I saw Flowrestling released its preseason rankings. For those of you follow wrestling closely, please post any rankings relevant to Pitt. Thanks in advance.
Preseason Rankings
- Thread starter upitt98
- Start date
Phillippi - 7
Matthews - 22
Rahmani - 9
Wentzel - 20
Bonaccorsi - 3
Stout - 19
Thomas - 14
Team - 18
Matthews - 22
Rahmani - 9
Wentzel - 20
Bonaccorsi - 3
Stout - 19
Thomas - 14
Team - 18
I'm really bullish on Mathews I think he can have a nice career at Pitt if he keeps improving. He looked pretty good last year during his redshirt the couple tournaments I was able to watch him in.
Improvement over last year which is good. It should be an interesting year.
OK everybody. Thought I would give you guys something to read. Everybody has an opinion so here is/are mine. Feel free to disagree and comment.
Phillippi - 7
As strong of a year as Micky had, I believe his NCAA performance i.e. weakness at generating offense on his feet and offense from the top, is responsible for this relatively speaking, low ranking. Lets see what his experience with the U23 world team has taught him. No reason he shouldn't be back where he was last year.
Matthews - 22
I certainly expect Cole to climb a lot higher in the rankings here. He seems to have learned to be more aggressive and to pressure his opponent in his RS year. He did really well last year but this new offensive attitude should be a big advantage for him moving foreword.
Rahmani - 9
Taleb is like the anti Phillippi. Always dangerous from both his feet and a threat for back points or to pin anyone, but can he maintain intensity and stay focused on fundamentals? If he does, I don't see why he cant move up in rankings and possibly AA this year. He is also the kind of guy that can get hot at the NCAA tourney and go all the way.
Wentzel - 20
Probably about right considering his injury. He made a lot of progress last year and had some really close matches against top ranked guys. Can he stay off his hips and stop giving up reversals and back points? How he comes back from his injury is the unknown, but if he picks up where he left off, 20 seems to be too low.
Bonaccorsi - 3
Not much to say here. I expect his freestyle experience this summer will help his set-ups and finishes from his feet - which was his big shortcoming last year.
Stout - 19
If he accepts how talented he is, and that he belongs, Kellan should move up from here. He certainly has the talent. When he believes in his offense and attaches, he looks really good.
Thomas - 14
Not sure why Meech is so low here. I expect the D1 experience against the bigger bodies last year will reap benefits this year.
Over-all team ranking - 18.
OK, fine. Got to start somewhere. Season starts at the Field House November 9th with Campbell. We can go from there. Plenty of top 15 teams on the schedule to challenge for their spot.
I always thought wrestling was an individual sport anyways.
As an addendum:
Relating my thoughts above, as it concerns team expectations, I do not factor in the incoming recruits. These talented new guys will likely have a very positive effect through daily competition in the room and one or two may surprise us (RS aside - Jared McGill in particular has a style that will adapt to collegiate competition ...and throw Austin Cooley in that category), realizing their benefit will probably take another year though.
Finally, when considering the Pitt wrestlers expectations this year, I want to copy part of my thoughts I wrote after Pitts performance at the NCAA tournament last year.
My first point from last year was digital technology. The digital video recorders, internet streaming, and YouTube have changed scouting for everyone. If you have a weakness or habitual tendencies, they will be exposed. (Can you say RBY and his left hand behind his back!! Micic taught him something about DeSanto at last years NCAA's). Its made a huge difference with Taleb since his sophomore year (no more barrel roll and limited success from underneath now). Expect it to have an effect on Micki and Nino next year [due to their limitations on their feet].
My second point was, I would not be surprised if there was a plateau or even a step back a little next year - even though I think the team will be better. There is the scouting point I made above. There is the fact that Pitt will not be sneaking up on anyone next year. There is the fact that Pitt was remarkably healthy (Jake Wenzel aside) last year. I do not believe Pitt has the depth just yet, to maintain production if certain weights are effected by injury. Imagine what this year would have looked like if it was Meech that was out.
Finally, everyone needs to remember this is actually Gavin and Co second year. I think we should all feel very good about the young guys in this program (and the recruits that will be contributing in the future). We should all feel really good about the process installed and how fast Gavin and Co are bringing things together. There are however, still several important pieces that need to drop in to place for Pitt to consistently break in to the top ten at the NCAA tournament - particularly with the RTC and its effect on recruiting. I think an excited patients is in order for next year.
Phillippi - 7
As strong of a year as Micky had, I believe his NCAA performance i.e. weakness at generating offense on his feet and offense from the top, is responsible for this relatively speaking, low ranking. Lets see what his experience with the U23 world team has taught him. No reason he shouldn't be back where he was last year.
Matthews - 22
I certainly expect Cole to climb a lot higher in the rankings here. He seems to have learned to be more aggressive and to pressure his opponent in his RS year. He did really well last year but this new offensive attitude should be a big advantage for him moving foreword.
Rahmani - 9
Taleb is like the anti Phillippi. Always dangerous from both his feet and a threat for back points or to pin anyone, but can he maintain intensity and stay focused on fundamentals? If he does, I don't see why he cant move up in rankings and possibly AA this year. He is also the kind of guy that can get hot at the NCAA tourney and go all the way.
Wentzel - 20
Probably about right considering his injury. He made a lot of progress last year and had some really close matches against top ranked guys. Can he stay off his hips and stop giving up reversals and back points? How he comes back from his injury is the unknown, but if he picks up where he left off, 20 seems to be too low.
Bonaccorsi - 3
Not much to say here. I expect his freestyle experience this summer will help his set-ups and finishes from his feet - which was his big shortcoming last year.
Stout - 19
If he accepts how talented he is, and that he belongs, Kellan should move up from here. He certainly has the talent. When he believes in his offense and attaches, he looks really good.
Thomas - 14
Not sure why Meech is so low here. I expect the D1 experience against the bigger bodies last year will reap benefits this year.
Over-all team ranking - 18.
OK, fine. Got to start somewhere. Season starts at the Field House November 9th with Campbell. We can go from there. Plenty of top 15 teams on the schedule to challenge for their spot.
I always thought wrestling was an individual sport anyways.
As an addendum:
Relating my thoughts above, as it concerns team expectations, I do not factor in the incoming recruits. These talented new guys will likely have a very positive effect through daily competition in the room and one or two may surprise us (RS aside - Jared McGill in particular has a style that will adapt to collegiate competition ...and throw Austin Cooley in that category), realizing their benefit will probably take another year though.
Finally, when considering the Pitt wrestlers expectations this year, I want to copy part of my thoughts I wrote after Pitts performance at the NCAA tournament last year.
My first point from last year was digital technology. The digital video recorders, internet streaming, and YouTube have changed scouting for everyone. If you have a weakness or habitual tendencies, they will be exposed. (Can you say RBY and his left hand behind his back!! Micic taught him something about DeSanto at last years NCAA's). Its made a huge difference with Taleb since his sophomore year (no more barrel roll and limited success from underneath now). Expect it to have an effect on Micki and Nino next year [due to their limitations on their feet].
My second point was, I would not be surprised if there was a plateau or even a step back a little next year - even though I think the team will be better. There is the scouting point I made above. There is the fact that Pitt will not be sneaking up on anyone next year. There is the fact that Pitt was remarkably healthy (Jake Wenzel aside) last year. I do not believe Pitt has the depth just yet, to maintain production if certain weights are effected by injury. Imagine what this year would have looked like if it was Meech that was out.
Finally, everyone needs to remember this is actually Gavin and Co second year. I think we should all feel very good about the young guys in this program (and the recruits that will be contributing in the future). We should all feel really good about the process installed and how fast Gavin and Co are bringing things together. There are however, still several important pieces that need to drop in to place for Pitt to consistently break in to the top ten at the NCAA tournament - particularly with the RTC and its effect on recruiting. I think an excited patients is in order for next year.
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National Wrestling Coaches Association Ranking
1 Penn State
2 Oklahoma State - Jan 18
3 Iowa
4 Michigan
5 Missouri
6 Ohio State - Nov 15 @ The Fieldhouse
7 Nebraska
8 Minnesota
9 Cornell
10 NC State - Feb 1 @ The Fieldhouse
11 Wyoming
12 North Carolina - Feb 14 @ The Fieldhouse
13 Virginia Tech - Feb 22 @ The Fieldhouse
14 Northern Iowa
15 Iowa State
16 Pittsburgh
17 Wisconsin
18 Rutgers
19 Princeton
20 Lehigh - Nov 24
21 Lock Haven
22 Virginia - Feb 8 @ The Fieldhouse
23 Army West Point
24 Stanford
25 Purdue
Receiving Votes: Illinois, Binghamton, Oklahoma, North Dakota State, Appalachian State
ACC's at Peterson Events Center this year.
Additional competition at Michigan State Open Nov 2 and Southern Scuffle Jan 1 and 2 will give plenty of time to let things shake out. Of course it all about March 19-21.
1 Penn State
2 Oklahoma State - Jan 18
3 Iowa
4 Michigan
5 Missouri
6 Ohio State - Nov 15 @ The Fieldhouse
7 Nebraska
8 Minnesota
9 Cornell
10 NC State - Feb 1 @ The Fieldhouse
11 Wyoming
12 North Carolina - Feb 14 @ The Fieldhouse
13 Virginia Tech - Feb 22 @ The Fieldhouse
14 Northern Iowa
15 Iowa State
16 Pittsburgh
17 Wisconsin
18 Rutgers
19 Princeton
20 Lehigh - Nov 24
21 Lock Haven
22 Virginia - Feb 8 @ The Fieldhouse
23 Army West Point
24 Stanford
25 Purdue
Receiving Votes: Illinois, Binghamton, Oklahoma, North Dakota State, Appalachian State
ACC's at Peterson Events Center this year.
Additional competition at Michigan State Open Nov 2 and Southern Scuffle Jan 1 and 2 will give plenty of time to let things shake out. Of course it all about March 19-21.
An excellent article by Stephen Patrick that gives context to the coming year.
A Decade of Pitt Wrestling
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2019/10/06/a-decade-of-pitt-wrestling/
A Decade of Pitt Wrestling
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2019/10/06/a-decade-of-pitt-wrestling/
Penn State as a team is not going to the Scuffle this year. I do expect any wrestler planning on making a run at the Olympics to be there, so the competition will be good but also down from previous years.
