Breaking Down Penn State Wrestling’s Seeds at the NCAA Championships
Penn State wrestling landed four No. 1 seeds for the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships, including one who seeks to make history in Philadelphia. The Nittany Lions’ unbeaten Carter Starocci is the top seed at 184 pounds, where he can become the first five-time champion in NCAA Division I Wrestling history.
Top-ranked Penn State, which seeks its fourth straight NCAA team title, qualified 10 wrestlers for NCAAs, all of whom are ranked in the top 8. If every Nittany Lion wrestles to seed, Penn State would become just the second program in history to field a full lineup of All-Americans.
In addition to Starocci, Penn State’s top seeds are freshman Luke Lilledahl (125), Tyler Kasak (157), returning NCAA runnerup Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and 2024 national champ Levi Haines (174). The NCAA Wrestling Championships are scheduled for March 20-22 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Here’s a look at what the Nittany Lions will face at NCAAs.
125 Pounds: 1. Luke Lilledahl (17-2)
Luke Lilledahl ascended to the No. 1 overall seed at NCAAs with a remarkable run through the Big Ten Championships, where he might have been Penn State’s top performer. Lilledahl went 4-0 at Big Tens, including a major decision over formerly unbeaten Matt Ramos of Purdue. Lilledahl, competing in his first NCAA tournament, is 7-2 vs. the field this season. Lilledahl’s half of the bracket includes both of the wrestlers who beat him this season (Rutgers’ Dean Peterson and Ohio State’s Brendan McCrone), though they would face each other before a potential semifinal.
133: 8. Braeden Davis (12-5)
NCAAs offer an opportunity for Davis, who did not medal last year after winning the 125-pound Big Ten title as a true freshman. He has a difficult road, though, after placing fourth at the conference tournament last week. He could face a rematch with Maryland’s Braxton Brown (Davis won their Big Ten matchup 9-7) and, with a win, get a quarterfinal bout vs. top-seeded Lucas Byrd of Illinois. Davis is 6-4 vs. the field this season, including a 7-1 loss to Byrd.
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141: 2. Beau Bartlett (21-1)
Bartlett enters his second straight NCAA tournament as the second seed with one loss. This time, though, the loss was to Minnesota’s Vance VomBaur in the Big Ten semifinals instead of to Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez in the final. To win his first career postseason title, Bartlett won’t have to go through both, since Mendez and VomBaur would meet first in the quarterfinals. A Bartlett-Mendez Round 3 could occur in Friday’s semifinals. Nebraska’s Brock Hardy is the top seed. Bartlett is 11-1 vs. the 141-pound bracket this season.
149. 3. Shayne Van Ness (20-2)
The redshirt sophomore returns to NCAAs after missing last season’s tournament due to injury. Van Ness went 5-1 at nationals in 2023, placing third, and has a compelling case to contend this year. He is 11-2 against the field this year but to win he might have to go through the defending champ. Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson sits atop the bracket, awaiting Van Ness in a potential final. Second-seeded Ridge Lovett of Nebraska has a 10-2 win over Van Ness this season.
157: 1. Tyler Kasak (17-1)
Kasak enters NCAAs on a seven-bout tournament win streak, all of which he won in the consolations last year to make a remarkable run to third place. This season, Kasak hasn’t dropped a bout on the mat; his only loss was an injury default during the dual-meet season. Kasak has 10 wins vs. the field, most recently a 12-2 major decision over Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon in the Big Ten final.
165: 1. Mitchell Mesenbrink (22-0)
The unbeaten Mesenbrink is a contender, with Starocci, for the NCAA’s Most Dominant Wrestler award. He could clinch it with a dominant run through the 165-pound bracket. In the Big Ten final, Iowa’s Mike Caliendo became the first wrestler this season to limit Mesenbrink to one takedown. No one else has held Mesenbrink below 10 points. Caliendo is the third seed and on course to face Mesenbrink in the semifinals.
174: 2. Levi Haines (20-1)
Haines’ lone loss this season was an overtime decision to Missouri’s top-seeded Keegan O’Toole at a duals tournament in December. O’Toole (16-0) is a two-time NCAA champ who seeks to end his career with three but who also was injured for part of the season. Before getting the rematch, though, Haines might have to go through Oklahoma State’s third-seeded Dean Hamiti (22-1). The two have not met in college.
184: 1. Carter Starocci (21-0)
Starocci brings a perfect 20-0 record in the NCAA Championships to his final, and potentially historic, appearance at the event. Because of the COVID exemption in 2021, Starocci has a chance to win five NCAA titles, something no one has done at the Division I level. Starocci has a favorable path to the final, where both wrestlers who tested him this season could await.
Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen is the weight class’ defending champ. Starocci beat Keckeisen 4-1 in sudden victory at the preseason NWCA All-Star Classic exhibition. And Minnesota’s Max McEnelly, the only wrestler to take down Starocci this season, is in Keckeisen’s half of the bracket as the third seed.
197: 4. Josh Barr (16-3)
The good news is, Barr is in the field after sustaining a leg injury in the consolation round of the Big Ten Championships. Barr’s injury will be among the primary Penn State stories on Day 1 of NCAAs. If healthy, he’s a contender. The redshirt freshman is in the same half of the bracket as top-seeded Jacob Cardenas, with whom he split their two bouts this season, both of which went to overtime. Cardenas won in the Big Ten semifinals. Stephen Buchanan of Iowa likely awaits in the bracket’s bottom half.
285: 3. Greg Kerkvliet (18-1)
Interestingly, the weight class’ defending champ is seeded third behind Minnesota’s Gable Steveson and Oklahoma State’s unbeaten Wyatt Hendrickson, the Big 12 champ. Kerkvliet beat Hendrickson 4-2 at the 2023 NCAA Championships. Kerkvliet likely will have to go through both unbeaten wrestlers to defend his NCAA title.
