Penn State Wrestling: Josh Barr Gets Positive Injury Update Before NCAAs
Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson provided a positive update Thursday night regarding Josh Barr, the Nittany Lions’ 197-pound star who was injured at last weekend’s Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Barr, whom coaches carried off the mat during the consolation round, should be ready to compete at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which begin March 20 in Philadelphia.
“We had to kind of carry him off the mat in his last match at [the] Big Ten [Championships], but he’ll be ready to go and he’ll be scrapping on Thursday next week,” Sanderson said on the Penn State Coaches Show. “So we’re happy for him. He’s ready to go.”
A healthy Barr would be a positive development for Penn State, which is an overwhelming favorite to win its fourth straight team title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships and 12th under Sanderson. The Nittany Lions qualified all 10 wrestlers for NCAAs and have four top seeds, including Carter Starocci, who seeks to become the first Division I wrestler to win five NCAA titles. Penn State also is attempting to become just the second team in NCAA history to place its entire lineup on the podium as All-Americans.
Barr is central to that. The redshirt freshman (16-3) is seeded fourth even after being forced to injury default out of the tournament. Barr sustained a leg injury in the consolation round just 11 days before NCAAs begin. His situation was far different than Starocci’s in 2024. Starocci was injured in Penn State’s last regular-season match and rehabbed through the Big Ten Championships, where he did not compete. He returned at NCAAs to win his fourth national championship.
Though Barr isn’t a favorite to win at 197, he’s a near-certain medalist if healthy. Barr lost just one regular-sesaon bout before falling 4-1 to eventual Big Ten champ Jacob Cardenas of Michigan in the tournament semifinals last weekend.
“He’s got a lot better,” Sanderson said of Barr’s progression this season. “At the beginning of the season, it was more just hustle and make your opponents not want to wrestle you again, and he’s done that. And as he’s done that, his technique has caught up with him. Each week I feel like he’s got a lot better.”
Sanderson on Greg Kerkvliet: ‘He can do it’
Kerkvliet, a four-time All-American and the defending NCAA champion at 285 pounds, is gearing for a potential championship rematch with Minnesota’s Gable Steveson. The two-time NCAA champ scored three takedowns against Kerkvliet for a 10-3 decision in the Big Ten final. Kerkvliet, seeded third at the weight class, might have to defeat two unbeaten wrestlers to win his second title. Before the potential rematch with Steveson, Kerkvliet likely would face second-seeded Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State in the semifinals.
“He’s a monster,” Sanderson said of Kerkvliet on the radio show. “He’s a beast. He’s a national champ, he’s a four-time All-American, he can do it next week. He’s just got to believe in himself and just be bold and aggressive.”
Braeden Davis is getting healthy
Sanderson said that the sophomore, who wrestles at 133 pounds, struggled with injuries that limited him to 11 regular-season bouts. In particular, Davis missed late-season matches, including the Nittany Lions’ finale vs. American.
But Davis emerged relatively healthy from Big Tens, where he went 4-2 to place fourth. Davis looked particularly strong during a pair of consolation-round bouts after losing in the quarterfinals. Sanderson said Davis, who went 2-2 at NCAAs last year after winning the 125-pound Big Ten title, is ready for his second tour through nationals. He’s seeded eighth at the weight class.
“He’s been banged up this year,” Sanderson said of Davis. “He’s shown that he can go with anybody [but] he hasn’t had a good stretch of time to train and get ready. This is the first stretch he’s had, so we’re expecting him to be at his best at the national tournament.”
The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships are scheduled for March 20-22 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
