2021 NCAA runner-up Brandon Courtney (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)
Next is…
#44 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
Weight: 125 lbs
Year: Junior
Career Record: 54-17
Hometown: Goodyear, Arizona
College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA Runner-Up, 2020 NWCA 2nd Team All-American, 2x Pac-12 Champion
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #4 at 125 lbs
Getting three-time Arizona state champion and Fargo Junior freestyle champion Brandon Courtney to stay in-state and wrestle for Arizona State was the biggest in-state "get" of Zeke Jones' tenure with the Sun Devils. Coming out of high school, Courtney was ranked #76 overall in the Class of 2017.
With All-American Ryan Millhof in the ASU lineup in 2017-18, Courtney was able to use a redshirt. He saw action in three open events and was victorious in one, the freshman/sophomore division at Michigan State Open. At that event, Courtney logged wins over opponents that have become household names in Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) and Jack Medley (Michigan). Courtney's only two losses that year came to All-American Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) and Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), who won two matches at nationals.
After the season, Courtney was victorious at the Junior World Team Trials at 57 kg. He was not able to represent the US at World's because returning world medalist Daton Fix was granted a special wrestle-off and took the spot in Fargo.
Unfortunately for Courtney, Millhof was still around during his redshirt freshman season, so most expected he'd back up the veteran. That year, Millhof dealt with a variety of injuries, so Courtney was able to see plenty of time in the Sun Devil lineup. In his dual debut, Courtney defeated Devin Schnupp (Penn State) 13-7 and provided ASU their only win in a 41-3 loss to the national champions. Ultimately, Courtney saw action in 12 dual meets, winning seven of them during a 14-11 campaign. When it was all said and done, Millhof got the nod at 125 lbs during the postseason. There were plenty of positives to take away from Courtney's freshman year as he posted wins over four 2019 national qualifiers Trey Chalifoux (Army West Point), Christian Moody (Oklahoma), Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga), and Dack Punke (Missouri).
With the 125 lbs slot all to himself in 2019-20, Courtney started the year winning eight of his first nine bouts. For the second year in a row, he was victorious in the Penn State dual. This one was much more impactful, as his 19-7 major decision over Brody Teske helped spark the Sun Devils to a 19-18 upset, which snapped a 60-match dual winning streak.
In Courtney's next outing, he finished sixth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. At the CKLV Invitational, he suffered losses to Devin Schroder (Purdue) and Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern), both of which would emerge as top 125's, along with Alex Mackall. Courtney's best wins from the tournament came over Northern Iowa's national qualifier Jay Schwarm and Nebraska-Kearney's DII AA Josh Portillo.
The performance in Vegas seemed to spark Courtney, who went on a ten-match winning streak, which lasted until the final week of the regular season. During that time, Courtney avenged his defeat to Mackall, beat Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) and the entire Pac-12.
In his first postseason, Courtney cruised to a conference title with a major decision over Alex Hernandez-Figueroa (CSU Bakersfield) and a 4-1 decision against Jackson DiSario for the Pac-12 title.
Covid shut down the 2020 NCAA Tournament, so Courtney did not have the opportunity to compete at nationals for the first time. He was slated to have the ninth seed and meet freshman Patrick McKee (Minnesota) in the opening round. A first-round win would have likely set the stage for a rematch with DeAugustino. For his body of work during the 2019-20 season, Courtney was named an NWCA second-team All-American.
The late-starting 2021 season saw Courtney take it to the next level. After a regular decision in his first bout, Courtney reeled off seven straight bonus-point victories. During the final match of the dual slate, he defeated Teske, who was now competing for Northern Iowa. Teske went on to capture a Big 12 title.
For the second consecutive year, Courtney was unchallenged in the conference and downed DiSario for a Pac-12 title. His perfect 11-0 record gave him the #3 seed at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
Courtney's first NCAA Tournament started with a 19-7 major decision victory over Binghamton's Micah Roes. Next up was a shootout with the dangerous Eric Barnett (Wisconsin). While Courtney prevailed, Barnett went on to get on the NCAA podium. A match later, Courtney clinched All-American honors himself after outlasting #6 Jakob Camacho (NC State), 4-2.
With a spot in the NCAA finals hanging in the balance, Courtney and Utah Valley's Taylor LaMont battled to a stalemate of sorts. Eventually, Courtney was able to overcome LaMont to the tune of 2-1 in tiebreakers and lock up a spot in the championship bout.
Standing between Courtney and a national title was an imposing figure, two-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee. The defending Hodge Trophy winner had captured bonus points in all of his previous 2021 bouts and led Iowa to the first national title in over a decade. Courtney was able to limit the damage done by Lee, like few have been able to do. The pair scrapped to a scoreless first period and Lee headed into the final stanza leading "only" 4-0. Ultimately, Lee would pull away with a 7-0 win. It ended up being the only regular decision of his season.
Courtney's 2021 season saw him run up bonus points in half of his 16 contests, a percentage that mirrored his total in 2019-20, as well.
Strengths: Brandon is exceptionally talented on his feet. His quickness allows him to work from space and in ties. He also has good level changes and timing which allows him to be deadly with reattacks. From distance, he'll often look for a sweep single, while choosing for duck unders up close. Oftentimes, the duck unders lead to leg attacks. Courtney tends to do most of his damage from his feet, but is capable on the mat too. He can score with cross-wrist tilts and such.
2021-22 Outlook: With Spencer Lee atop the 125 lb weight class, it makes it a severe uphill climb for anyone to win an NCAA title. Also, you have to factor in the two Ivy League wrestlers that didn't compete last year (Pat Glory - Princeton and Vito Arujau - Cornell) and are currently ranked ahead of Courtney. As he has progressed, Courtney should be in the mix with those two for a spot in the finals opposite Lee. I'll be eager to see Courtney against the ASU schedule in 2021-22, as he did not face many top contenders during the abridged 2021 season.
2021 NCAA runner-up Brandon Courtney (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)
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