Last year's crop of true freshman were dominating. NCAA finalist Nico Megaludis (Penn State) headlined the crop of collegiate ingénues followed closely by All-Americans Nick Gwiazdowski (Binghamton/N.C. State), Logan Storley (Minnesota), Hunter Stieber (Ohio State), and Cam Tessari (Ohio State). To say nothing of the talent that didn't place: Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State), Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) and Morgan McIntosh (Penn State). Those kids could wrestle.
The list of top ten freshmen also includes redshirts. Yes, they've been on campus for a full year, but this season will be the first time they sport the team colors and jog onto the mat for a dual meet, or earn tournament points. These are ten of the up-and-comers that are either going to break your bracket in March, or help your team fill a much-needed hole in the lineup.
Expected redshirts: Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State, 133) and Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern, 141/149)
Honorable Mention: Connor Medbery (Wisconsin, 285), Rossi Bruno (Michigan, 133), Donny Longendyke (Nebraska, 285)
Kenny CourtsA two-time Pennsylvania state champion, Courts took a redshirt in 2011-2012 and is the most athletically gifted wrestler on the list. Courts is a talented wrestler and at 184 pounds could be an immediate impact and compliment a team filled with sophomore studs. He was recovering from injury last season.
9. Cody Brewer (Oklahoma, 133)
The three-time Missouri state champion from Oak Park High School is expected to make an immediate impact for Mark Cody's Sooner squad. He had a solid redshirt season winning the Oklahoma City Open and finishing 12-2 on the season.
Nick HodgkinsThis kid's a fighter. No, really he's legitimately a fighter. The two-time Pennsylvania state champion took the circuitous route to the starting lineup at CMU. Not only did he win his amateur MMA debut in 2011, he also bested Alex Dieringer in the Dapper Dan Classic 7-2. Hodgkins finished the 2012 redshirt season with a record of 22-6.
7. Eric Hess (Lehigh, 165)
It wasn't long ago that Lehigh missed on a top recruit, but with a renewed sense of purpose in the Lehigh Valley, Pat Santoro has his wrestlers competing harder than ever before. Eric Hess is more than just a big recruit. The Benton, Pa. native is also a survivor, having outpaced Hodgkin's lymphoma after his senior season. I'm not betting against Hess, and neither should you.
Alex DieringerDieringer is a stud. The Wisconsin native joined teammate Austin Marsden in representing the U.S. this summer at the FILA Junior Freestyle World Championships in Thailand. Dieringer only won one match, but there's no need to pout, his collegiate credentials are impressive enough. Dieringer won all three of the tournaments he entered his redshirt season. Give Dieringer another year of John Smith and he'll be looking to climb onto the podium in March.
5. Jordan Thomas (Michigan, 174/184)
The other big-time Michigan recruit won 219 matches in his four years at Greenville high school. Had it not been for Taylor Massa, Thomas would have been the Michigan wrestler of the year and that state's most sought after recruit. Despite not earning top billing, Thomas will be wrestling alongside Massa in Ann Arbor, and with that type of teammate and a training situation that includes Tyrel Todd and Andy Hrovat, Thomas will be well positioned to make a run at the stating sport for the Wolverines and perhaps qualify the weight for the NCAA tournament, though fans of Thomas might also think he's already positioning himself for a run at the podium.
Nathan BurakIf the name looks familiar, it's because Nathan's two older brothers Gabe and Micah have also wrestled at the Division I level. Gabe wrestled at Penn before a 5th year transfer to Northern Colorado, while brother Micah wrestled at Penn. The youngest Burak will be competing at 197 pounds, which means his athleticism could account for any strength advantage he'll be ceding over to older opponents. Burak is expected to beat out returning starter Vinnie Wagner who was one of two Hawkeyes who failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Burak actually beat fellow Hawkeye freshman Sammy Brooks in the Junior National Greco-Roman competition in 2011 for third place.
3. John Meeks (Iowa State, 133)
With Destin McCauley in Colorado Springs for the foreseeable future, Cyclones fans needed to find someone to get excited to watch in 2013. Meeks, a four-time undefeated wrestler from Roosevelt High School in Iowa, is the type of talent that can refocus a fan's perspective from broad disruption to the awe of singular greatness. Meeks will have to deal with expectations, but if navigates the first-year on the mats as well as he did his entire high school career, he'll be the kid to help revive the Cyclones and get Jackson's program back on track.
2. Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin, 133)
Thielke actually beat Meeks in high school, albeit a preseason tournament in 2010. The new-look Badgers are hoping that Thielke will keep up his winning ways in college and make a major first-year impact on the program. He and Tyler Graff will form a solid one-two punch for the Badgers in the lower weights. The Badgers have gone through some major turmoil over the past two seasons, but Thielke coming off an Olympic redshirt, has the ability to soothe some of the programmatic aches with a stud-like 2013 season. Success comes easy to Thielke, who earned a bronze at the Junior Worlds in September.
Taylor Massa (Photo/Michigan Sports Information)The nation's No. 2 overall recruit in the Class of 2012 won't require a redshirt season in order to compete at the national level. Like many of the top freshmen from the past decade, Massa not only has the talent to make an impact, he'll have the coaching (Joe McFarland, Sean Bormet, Donny Prtizlaff) and the training partners to make a serious impression on one of the nation's toughest weight classes. If Massa is going to make the NCAA finals as a freshman, he'll likely have to best either NCAA champion David Taylor (PSU) or Kyle Dake (Cornell), and possibly contend with Oklahoma State's summer transfer 2011 NCAA runner-up Tyler Caldwell. That might seem like long odds but Massa is uniquely talented and Ann Arbor is buzzing with excitement about the Michigan native's potential.
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