125: Nick Herrmann (Virginia)
The fiery mat wrestler in the mold of head coach Steve Garland, Nick Hermann came within a questionable call of beating No. 3 seed Joey Dance at the ACC tournament. He'll face No. 15 David Terao (American) in the first round, a matchup of squirrelly wrestlers that could find Hermann in the driver's seat.
Next would be No. 2 Joey Dance (Virginia), who he knows well and may be able to navigate a win from an underdog role. From there it's No. 7 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) and No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), both of who would likely give Hermann difficulties, but not before he changed the bracket.
133: No. 10 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State)
I like the Buckeye as a favorite against No. 7 Eric Montoya (NEB). From there he'll need to find his way past No. 2 Cory Clark (IOWA), who bested him 7-3 at Big Tens, but in the NCAA's the gap could close, and quickly.
Should the Buckeye make it this far, he'll be staring down a formidable No. 3 in Zane Richards.
141: No. 12 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion)
Facing the winner of the wrestle-in match, Mecate should cruise in the first round. In the second, he's likely to face Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), who I have beating No. 5 Matt Manley (Missouri). From there he could face No. 8 Joey Ward (North Carolina) who looks at a second-round rematch with Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) who he beat late in the season.
To the finals Mecate, a returning All-American, would need to beat No. 3 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers), a wrestler he lost 4-3 to at the Midlands.
Remember that Mecate also has a win this season over No. 3 seed Kevin Jack (NC State).
149: Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma)
Without Cody Brewer in great form this year, the Sooners will look up their lineup for a burst of inspiration in MSG. For them it could be Davion Jeffries who will face off in a favorable first-round matchup against No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri).
After stealing the seed, Jeffries will see No.14 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) and then a fairly stale No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern). Unfortunately, no matter how well he's wrestling he'll be unlikely to make it past semifinal opponent, No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa).
Edwin Cooper battles Tommy Gantt at the NWCA National Duals in Iowa City (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)If history is any indication, the Hawkeyes will be primed for the NCAA tournament and that means outperforming seeds and expectations. Look for Cooper to once against blow past Tyler Berger (Nebraska) before making a major upset against slightly hampered No. 4 Ian Miller (Kent State). After the upset he'll face No. 12 Brian Murphy (Michigan), a wrestler he lost to in tiebreaker at the Big Tens two weeks ago.
Make it through to the semifinals and Cooper will face an uphill slog against No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois).
165: No. 11 John Staudenmayer (North Carolina)
After a winnable first round match against Geno Morelli (Penn State), look for the ACC hot hand to beat No. 6 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) before making a valiant effort against No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State).
Assuming he makes it out in one piece, it'll be No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) in the semifinals. Tall order, but also a very tough weight class!
174: No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa)
Maybe the only reason Meyer isn't a higher seed is because he had a disappointing Big Ten tournament, taking two losses in quick fashion. Prior to that his only losses had been to Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) and Cody Walters (Ohio).
Meyer will take on, and beat, Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) in the first round, before using solid finishes and punishing pressure to make it past 2015 bracket buster nominee Ethan Ramos (North Carolina). Meyer will then need to overcome a Big Ten fall loss to Zac Brunson (Illinois) before trying his semifinal luck against Bo Nickal (Penn State).
184: No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri)
Returning to the list in 2016, Willie Miklus can, and will, cause serious issues with the 184-pound bracket.
First on the Mizzou wrestler's hit list will be Corey Griego (Oregon State). After breezing past the Beaver, he'll face No. 3 Vic Avery (Edinboro), who is in the midst of an up-and-down, injury-riddled season and does not match up well against Miklus.
Next he'll probably face No. 11 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) before meeting a mulleted No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) in the semifinals.
197: Patrick Downey (Iowa State)
Hell … why not?!
Takes out No. 11 Phil Wellington (Ohio) in the first round before steamrolling a sometimes-stiff Jared Haught (VT) in the second.
Quarterfinals may be a challenge with Downey facing No. 3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), who handled him in February, but with so much unknown in Downey's comeback anything and everything feels possible!
285: No. 10 Joe Stolfi (Bucknell)
After a winnable first-round match against a wrestle-in winner, Stolfi will need to get right to work facing formidable Canadian and No. 7 seed Amarveer Dhesi of Oregon State.
He won't make it past No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), but wouldn't that be the best bracket buster ever if he did?
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