2x All-American Dakota Geer (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)
Next is...
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
Weight: 184 lbs
Year: Senior
Career Record: 106-30
Hometown: Franklin, Pennsylvania
College Accomplishments: 2x NCAA All-American (5th/2021; 7th/2019), 2020 NWCA Honorable Mention All-American, 3x Big 12 3rd Place, 2017 EWL Champion
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #7 at 184 lbs
While wrestling on a high-profile team that has featured a handful of more recognizable names, Dakota Geer has quietly put together an excellent career wearing an Oklahoma State singlet. That wasn't always the case, though, as the Pennsylvania native initially chose to stay in-state and compete for the Edinboro Fighting Scots.
Geer got the call for Edinboro, right out the shute, and responded with an excellent true freshman season. He was typical of the under-the-radar in-state recruits that Tim Flynn routinely pulled in a while at Edinboro. Dakota had his breakout effort at the 2017 Southern Scuffle when he finished fourth at a 184 lb weight class, ahead of notables like Drew Foster (Northern Iowa), Jacob Holschlag (Northern Iowa), and Chip Ness (North Carolina).
In his first postseason, Geer controlled the rest of the EWL and coasted to a conference title, with a 6-3 win over Nick Corba (Cleveland State), being the closest bout of the tournament. Geer acquitted himself well at the 2017 NCAA Championships with a 2-2 showing. His two losses came to the eventual fourth-place finisher (Sam Brooks - Iowa) and the returning national champion, Myles Martin (Ohio State). He was able to avenge an early-season loss to Hunter Ritter (Wisconsin) and prevailed with a 3-0 shutout.
Geer chose to redshirt the 2017-18 season and captured a title at the season-opening Clarion Open and won 16 of his 20 bouts on the year.
Following the 2018 national tournament, Flynn was hired by West Virginia. That started a large exodus from Edinboro and Geer was among the notables who chose to finish their collegiate career elsewhere.
Geer ended up with an excellent landing spot as he decided to transfer to Oklahoma State. The transition to the storied Cowboy program went smoothly on the mat, as Geer got his hand raised in his first 15 bouts in an OSU singlet. That span included a title at the Reno Tournament of Champions and the early rounds at the Southern Scuffle, where he'd go on to take fourth, again. The 2018-19 Oklahoma State lineup was undecided for the bulk of the year and as a result, Geer was asked to contribute at multiple weights. After competing at 184 for the first five events of the year, Geer moved up to 197 lbs for the remainder of the regular season. Even up a weight, Geer notched wins over the likes of Chris Weiler (Lehigh) and Noah Adams (West Virginia). Before the postseason, the Cowboy lineup shifted again and Geer was the guy at 184 lbs. At his first Big 12 Championships, Geer finished third, losing only to the eventual national champion, Foster.
The lack of a 2018-19 body of work at 184 lbs left Geer with the 26th seed in Pittsburgh at the NCAA Championships. Right away, Geer demonstrated his true ability and shutout seventh-seeded Nick Reenan (NC State). After a Round of 16 loss to #10 Sam Colbray (Iowa State), Geer posted back-to-back wins to earn a berth in the bloodround. His second came over the 184 lb bracket's second seed, Shakur Rasheed (Penn State). Geer clinched his first set of All-American honors after a 6-0 win over Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh). His tournament would wrap up by edging third-seeded Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech), 5-4. Though he entered as the 26th seed, Geer had registered wins over three of the tournament's top-seven seeds.
A trip on the podium was enough to lock in a place in the Cowboy lineup, right? Well, not exactly. Geer's first tournament in 2019-20 was at 184 lbs and he outclassed the field at the Oklahoma City Open. Following that event, he moved up to 197 lbs for the remainder of the year.
For the third time, Geer got onto the podium at the Southern Scuffle; this time, he finished in fifth. The dual-only portion of the 2019-20 season proved to be challenging for Geer as the Big 12 was deep with young talent. Like the previous year, Geer would take third in the Big 12. That allowed Geer to receive the 14th seed at the ill-fated 2020 NCAA Championships. After the tournament was canceled, Geer was named an NWCA All-American based on his seeding.
The abridged 2021 season saw Geer move back down to 184 lbs and put together an 11-2 regular season. Once again, he would take third at the conference meet.
The third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships provided Geer with the 11th seed in St. Louis. There the Cowboy would only lose to a single opponent (twice), Rutgers freshman sensation, John Poznanski. Poznanski downed Geer in the Round of 16 and in the consolation semifinals. Along the way, Geer amassed quite the hit-list. He picked up wins over three of the top-eight seeds (#5 Hunter Bolen - Virginia Tech, #7 Brit Wilson - Northern Illinois, #8 Taylor Venz - Nebraska), en route to a fifth-place finish.
Not only had Geer become a two-time All-American, but he also drastically outperformed his pretournament seeding for a second time.
Strengths: Geer is a strong handfighter with heavy hands. These help with his normal baseline defense from his feet. Some of his best attacks are of the low-leg variety. On the mat, Geer is a very controlling rider. He tends to control wrists, while racking up riding time. Against high-level opponents, he may not always get turns, but can get riding time points.
2021-22 Outlook: Like most other weights this season, 184 is completely loaded. The top-three is expected to include both 2021 national finalists (Aaron Brooks - Penn State and Trent Hidlay - NC State), along with Olympic bronze medalist Myles Amine (Michigan). It may take a big upset or two for anyone to penetrate that top-three. Geer is certainly among that next group of contenders and has a shot at knocking off those favorites based on his abilities on the mat. If he can wear down an opponent on the mat and make it a one-takedown match, who knows? Geer has been in some deep Big 12 bracket and this year will be no different. Freshman sensation Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa), along with Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) and Jeremiah Kent (Missouri), could stand between him and that elusive conference title.
2x All-American Dakota Geer (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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