Penn State Dominates Latest NCAA Wrestling Coaches Rankings

Penn State wrestling begins the postseason with an entire starting lineup ranked as All-Americans. At least according to the latest NCAA Coaches Wrestling Rankings released Thursday.

All 10 of Penn State’s starters are ranked in the top 8 of the latest rankings, while half the lineup is ranked No. 1. The third set of coaches rankings offer a hint at how Penn State wrestlers could be seeded for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, scheduled for March 20-22 in Philadelphia.

The coaches rankings serve as one component of the rankings formula. Sixteen coaches, two from each conference, rank wrestlers by weight class. The coaches are permitted to consider only starters who have wrestled eight bouts or more and at least one in the past 30 days. The coaches rankings and RPI are two factors that the selection committee will consider to determine at-large bid and NCAA Tournament seeds.

Penn State’s Beau Bartlett (141 pounds), Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165). Levi Haines (174) and Carter Starocci (184) head into the Big Ten Tournament atop their weight classes in the coaches rankings. Shayne Van Ness (149), Josh Barr (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) are No. 2. Eight of Penn State’s starters rank first or second in the latest coaching rankings.

Penn State Wrestlers in the NCAA Coaches Rankings

• 125. No. 8 Luke Lilledahl (15-2)

• 133: No. 6 Braeden Davis (8-3)

• 141: No. 1 Beau Bartlett (18-0)

• 149: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness (17-1)

• 157: No. 1 Tyler Kasak (14-1)

• 165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (19-0)

• 174: No. 1 Levi Haines (17-1)

• 184: No. 1 Carter Starocci (18-0)

• 197: No. 2 Josh Barr (15-1)

• 285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (16-0)

RELATED: Three Penn State wrestlers vying for NCAA’s ‘Most Dominant’ Award

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee also released pre-allocations for nationals. These pre-allocations determine how many wrestlers per conference qualify for nationals in each weight class. Following the conference championships, the committee also will award four at-large bids to four wrestlers in each weight class. Each NCAA weight class will be comprised of 33 wrestlers.

As usual, the Big Ten received the most pre-allocations to nationals. The conference will get 87 of 287 auto bids. Here is the number of pre-allocated bids to nationals that the Big Ten will receive. The qualifiers will be determined by their placement at the Big Ten Championships, set for March 8-9 at Northwestern.

• 125: 9 pre-allocations

• 133: 10

• 141: 7

• 149: 8

• 157: 8

• 165: 9

• 174: 8

• 184: 8

• 197: 10

• 285: 10

Penn State seeks to qualify its entire starting lineup to nationals for the second consecutive year. The Nittany Lions also will pursue their third consecutive Big Ten title.