crosse
165 Matt Lackman, Alvernia
174 Zane Mulder, Wartburg
184 Bentley Schwanebeck-Osterman, Wartburg
197 Massoma Endene, Wartburg
285 Tyler Kim, Augsburg
Grand View is No. 1 in NAIA Men's Preseason Coaches Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The reigning NAIA National Champions, Grand View (Iowa), start the 2023-24 season leading the country in the NAIA Men's Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll. Life (Ga.) continues its hold on second place followed by Southeastern (Fla.) in third. Menlo (Calif.) and Campbellsville (Ky.) round out the top 5.
NAIA men's preseason Coaches Poll
Rank/Last Time/Team/Points
1 1 Grand View (Iowa) 250
2 2 Life (Ga.) 227
3 3 Southeastern (Fla.) 168
4 7 Menlo (Calif.) 144
5 13 Campbellsville (Ky.) 142
6 10 Morningside (Iowa) 141
7 20 Montana State-Northern 118
8 9 Providence (Mont.) 116
9 12 Ottawa (Kan.) 114
10 16 Cumberlands (Ky.) 113
11 4 Doane (Neb.) 109
12 11 Reinhardt (Ga.) 104
13 15 Cumberland (Tenn.) 102
14 14 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 101
15 5 Indiana Tech 100
16 RV Oklahoma City 96
17 8 Eastern Oregon 92
18 6 Marian (Ind.) 85
19 19 Baker (Kan.) 84
20 RV Southern Oregon 75
Receiving Votes: Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 74; Missouri Valley 71; Keiser (Fla.) 60; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 58; Lourdes (Ohio) 58; Central Methodist (Mo.) 54; Saint Mary (Kan.) 52; William Penn (Iowa) 46; Corban (Ore.) 45; Midway (Ky.) 45; Cornerstone (Mich.) 44; Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 37; Oklahoma Wesleyan 33; Texas Wesleyan 33; St. Thomas (Fla.) 32; Rio Grande (Ohio) 32; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 32; Avila (Mo.) 28; Graceland (Iowa) 24; Northwestern (Iowa) 22; Vanguard (Calif.) 22; Dickinson State (N.D.) 21; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 20; Concordia (Neb.) 17; Missouri Baptist 16; Simpson (Calif.) 12; Arizona Christian 10; Bethany (Kan.) 8; Rochester (Mich.) 8; Waldorf (Iowa) 6; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 5; York (Neb.) 5; Montreat (N.C.) 3; Central Baptist (Ark.) 2
Top-Ranked NAIA Individuals
125 – Hunter Sparks, Eastern Oregon
133 – Carson Taylor, Grand View (Iowa)
141 – Pat Gould, Keiser (Fla.)
149 – Brevin Balmeceda, Life (Ga.)
157 – Salvador Silva, Southeastern (Fla.)
165 – Rysan Leong, Menlo (Calif.)
174 – Riley Smucker, Life (Ga.)
184 – Jesse Daniel Perez, Ottawa (Kan.)
197 – Owen Braungardt, Grand View (Iowa)
285 – Greg Hagan, Grand View (Iowa)