While the ten Nittany Lions may be the headliners, let's meet all 80 NCAA Division I athletes at the 2025 NCAA men's wrestling tournament who finished in the Top 8 and took home the prestigious All-American honor.
All-American Performances at the 2025 NCAA Championships
The 2025 NCAA men's wrestling tournament showcased incredible talent across all weight classes. Here's a breakdown of notable performances by weight class:
125 Pounds
No. 1 Lilledahl topped No. 11 Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin in the Blood Round 7-3 to become an All-American for the first time for the Nittany Lions before beating first-time All-American No. 10 Stevo Poulin of Northern Colorado in the first placement match. Poulin, meanwhile, had to beat Rutger's No. 12 Dean Peterson - who pulled off one of the biggest upsets at the weight earlier in the tournament against No. 5 Richard Figueroa of Arizona State - 6-4 in a wild Blood Round match to earn his spot on the podium. Ramos won his Round of 12 bout over No. 22 Trevor Anderson of Northern Iowa 8-2 after losing in this round last year while Smith beat Big 12 champ Jett Strickenberger 12-9 in sudden victory. Ramos then beat Smith to advance to the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning.
- Key Performers: Lilledahl, Poulin, Ramos, Smith
- Notable Match: Poulin vs. Peterson
133 Pounds
Following the lead of his teammate Lilledahl, Penn State's No. 8 Braeden Davis, who lost in this round last year, got Blood Round revenge, beating No. 11 All-American Evan Frost of Iowa State 4-2 to finish on the podium for the first time in his career. He then beat first-time All-American No. 17 Jacob Van Dee (7th) - who beat No. 21 Angelo Rinin of Indiana in the Blood Round to become an All-American for the first time - of Nebraska in the next round of the consolation bracket. Davis ultimately finished fifth. Stanford's No. 13 Tyler Knox and Virginia Tech's No. 6 Connor McGonagle round out the All-Americans from the Blood Round with Knox beating No. 7 Nic Bouzakis 5-0 to earn his first top-eight finish and McGonagle topping 2024 All-American No. 10 Dylan Shawver of Rutgers 5-1 for his first national honor.
- Key Performers: Davis, Knox, McGonagle
- Notable Match: Davis vs. Frost
141 Pounds
Three first-time All-Americans emerged from this weight, with one coming from the quarterfinals and two more picking up a gritty win in the Blood Round including Northern Iowa's No. 5 Cael Happel, No. 9 Jacob Frost of Iowa State and No. Happel, who has come so close to breaking into the top eight for the last two seasons, finally broke on to to the podium with his quarterfinals win over No. 4 Koderhandt. Koderhandt then dropped down to the Blood Round and took care of business, beating No. 7 Tagen Jamison of Oklahoma State 4-1 to earn his first top-eight finish. He then pinned All-American No. 9 Frost to secure himself a Top 6 finish. Frost, however, stayed on the podium after he beat No. 14 Sergio Lemley of Michigan 9-8 in his Blood Round match. On the top side, Ohio State's No. 3 Jesse Mendez became a three-time All-American when he beat No. 6 Vance Vombaur in a dominant 17-5 manner, sending the Gopher down to the backside where he went on to beat No. Penn State's No. 2 Beau Bartlett also earned his third All-American honor with a quarterfinal win over No. 10 CJ Composto (4th) who went on to win a Blood Round match against No. 21 Dylan Chappell of Bucknell for the second All-American honor of his career. Big Ten champion No. 1 Brock Hardy rounds out the All-Americans at this weight, as he earned his second podium finish with a win over No.
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- Key Performers: Happel, Frost, Mendez, Bartlett, Hardy
- Notable Match: Happel vs. Koderhandt
149 Pounds
All four athletes from the championship side of the bracket at this weight added another All-American honor to their resume, led by No. 1 Caleb Henson who beat No. 8 Jordan Williams of Little Rock 8-5 in sudden victory to earn his third All-American followed by No. 2 Ridge Lovett of Nebraska who also became a three-time All-American when he beat No. Penn State's No. 3 Shayne Van Ness and Ohio State's No. 13 Dylan D'Emilio added a second All-American honor to their collections with quarterfinal wins over No. 6 Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina 7-2 and No. 12 Ethan Stiles of Oregon State 7-3 respectively. McNeil and Stitles, meanwhile, then won their Blood Round matches against No. 25 Malyke Hines of Lehigh and No. 9 Cross Wasilewski of Penn. No. 11 Sammy Alvarez of Rider and No. 22 Gavin Drexler of North Dakota State joined them on the podium for the first time after Blood Round wins over No. 8 Williams 5-0 and No. 7 Webster 4-0.
- Key Performers: Henson, Lovett, Van Ness, D'Emilio, Alvarez, Drexler
- Notable Match: Henson vs. Williams
Gable Steveson vs. Wyatt Hendrickson: 2025 NCAA wrestling championship (285 pounds)
157 Pounds
The 157-pound bracket was the craziest of the ten weight classes here in Philly. No. 1 Tyler Kasak of Penn State dropped to first-time All-American No. 8 Joey Blaze of Purdue in the quarterfinals but battled back to win his Blood Round match against No. No. 2 Meyer Shapiro of Cornell also finished on the podium for the second year in a row, this time in fifth, after advancing to the semifinals over No. 7 Vinny Zerban of Northern Colorado. Zerban ultimately won his Blood Round match against No. 5 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State to earn the first All-Amrerican honor of his career. No. The biggest storyline at 157 pounds though was Northwestern's No. 20 Trevor Chumbley who finished on the podium in fourth for the first time in his career after running through No. 13 Jared Hill of Wyoming, No. 4 Rafael Hipolito of Virginia Tech and then topping No. 12 Caleb Fish of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals. Fish would go on to finish eighth after a tough Blood Round win over former Michigan State teammate No. No. 11 Matty Bianchi of Little Rock also earned All-American honors for the first time with a seventh-place finish after topping No.
- Key Performers: Kasak, Blaze, Shapiro, Zerban, Chumbley, Bianchi
- Notable Upset: Kasak vs. Blaze
165 Pounds
The first four seeds at 165 pounds all finished on the podium with No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State and No. 2 Michael Caliendo of Iowa earning All-American honors by not only advancing the semifinals but also the finals. They beat No. 8 Cameron Amine of Oklahoma State and No. 6 Beau Mantanona in the quarterfinals respectively and then No. 12 Chris Minto of Nebraska and No. Minto and Hall captured All-American honors by way of their quarterfinal wins over No. 5 Julian Ramirez of Cornell and No. 7 Hunter Garvin of Stanford. Hall finished third, while Minto took fourth. Garvin rallied back in the Blood Round with a wild win over No. 5 Julian Ramirez of Cornell 16-12 to earn his second All-American honor. Amine, who lost to Mesenbrink in the quarterfinals, also notched his fourth All-American honor with a Blood Round win over No. 11 Braeden Scoles of Illinois. Amine then lost to Utah Valley first-time All-American No. 4 Terrell Barraclough in the first placement match of the consolation. Barraclough earned All-American honors by way of his Blood Round win over No. 25 Nick Hamilton of Virginia and end up fifth. No. 9 Cam Steed of Missouri rounds out the All-Americans with his first top-eight honor at the weight after he beat Mantanona in the Blood Round.
- Key Performers: Mesenbrink, Caliendo, Minto, Hall, Garvin, Amine, Barraclough, Steed
- Notable Match: Garvin vs. Ramirez
174 Pounds
Like every weight in this year's tournament, the All-American podium at 174 pounds is a mix of veterans, like now five-time All-American No. 1 Keegan O'Toole of Missouri and newcomers like first-time All-Americans No. 7 Danny Wask of Navy and No. Kennedy of Iowa and Wask of Navy beat No. 15 Luca Augustine No. 22 Nick Incontrera of Penn respectively in the Blood Round. O'Toole, meanwhile, secured his spot back on the podium with a gritty quarterfinal win over No. 16 Lorenzo Norman of Stanford 10-8. He then beat two-time All-American No. 13 Cade DeVos of South Dakota State in the semifinals to book another trip back to the final. DeVos, though, locked up his top-eight finish after beating No. 5 Simon Ruiz of Cornell - who battled back in the Blood Round with a win over No. 8 Lenny Pinto of Nebraska - in the quarterfinals. Ruiz then beat No. 14 Matty Singleton of NC State, a first-time All-American, in the first round of the consolation placement matches. Singleton locked up his podium spot after beating No. 24 2024 All-American Lennox Wolak of Virginia Tech one match prior to his bout with Ruiz. Rounding out the podium at 174 pounds are No. 2 Levi Haines, who took third, and NCAA finalist No.
- Key Performers: O'Toole, Wask, Kennedy, DeVos, Ruiz, Singleton, Haines
- Notable Match: O'Toole vs. Norman
184 Pounds
Two five-time All-Americans headline at 184 pounds led by No. 1 Carter Starocci of Penn State and No. Starocci secured his fifth podium finish with a quarterfinal win over No. 8 Jaxon Smith (6th) of Maryland. Smith, though, went on to beat DJ Parker of Oklahoma in the Blood Round to become Maryland's first All-American since 2019. He then beat fellow All-American No. 12 Silas Allred of Nebraska - who won his Blood Round match against No. 15 Dylan Fishback of NC State - to advance to the consolation semifinals. Keckeisen, meanwhile, beat No. 10 Edmond Ruth in the quarterfinals to become an All-American for the fifth time. He then beat Minnesota's No. 3 Max McEnelly, a first-time All-American for Minnesota, in the semifinals to advance to the championship finals after a wild sudden victory takedown. Before dropping to Keckeisen, McEnelly beat No. 6 Chris Foca of Cornell in the quarterfinals to lock up his top-eight finish. Foca, though, battled back in the Blood Round to beat No. 23 Aidan Brenot of North Dakota State 2-0 to become an All-American again. Oklahoma State's No. 4 Dustin Plott also locked up his third All-American honor when he beat Nebraska's Silas Allred in the quarterfinals. Indiana's No. 22 DJ Washington rounded out the podium with an eighth place performance after became an All-American for the first time in his career with a Blood Round win over No.
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- Key Performers: Starocci, Smith, Keckeisen, McEnelly, Foca, Plott, Washington
- Notable Match: Keckeisen vs. McEnelly
197 Pounds
The 197-pound weight class was one of just three weights to go chalk in the quarterfinals, with No. 1 Jacob Cardenas of Michigan, No. 2 Stephen Buchanan of Iowa, No. 3 AJ Ferrari of CSU-Bakersfield and No. Cardenas beat No. 24 Gabe Sollars of Indiana to notch another podium finish while Barr beat two-time All-American No. 5 Michael Beard of Lehigh to pick up his first honor. Ferrari returned the podium after his win over No. 6 Mac Stout, a Panther sophomore who rebounded with a Blood Round win over No. 7 Wyatt Voelker of Northern Iowa for his first All-American honor. Buchanan joined this All-American group with his quarterfinal win over No. 23 Seth Shumate of Ohio State. In the Blood Round, Little Rock's No. 12 Stephen Little (6th) added hardware to the Little Rock trophy case with the second All-American honor of his career following a win over Shumate. No. 15 Joey Novak (5th) of Wyoming and No. 20 Camden McDanel (8th), meanwhile, became first-time All-Americans after Blood Round wins over No. 5 Beard and No.
- Key Performers: Cardenas, Buchanan, Ferrari, Barr, Little, Novak, McDanel, Stout
- Notable Match: Ferrari vs. Stout
285 Pounds
The 285-pound weight class also went chalk in the quarterfinals and nearly went chalk through the Blood Round. Arizona State's No. 9 Cohlton Schultz, now a five-time All-American, was the lone athlete seeded outside the Top 8 to finish on the podium after he beat No. 14 former All-American Gavin Hoffman of Lock Haven. Outside of Schultz, the bouts went as expected with No. 1 Gable Steveson locking up his podium spot after a quarterfinal win over Schultz and booking himself a trip to the finals after beating All-American No. 4 Owen Trephan in the semifinals 13-5. Trephan made the podium for the first time in his career after his quarterfinal win over No. 5 Ben Kueter of Iowa. Kueter then beat No. 10 Dayton Pitzer of Pittsburgh in the Blood Round for his first All-American honor. No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson became a three-time All-American when he beat No. 7 Isaac Trumble of NC State in the quarterfinals. Hendrickson previously finished third twice for Air Force but earned his first trip to the national finals for Oklahoma State this year after then beating returning NCAA champion and now five-time All-American No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State. Kerkvliet became an All-American this year after his quarterfinal win over No. 10 Pitzer, while Trumble earned All-American honors in the Blood Round with a win over No. 12 2024 All-American Nick Feldman. No. 6 Josh Heindselman of Michigan put himself on the podium as well with his first All-American honor following a Blood Round win over No. 8 Luke Luffman of Illinois.
- Key Performers: Steveson, Hendrickson, Kerkvliet, Schultz, Trephan, Kueter, Trumble, Heindselman
- Notable Match: Steveson vs. Trephan
Wilkes University Athletics Achievements
Wilkes University also celebrated significant athletic achievements during the year:
- Butka, a senior Biochemistry major, became the program's tenth All-American since 2007 by placing second at the 2025 NCAA Championships at 197-pounds.
- Butka concludes one of the finest careers in the storied Wilkes wrestling history. He stands as the school's all-time leader in wins with a 137-24 career mark.
- He also set the school record for wins in a season after his semifinal victory finishing with a 42-3 mark in his senior campaign.
- He finished his career as a two-time All-American at 197-pounds.
Bouchard, a sophomore Nursing student, was named to the All-MAC First Team as well as to the DIIIHockeyNews.com Second Team-East. Bouchard helped lead the Colonels to a record-breaking season with 22 wins along with the program's first Conference Championship win and NCAA Tournament appearance.
Annual Departmental Awards
The fifth annual departmental awards given out were the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, and Male Athlete of the Year. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards go to the male and female senior student-athlete who had the highest cumulative GPA through the fall semester.
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