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In hindsight, what NCAA bracket was the best ever?


jross

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Which bracket had the most number of credentialed wrestlers? [e.g., four unique wrestlers were national champions]

Which bracket had the most credentials across its wrestlers?     [e.g., one wrestler had four national championships]

Using your judgment, what is your pick for the best bracket ever?


Requirements

  • The list of wrestlers must come from single bracket weight and year
  • Credentials can come from College, World, and Olympic championships
  • Credentials can come from any period (before, during, or post-NCAA bracket)
  • Credentials can list other facts like 'never taken down,' Hodge Award, pinned everyone in the bracket, etc.


...Think about Steve Fraser, who AAed twice in college and later won a Greco-Roman Olympic Championship (first ever for the USA).  Even the NCAA bracket he failed to medal in would become tough as nails with a two-time AA and Olympic Champion in it.

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Not saying the best but for consideration as I have always been a fan of this group of wrestlers - 1989 126 bracket. 4 guys who won an NCAA title at some point - Jim Martin, Kendall Cross, Tom Brands, and Jason Kelber. Tom Brands with 3 titles.  Those 4 alone also combined for 14 AA honors (pretty sure anyway). Tom Brands eventual World and Olympic champ, Cross eventual Olympic champ. 

Edited by 11986
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2018 had a couple strong ones.

125 - Four wrestlers who would go on to win 7 titles (with a shot at an 8th) in Spencer Lee(3, maybe 4), Nick Suriano (2), Nathan Tomasello (1), and Darian Cruz (1)

141 - Three wrestlers who would win 7 titles (with a shot at an 8th) with each taking multiple titles in Diakomihalis (3, maybe 4), Heil (2), and Lee (2).

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49 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

2018 had a couple strong ones.

125 - Four wrestlers who would go on to win 7 titles (with a shot at an 8th) in Spencer Lee(3, maybe 4), Nick Suriano (2), Nathan Tomasello (1), and Darian Cruz (1)

141 - Three wrestlers who would win 7 titles (with a shot at an 8th) with each taking multiple titles in Diakomihalis (3, maybe 4), Heil (2), and Lee (2).

That 125 bracket also had 2 other ncaa finalists moisey and Lizak , multiple time high AAs Seabass ,micheal McGhee and  Picc, and AAs Ramon Foley, Taylor Lamont , Ronnie bressler, Louie Hayes , Sean Russell, Ryan milhof, ….that’s a lot of depth in one weight 

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21 minutes ago, jchapman said:

How about the Unlimited bracket from 1981?  Two Olympic champs ( Baumgartner and Banach) with three total Olympic golds.  Gonna be hard to beat three Olympic golds in one NCAA bracket.

Now that you mention it, how about 1982 177 pound bracket ....one of the most epic matches of all time Mark Schultz.....3 time NCAA Champion Olympic Champion and 2 time World Champion vs. Ed Banach ......3 time NCAA Champion as well as Olympic Champion.

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21 minutes ago, Fadzaev2 said:
45 minutes ago, jchapman said:

How about the Unlimited bracket from 1981?  Two Olympic champs ( Baumgartner and Banach) with three total Olympic golds.  Gonna be hard to beat three Olympic golds in one NCAA bracket.

Now that you mention it, how about 1982 177 pound bracket ....one of the most epic matches of all time Mark Schultz.....3 time NCAA Champion Olympic Champion and 2 time World Champion vs. Ed Banach ......3 time NCAA Champion as well as Olympic Champion.

Also in the weight...Jim Scherr Nebraska NCAA Champion and 2 time world silver medalist, Perry Hummel ISU NCAA 4-4-4 and Ed Potokar Ohio State  NCAA 8-3 with 151 wins

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1 hour ago, pcostilow said:

The 1982 118 pound weight class had 4 future world finalists in it, Bobby Weaver, Barry Davis, Joe McFarland, and Kevin Darkus.

Three future world finalists and four total world finalists, as Weaver was already a former World Finalist by 1982 (Silver in 1979).

Craig Henning got screwed in the 2007 NCAA Finals.

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3 hours ago, pcostilow said:

The 1982 118 pound weight class had 4 future world finalists in it, Bobby Weaver, Barry Davis, Joe McFarland, and Kevin Darkus.

Every guy Barry Davis beat in NCAA final eventually made a world freestyle final 

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16 hours ago, Fadzaev2 said:

Now that you mention it, how about 1982 177 pound bracket ....one of the most epic matches of all time Mark Schultz.....3 time NCAA Champion Olympic Champion and 2 time World Champion vs. Ed Banach ......3 time NCAA Champion as well as Olympic Champion.

 

15 hours ago, Fadzaev2 said:

Also in the weight...Jim Scherr Nebraska NCAA Champion and 2 time world silver medalist, Perry Hummel ISU NCAA 4-4-4 and Ed Potokar Ohio State  NCAA 8-3 with 151 wins

Charlie Heller was also in that bracket, better credentials than Potokar going 4-2-3 at NCAA. Hummel went 2-4-4 losing to Reiss in '80 NCAA final and Reiss was also in the '82 177 bracket.

Hummel was also a very tough matchup for Mark Schultz. In '81 he beat Schultz in '81 Big 8 finals, then lost to him in NCAA semi in OT. In '82 he lost to Schultz in Big 8 final in OT, and then again in NCAA semi 2-1.    

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1982 118 lbs

  • World (note: World or Olympic, excluding World Cup)
    • 5 Senior World Team Members
    • Kevin Darkus
      • 1985 57kg World Senior FS 2nd
    • Barry Davis
      • 1988 57kg Senior Olympic dnp
        1987 57kg Senior World  2nd
        1986 57kg Senior World 2nd
        1984 57kg Senior Olympic FS 2nd
        1983 57kg Senior World FS dnp
    • Joe McFarland
      • 1986 62kg Senior World FS 2nd
    • Bobby Weaver
      • 1984 48kg Senior Olympic FS 1st
        1983 48kg Senior World FS 5th
        1980 48kg Senior Olympic FS dnc
        1979 48kg Senior World FS 2nd
    • Mike Erb
      • 1986 52kg Senior World FS 9th
  • NCAA
    • 17 All-Americans with 31 total AA achievements at the NCAAs
    • 4 National Champions
    • Another 6 with a best finish of 2nd or 3rd (one loss)


Below is a table of All Americans from the bracket.  The WC columns represent the count of placement: gold/silver/bronze.

NCAA Bracket Place Name College Distinct Count of College AA Count Sum of Place Best Place Worst Place Distinct Count of Weight Last AA Year First AA Year Cadet WC Junior WC U23 WC Senior WC Senior Team Member
1982 - 118 1 Barry Davis Iowa 1 4 10 1 7 2 1985 1981 0 0 0 3 5
1982 - 118 2 Kevin Darkus Iowa State 1 3 8 1 5 2 1984 1982 0 0 0 1 1
1982 - 118 3 Bobby Weaver Lehigh 1 1 3 3 3 1 1982 1982 0 0 0 2 4
1982 - 118 4 Bob Monaghan North Carolina 1 1 4 4 4 1 1982 1982 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118 5 Randy Willingham Oklahoma State 1 2 8 3 5 1 1982 1981 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118 6 Joe McFarland Michigan 1 4 15 2 6 2 1985 1981 0 0 0 1 1
1982 - 118 7 Bob Dickman Indiana State 1 2 10 3 7 1 1983 1982 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118 8 Charlie Heard Tennessee-Chattanooga 1 3 17 2 8 1 1984 1982 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118   Mike Erb Oregon 1 1 7 7 7 1 1983 1983 0 0 0 0 1
1982 - 118   David Jones Cal State-Fullerton 1 2 8 4 4 1 1991 1990 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118   Tony Calderaio Slippery Rock 1 2 14 6 8 1 1983 1981 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118   Adam Cuestas Cal State-Bakersfield 1 1 1 1 1 1 1983 1983 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118   Carl DeStefanis Penn State 1 1 1 1 1 1 1984 1984 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118   Ed Giese Minnesota 1 1 3 3 3 1 1986 1986 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118   Brad Gustafson Brigham Young 1 1 4 4 4 1 1986 1986 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118   Al Gutierrez Cal Poly-SLO 1 1 8 8 8 1 1983 1983 0 0 0 0 0
1982 - 118   Gary Bairos Arizona State 1 1 8 8 8 1 1985 1985 0 0 0 0 0
Edited by jross
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24 minutes ago, 11986 said:

 

Charlie Heller was also in that bracket, better credentials than Potokar going 4-2-3 at NCAA. Hummel went 2-4-4 losing to Reiss in '80 NCAA final and Reiss was also in the '82 177 bracket.

Hummel was also a very tough matchup for Mark Schultz. In '81 he beat Schultz in '81 Big 8 finals, then lost to him in NCAA semi in OT. In '82 he lost to Schultz in Big 8 final in OT, and then again in NCAA semi 2-1.    

Wow, I forgot about Charlie Heller....tough dude and then, as I look at it, Joe Gormally (Northern Iowa) placed 4th in Div. 2 in '78, 2nd Div. /4th Div. 1 in '79, and 7th in Div. 1 in '82.......TOUGH WT. CLASS!!!! Thanks for the help!!!

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One bracket that always popped out to me was the 174 pound weight class 6-7ish years ago between Kokesh (Neb) Evans (Iowa) Storley (Iowa) Browns (PSU) amongst a few others. It seemed like every match was close in either duals, B10's and NCAA's with results commonly swapping. It was also an added bonus we got to enjoy this weight class 2-3 years. IMO: I would rank the following 4 in this overall order:

1) Brown

2) Kokesh

3)Evans

4) Storley

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1999 184lbs

  • World (note: World or Olympic, excluding World Cup)
    • 4 Senior World Team Members
      • Cael Sanderson
        • 2011 World      FS  84kg  5th
          2004 Olympic FS  84kg  1st
          2003 World     FS  84kg  2nd
          2002 World     FS  84kg  dnc (Iran concerns)
      • Brandon Eggum
        • 2001 World      FS  85kg  2nd
      • Brad Vering
        • 2008 Olympic GR 84KG  dnp
          2007 World     GR 84KG  2nd
          2005 World     GR 84KG  dnp
          2004 Olympic GR 84KG  dnp
          2003 World     GR 84KG  5th
          2002 World     GR 84KG  5th
      • Andy Hrovat
        • 2008 Olympic FS  84kg  dnp
          2006 World     FS  84kg  dnp
    • Cadet
      • Cael Sanderson
        • 1994 World     FS  55kg  bronze
    • Junior
      • Mark Munoz
        • 1998 World     FS  83kg  silver
  • NCAA
    • 15 All-Americans with 33 total AA achievements at the NCAAs
    • 3 National Champions
    • Another 5 with a best finish of 2nd or 3rd (one loss)
  • Misc
    • Scott Coleman was a national champion in high school in 1998 out of Manhattan, Kansas.  BYU shuttered wrestling, and he transferred to Iowa State, becoming an AA at heavyweight.


Below is a table of All Americans from the bracket.  The WC columns represent the count of placement: gold/silver/bronze.

Bracket Place Name College AA Count Best Place Worst Place Last AA Year First AA Year Cadet WC Junior WC U23 WC Senior WC Senior Team Member
1999 - 184 1 Cael Sanderson Iowa State 4 1 1 2002 1999 1 0 0 2 4
1999 - 184 2 Brandon Eggum Minnesota 3 2 5 2000 1998 0 0 0 1 1
1999 - 184 3 Vertus Jones West Virginia 3 2 3 2000 1998 0 0 0 0 0
1999 - 184 4 Brad Vering Nebraska 3 1 7 2001 1999 0 0 0 1 6
1999 - 184 5 John Van Doren Lehigh 2 3 5 1999 1997 0 0 0 0 0
1999 - 184 6 Viktor Sveda Indiana 2 3 6 2001 1999 0 0 0 0 0
1999 - 184 7 Mike Greenfield Central Michigan 2 7 8 1999 1998 0 0 0 0 0
1999 - 184 8 Andy Hrovat Michigan 3 4 8 2002 1999 0 0 0 0 2
1999 - 184   Mark Munoz Oklahoma State 2 1 3 2001 2000 0 1 0 0 0
1999 - 184   Nick Preston Ohio State 2 3 5 2002 2000 0 0 0 0 0
1999 - 184   Doug Lee Oregon 1 4 4 2000 2000 0 0 0 0 0
1999 - 184   Casey Strand Arizona State 2 5 6 1998 1997 0 0 0 0 0
1999 - 184   Ross Thatcher Penn State 1 6 6 2000 2000 0 0 0 0 0
1999 - 184   Greg Gingeleskie Navy 1 7 7 1998 1998 0 0 0 0 0
1999 - 184   Scott Coleman BYU (Iowa State) 2 7 8 2005 2004 0 0 0 0 0


 

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2001, 184lbs.

Cael Sanderson- GOAT

Daniel Cormier-Olympian

Andy Hrovat-Olympian

Damion Hahn- 2x NCAA champ

Rob Rohn-NCAA Champ

Josh Lambrecht-NCAA runnerup

Cash Edwards- 2x AA

Victory Sveda- 2x AA

Jessman Smith- 2x AA

 

I know it's not the toughest ever, but it is under the radar tough....

 

Edited by Warm Up Champ
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2008 149lbs

World (note: World or Olympic, excluding World Cup)

  • 4 Senior World Team Members
    • Brent Metcalf
      • image.png.531fb921f6e3c28bbfa7d451ca661f1a.png
    • Dustin Schlatter
      • image.png.0f4d28c099297779a8e326e5a11ff7c8.png
    • Bryce Saddoris
      • image.png.e1d652da6b59fd714032e53c096014cf.png
    • Jordan Burroughs
      • image.png.6a2d7f6c2416ad5054704a5ef01d32be.png
  • Junior
    • Bubba Jenkins
      • image.png.fd9a10c7f8e4401ae348072776ad6579.png

NCAA

  • 6 National Champions
    • Bubba Jenkins      (2nd 2008, 1st 2011)
      Brent Metcalf        (1st 2008, 2nd 2009, 1st 2010,)
      Jordan Burroughs (3rd 2008, 1st 2009, 1st 2011)
      Darrion Caldwell    (5th 2008, 1st 2009)
      Dustin Schlatter     (1st 2006, 3rd 2007, 7th 2008)
      J.P. O'Connor         (5th 2007, 6th 2008, 1st 2010)
  • Another 4 with a best finish of 2nd or 3rd (one loss)
    • Ryan Lang
      Josh Churella
      Lance Palmer
      Adam Hall
  • 13 All-Americans with 31 total AA achievements at the NCAAs.  The other AAs not listed previously are
    • Don Fisch
      Jake Patacsil
      Bryce Saddoris
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On 11/30/2022 at 12:56 PM, Warm Up Champ said:

2001, 184lbs.

Cael Sanderson- GOAT

Daniel Cormier-Olympian

Andy Hrovat-Olympian

Damion Hahn- 2x NCAA champ

Rob Rohn-NCAA Champ

Josh Lambrecht-NCAA runnerup

Cash Edwards- 2x AA

Victory Sveda- 2x AA

Jessman Smith- 2x AA

I know it's not the toughest ever, but it is under the radar tough....

 

Adding a few notes

  • 3 World Team Members
    • Daniel was a 6x FS Senior team member, winning bronze in 2007.  He won a bronze in GR Cadets in 1995.
    • Andy was a 2x FS Senior team member
    • Cael was a 4x FS Senior team member, winning gold and silver.  He won a bronze in FS Cadets in 1994.
  • 3 National Champs + 4 others with 2/3rd place finishes (one-loss)
  • 28 All-America achievements across 13 wrestlers.  AA's not listed before are
    • Kyle Hansen (2x), Doug Lee, Tom Tanis, Shawn Scannell
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