(photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has announced the first coaches ranking for the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
The coaches' rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conference. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have five Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.
Of the 10 weight classes, eight are led by former national champions, led by the Penn State quartet of Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds, Nick Lee at 141 pounds, Carter Starocci at 174 pounds and Aaron Brooks at 184 pounds.
Two-time 141-pound national champion Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell is back after winning titles in 2018 and 2019 and debuts as the top seed moving up to 149 pounds in 2022.
Other national champions leading their weight class in the 2022 rankings are Iowa State's David Carr at 157 pounds, AJ Ferrari of Oklahoma State at 197 pounds and heavyweight Gable Steveson of Minnesota.
Cornell has a second top-ranked wrestler with Vito Arujau at 125 pounds, while Missouri's Keegan O'Toole is the top ranked wrestler by the coaches at 165 pounds.
The coaches ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.
A full description of the entire selection process for the 2022 Division I Wrestling Championships is available at ncaa.org.
The 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships take place March 17-19 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit as the event returns to Michigan for the first time since being held in Auburn Hills, Michigan, in 2007.
For the full rankings, click here
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