3x NCAA All-American Stevan Micic (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)
Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled:
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
#49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
#47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri)
#42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
#41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers)
#40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
#39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
#38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
#37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State)
#36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa)
#35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)
#34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)
#33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell)
#32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton)
#31 - Max Dean (Penn State)
#30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri)
#29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska)
#28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
#27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
#26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh)
#25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly)
#24 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
#23 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)
#22 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)
#21 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State)
#20 - Trent Hidlay (NC State)
Next up is…
#19 Stevan Micic (Michigan)
Weight: 133 lbs
Year: Senior
Career Record: 74-11
Hometown: Cedar Lake, Indiana
College Accomplishments: 2019 NCAA 3rd, 2018 NCAA 2nd, 2017 NCAA 4th, 2018 Big Ten Champion
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: Not Ranked (Announced return after preseason rankings were posted)
The extra year of eligibility across the board for NCAA athletes has made sixth-year seniors relatively commonplace in 2021-22. But, Stevan Micic is still in a category of his own. Micic is a 2014 high school graduate that has been able to use a regular redshirt, along with TWO Olympic redshirts, during his collegiate career.
That journey started in Evanston, Illinois, as Micic initially went to school at Northwestern. At Northwestern, Micic took a redshirt and competed unattached. Though he wasn't in the Wildcat lineup, Micic managed to face some of the top competitors in the country. Two of his three losses on the year were to wrestlers that went on to finish in the top-four in the nation (Nathan Tomasello - Ohio State and Thomas Gilman - Iowa).
Conversely, Micic picked up a win over eventual All-American (and future teammate) Conor Youtsey (Michigan) in his first event of the year.
Micic's best performance of the redshirt year came at the Midlands, where he finished in third place. There he logged two wins over Kory Mines (Edinboro), who was the 12th seed at the NCAA Championships and finished a match shy of All-American status.
Following the collegiate season, Micic won a bronze medal in the 55 kg weight class at the 2015 Junior World Championships.
Micic did not compete during the 2015-16 collegiate season because he was eligible to use an Olympic redshirt. After the 2015 Junior World Championships, Micic announced his intentions to transfer to Michigan.
The 2016-17 season saw Micic suit up for the first time collegiately for the Wolverines and he had a bit of a rough start. In the season-opening Michigan State Open, Micic suffered a loss via fall to Ohio State's Brendan Fitzgerald.
From that point, Micic was very consistent. He made the 133 lb finals at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational less than a month later. To make the championship bout, Micic scored wins over Mitch McKee (Minnesota) and Korbin Myers (Edinboro). The Wolverine freshman fell in the finals to NCAA champion, Tomasello, though the margin of victory was only 3-2.
In his next two duals, Micic was victorious by fall over McKee, then lost a 2-0 decision to Iowa's returning NCAA runner-up, Cory Clark (Iowa). A few weeks later, Micic had another pair of imposing duals back-to-back. He grabbed a win over returning All-American Eric Montoya (Nebraska), but fell to another in Zane Richards (Illinois).
At his first Big Ten Championship event, Micic was edged against by a single point when he faced Tomasello, 6-5. Overall the tournament had to be considered a positive, as Micic finished in third place. He picked up two wins over Richards (one by fall) and another over Montoya.
That third-place showing helped Micic earn the fifth seed at the 2017 NCAA Championships. He got his tournament started with a pair of wins over Chris DiBien (Chattanooga) and Josh Alber (Northern Iowa), to gain a place in the quarterfinals. There he would face Clark, who was on an incredible run that saw him close his collegiate career with a national title. The Hawkeye pulled out a 6-4 win over Micic.
The loss to Clark sent Micic to the bloodround, where he needed another win to confirm All-American status. The Wolverine left nothing to chance and majored Joey Palmer (Oregon State) 16-4. Next up was Richards, who Micic continued to stay hot against with a 6-5 win. A 10-4 win over Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) put Micic in the third-place bout opposite Tomasello. The Buckeye remained a thorn in Micic's side and he lost by a 5-2 score. Of his seven losses in the 2016-17 season, four came against Tomasello.
Micic's second year in a Wolverine singlet started with him as the second-highest returner at the 133 lb weight class. His second event of the year was the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, where he was the top seed. In the semifinals, he was knocked off by Ohio State's Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) 7-5. In one of the more surprising results of the tournament, Micic suffered a second loss in his following bout, when he was majored by Austin DeSanto (Drexel), 22-10.
That loss proved to be an outlier, as Micic would not lose again until the NCAA Tournament. The dual season that followed the CKLV Invitational saw Micic hit his stride and he didn't have a match closer than seven points. The seven-point decision in there came when he defeated Pletcher, 11-4. That span saw Micic amass three tech falls and two pins.
Competition at the Big Ten Championships proved to be in name only. Micic made the finals after two techs and a major decision, setting the stage for another bout against Pletcher. While the Buckeye closed the gap, a bit, it was Micic who prevailed with a 7-4 win.
The Big Ten title and a 22-2 record netted Micic the second seed at the 2018 NCAA Championships. In Cleveland, Micic turned in a pair of wins by major decision in the first two rounds to lock up a rematch with DeSanto in the quarterfinals. Like their first meeting, this was a one-sided affair, but this time in favor of the Wolverine. Micic cruised to a 13-1 major decision. The only potential problem in the bout, came late in the third period as DeSanto locked up a kimura on Micic.
With a berth in the NCAA finals hanging in the balance, Micic had to contend with his Big Ten rival, Luke Pletcher. Micic proved to be too much on his feet for Pletcher and was victorious again, this time to the tune of 8-4.
Standing between Micic and an NCAA title was the top-seed Seth Gross (South Dakota State). Micic and Gross engaged in one of the most exciting bouts of the championship round, but ultimately it was Gross who came out on top in a 13-8 thriller.
The 2018-19 season saw Gross injured in his opening match and would not compete for the remainder of the year. That left Micic ranked number one and a favorite in a 133 lb weight class that most labeled the toughest of any bracket in the last decade.
For more than half of the year, Micic missed out on competing against any of the top contenders at the weight. That came to a head in late-January as Stevan and Pletcher renewed acquaintances. Looking as good as ever, Micic majored the Buckeye 14-1. Two weeks later, one of the top 125's in the country, Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern), bumped up to test himself against Micic. The Wolverine had little trouble with Rivera in a 10-4 win.
Micic closed the regular season with perhaps his best win over the year as he edged 2018 NCAA runner-up (at 125 lbs) Nick Suriano (Rutgers), 3-2. The win locked up the top-seed for Micic at the Big Ten Championships.
Unfortunately, an injured Micic only competed in one bout before medically forfeiting out of the tournament and sliding to sixth place. That didn't prove to be very costly, as Micic was given the second seed at nationals in Pittsburgh.
Just like 2018, Micic had a pair of major decisions before running into DeSanto in the quarterfinals. This time DeSanto was wrestling for Iowa and was a more consistent contender. DeSanto proved to be more of a problem for Micic, though he got by with a 3-2 win. In the semifinals, it was a revenge match as Suriano turned the tables on Micic and earned a place in the NCAA finals with a 4-1 win.
Fresh off suffering his only loss of the 2018-19 campaign, Micic bounced back in a big way in the consolations. He took third after majoring John Erneste (Missouri) and continuing to confound Pletcher, 6-1.
A few months after the 2019 NCAA Championships, Micic finished fifth at the World Championships, while representing Serbia. That placement clinched a berth for Serbia, and therefore, Micic at the 2020 Olympic Games. With his spot in the Olympics locked up, Micic took an Olympic redshirt in the 2019-20 season. A couple weeks before the Covid pandemic hit, Micic earned a bronze medal at the European Championships.
Micic did not compete in the shortened 2021 season due to injury.
At the delayed version of the 2020 Olympics (in August 2021), Micic was defeated in his only bout of the tournament and did not medal. In late September, Micic announced he would return to Michigan for a final season on the mat.
Through three years of collegiate competition, Micic has placed in the top four each year and has captured a Big Ten title. He has never been seeded lower than fifth at the NCAA Tournament. There's definitely a case to be made that Micic could be higher, but we haven't seen him on the college mats in a few years.
Strengths: Even though Micic competes at 57 kg internationally, he has good length and size for the 133 lb weight class. Micic has excellent movement and level changes. His speed is also difficult to match. Offensively, Micic has a variety of leg attacks he uses. Each are difficult to stop in their own right. He generally finishes quickly and is on the lookout for turks to add on to a takedown. On the mat, Micic can pad his lead with his tilt series.
2021-22 Outlook: Though not included in the preseason rankings due to his uncertain status, at the time, make no mistake; Micic is one of the NCAA title favorites. He has been dominant over even some of the top contenders of a few loaded weights when healthy. This year's 133 lb weight class is indeed loaded!
3x NCAA All-American Stevan Micic (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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