Men’s College Notebook: Early Freshmen Impact, Three Duals To Watch
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by Brian Reinhardt
Oklahoma State freshman Ladarion Lockett at the 2025 National Duals Invitational.
We are only three weekends into the 2025-26 collegiate season, but wow, have we seen some incredible matches, results and upsets.
Much of the discussion thus far has centered on the performances of numerous freshmen – either those who redshirted last season or true freshmen who were competing on high school mats at this time last year.
We’ve already seen a freshman ascend to the #1 ranking in his weight class; five weight classes have a freshman ranked second this week, and 12 freshmen overall currently sport a top-10 national ranking.
Much like overall national rankings, these rankings for freshmen can look a lot different heading into the postseason. Heck, they looked a lot different just two weeks ago, when lineups were still being finalized and many of them were not even listed.
You might see some freshmen come into the rankings that were redshirt candidates, and reverse that, some freshmen competing right now could stop at their five available dates and take a redshirt season.
Let’s look at every weight class and see which freshmen are ranked among the top 20 by FloWrestling this week. Every freshman noted was a top-100 recruit on FloWrestling’s Big Board.
The weight of pure chaos over the last couple of seasons, with constant movement at the top, does not have any freshmen ranked in the top 20. But two to keep an eye on as the season goes along are Mack Mauger of Missouri and Beric Jordan of Oklahoma.
#2 Ben Davino - Ohio State (Class of 2024 #3 recruit)
#9 Marcus Blaze - Penn State (Class of 2025 #1 recruit)
#12 Dillon Campbell – Virginia Tech (Class of 2024 #49 recruit)
#14 Ronnie Ramirez – Oklahoma State (Class of 2025 #30 recruit)
Davino has jetted out to a 10-0 start a year after redshirting. He was 4-0 at the National Duals, outscoring those foes 59-13. His highlight was a 10-4 win over two-time NCAA finalist Drake Ayala of Iowa, scoring all three takedowns of the bout.
#2 Sergio Vega - Oklahoma State (Class of 2025 #7 recruit)
Vega was put on the map for his performance at the National Duals. A perfect 4-0 record with a win over 2025 NCAA finalist Brock Hardy of Nebraska (13-2), three wins over All-Americans overall, and all four wins were over 2025 NCAA qualifiers. He outscored those foes 23-2, and in three of those matches he did not give up a single point.
#9 Jaxon Joy - Cornell (Class of 2024 #23 recruit)
#14 Aden Valencia - Stanford (Class of 2024 #8 recruit)
#2 Landon Robideau - Oklahoma State (Class of 2025 #5 recruit)
#20 Charlie Millard - Minnesota (Class of 2024 #33 recruit)
In his first collegiate bout, Robideau scored an 11-2 major decision over 2024 All-American Daniel Cardenas of Stanford. Penn State isn’t ranked at this weight yet. It is presumed that true freshman PJ Duke (Class of 2025 #2 recruit) will be the starter, but R-Fr. Joe Sealey (Class of 2024 #6 recruit) got the start in Penn State’s lone dual this year.
#2 Ladarion Lockett - Oklahoma State (Class of 2025 #3 recruit)
#11 Ryan Burton – Virginia Tech (Class of 2025 #14 recruit)
#12 Will Denny – NC State (Class of 2025 #16 recruit)
#14 LJ Araujo - Nebraska (Class of 2024 #26 recruit)
Lockett matched Robideau in his first outing, taking out two-time All-American Hunter Garvin of Stanford. He topped that win at the National Duals, with a 7-3 decision over 2025 NCAA finalist Mikey Caliendo of Iowa.
A rarity, no freshmen are ranked in the top 33. One name to watch is Colin Kelly of Illinois.
#1 Angelo Ferrari - Iowa (Class of 2024 #2 recruit)
#2 Aeoden Sinclair - Missouri (Class of 2024 #4 recruit)
#7 Brock Mantanona - Michigan (Class of 2024 #9 recruit)
#9 Zack Ryder - Oklahoma State (Class of 2024 #5 recruit)
#15 Sam Goin – Indiana (Class of 2024 #62 recruit)
What 174 lacks in for freshmen representation, 184 more than makes up for it. This weight class features four freshmen in the top 10, including at the #1 and #2 spots. Ferrari is the first freshman to be ranked #1 this year. He got wins over #2 Sinclair (3-2), #9 Ryder (4-2) and #6 Dylan Fishback of Ohio State (4-1) among his four ranked wins at the National Duals. Sinclair made his own story, downing preseason #1 Max McEnelly of Minnesota (6-3) and scoring a 21-4 tech over #7 Mantanona.
#9 Cody Merrill - Oklahoma State (Class of 2024 #12 recruit)
#10 Cole Mirasola - Penn State (Class of 2024 #15 recruit)
#11 Spencer Lanosga - Navy (Class of 2024 #97 recruit)
#13 Koy Hopke - Minnesota (Class of 2024 #17 recruit)
Iowa finished as runner-up at the National Duals. The Hawkeyes fell behind early in the championship bout against Ohio State but won four in a row before having to forfeit at heavyweight. Pitt has jumped out to a 3-0 record in duals. Their last win over Princeton (20-19) came down to scoring 11 points at 197 and 285 - the pin at heavyweight won the dual. Two ranked upper-weight battles could be on the docket—at 197 pounds, #4 Mac Stout versus #8 Massoma Endene, and we hope we get to see the heavyweight clash between #6 Ben Kueter (who has only wrestled one match thus far) and #12 Dayton Pitzer.
Big 12 opener for both squads. As listed above, Oklahoma State has featured five freshmen in its starting lineup and all five are ranked, four in the top 10. The Sun Devils counter with their exciting, young starters from 133 to 149 - the Larkin brothers (Kyler at 133 and Kaleb at 149) and Pierson Manville at 141.
R-So. Ty Watters is the new #1 at 157 pounds this week. He is the first WVU wrestler to be ranked #1 in his weight class since Noah Adams started the 2020 season at the top of the rankings at 197 pounds. As a true freshman back in 2024, he placed fourth at the NCAAs and won a Big 12 championship, then missed most of last season with injury.
