:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72198610/FrsIppcaYAAsPHc.0.jpg)
As the offseason is now amongst us, we can look forward to the future of the Tiger Style wrestling program. The coming season presents Mizzou with new faces in certain spots throughout the lineup. Brian Smith will be returning to the mats with seven out of the ten starters returning from the prior season. Among those seven, five are All-Americans and two are NCAA Qualifiers. They also return 61 of the 64.5 team points scored from the NCAA Championships.
The coming season presents the Tigers with a unique opportunity to finish with a team plaque. Mizzou has a very solid lineup from top to bottom with multiple heavy hitters. It may have been said many times before but if there is a season for Brian Smith to set new highs, then this will be the year to do it. Mizzou gets the opportunity to compete inside the Missouri borders when it comes to the National Championship as it will be located in Kansas City. Here is how the lineup currently shakes out!
125lbs:
No Changes
Projected Starter: Noah Surtin
- Over the past three seasons, Mizzou Wrestling has seen Noah Surtin take the starting job at the 125 weight class. Over that time, he has collected a record of 48-22 and is a 3x NCAA Qualifier as a starter. Surtin has finished his season medaling in conference action all three years in the starting slot. He was a finalist and 2nd place finisher in 2021 (MAC), 7th place in 2022 (Big 12), and recently finished with a 2nd place medal in the 2023 Big 12 Championships.
Reserve: Peyton Moore
- He returns to the Tiger Style wrestling room after a 6-6 freshman season where he collected his first victory and win by fall as a starter.
133lbs:
An interesting scenario comes into play at the 133 weight class. With Connor Brown graduating and moving on, it leaves an open slot for a new face to take over.
Projected Starter: Zeke Seltzer
- Highly touted recruit and redshirt freshman Zachary (Zeke) Seltzer is expected to open the season as the frontrunner for the starting job for the Tigers. Seltzer will be entering the new season off a 21-7 record the prior year. He has yet to collect his first victory as a starter and currently stands at 0-1 when competing in the lineup. After a year of competing in the collegiate ranks, Seltzer can look to build on his prior Division One mat time.
Reserve: Eric Lovelace
- Lovelace steps into his Junior season with the Tigers with an overall 15-7 record over the past four seasons. He once again will look to take a backseat to the starters role.
Transfer Portal:
- Chris Cannon (Northwestern): Cannon, a 3x NCAA Qualifier and 2x All-American is looking for a change of scenery after falling shy of his third consecutive medal at the NCAAs.
- Garrett Grice (Virginia): Once a top 100 recruit, Grice has re-entered his name into the portal for a change of venues. He comes off a 13-2 season as a freshman going 5-1 in duals as a starter before finishing out the season as a reserve.
- Aaron Nagao (Minnesota): A big loss to the Gophers will be another team’s huge gain. He enters the portal with three more years of eligibility and coming off a 23-6, All-American season where he took home a 5th place medal.
141lbs:
Allan Hart graduates and moves on so time to insert a familiar face.
Projected Starter: Josh Edmonds
- Before taking a redshirt season, Josh Edmonds was the starting name in the Tiger Style lineup at 149 lbs. While fans watched Brock Mauller take a season off, Edmonds filled in admirably during the 2021 campaign. He successfully competed in the Big 12 Championships and received a 5th-place medal. Edmonds also reached the NCAA Championships where he went 0-2 and exited the tournament on day one.
- During Edmonds’s redshirt season, Tiger fans watched him compete as an unattached wrestler in both the UNI Open and Midlands where he once again looked like he belonged and dominated his competition. Collecting a 5-2 record in that time, he successfully knocked off multiple top-end wrestlers at 141 including 2x NCAA Qualifiers Brian Courtney (UVA) and Frankie Tal-Shahar (NW). He also wrestled 3x NCAA Qualifier and 1x All-American Cole Matthews (Pitt) to a 3-1 decision finals match loss during the Midland Championships.
Reserve: Trey Crawford
- Crawford has spent time both as a reserve and a starter for the Tigers during his career in Columbia. He holds on to a 21-18 record over the past three seasons. He opened his time at Mizzou inside the 133 weight class before bumping up to 141 during the previous season. With openings at both 133 and 141, we could see him once again bounce around weight classes.
149lbs:
No Changes
Projected Starter: Brock Mauller
- Returning back to action after a redshirt season off, Mauller picked up where he left off collecting his third All-American finish. Entering the final season of his Tiger Style career, the Mizzou can expect Mauller to continue to push himself for a higher finish come next March.
Reserve: Easton Hilton
- Hilton capped off his freshman season going 9-6 competing solely in Open wrestling tournaments. Barring any talent revelations or injury, we can expect him to continue his Tiger career as the next man up.
157lbs:
Jarrett Jacques’ exit leaves an open spot in the starting lineup.
Projected Starter: Cameron Steed
- Steed, another highly-viewed recruit, finished his redshirt season with a 16-5 record. He opened the season at the 157 weight class before bumping up to 165 for the remainder of the year. Steed showed his talents and potential during his freshman season’s final competitive mat time. Suiting up for the Southern Scuffle, Steed dropped his opening round bout prior to firing off five straight victories to put him in the third-place match.
Reserve: Jerrod Fisher
- Fisher spent his redshirt freshman season wrestling in the 157 weight class and finishing with a 10-6 record. The latter half of his season saw him finish with a run on the consolation side of the Midlands Championship where he was eliminated in the Blood Round.
Transfer Portal:
- Travis Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State): A 2021 top-ten recruit, Travis is an in-conference wrestler who has yet to get a taste of a starting lineup. He has accumulated a 15-4 record in two seasons with the Cowboys.
165lbs:
No Change
Projected Starter: Keegan O’Toole
- As if there were ever a question about who would be the starter here. O’Toole makes his return back to the starting lineup once again as a 3x All-American and 2x National Champion. The only thing that may be of concern is if O’Toole finds himself on the US World Team and takes a season off to train for the Olympics in Paris.
Reserve: James Conway
- Conway finished his freshman campaign just two wins above .500 with a 13-11 record. Still, early in his career, Conway still has room for improvement before pushing his way into more consistent meaningful action with the Tigers but if Steed stays up, that action may come sooner than expected.
174lbs:
No Change
Projected Starter: Peyton Mocco
- Mocco has just capped off the first All-American finish of his Tiger Style career. He was among the tops in most statistical categories for Mizzou and will be looking to retain his starting role moving into the coming season with an opportunity to move up on the podium come March.
Reserve: Ellis Pfleger
- Now entering his fourth year with Mizzou, Pfledger has yet to see time inside the starting lineup but continues to serve as a reserve behind Mocco. He holds on to a 25-20 overall record as a Tiger.
184lbs:
This may be one of Mizzou’s most intriguing weight classes for the coming season. The competition inside the wrestling room is going to heat up really quickly.
Projected Starter: Colton Hawks
- One of the biggest risers from the previous season, Hawks currently hold the starting spot and will be his to lose opening the new season. Starting in a rotation to making the NCAA Championships was an impressive journey to follow over the previous season. If his progression continues to improve, there is no reason he should lose this job and could find himself back in Columbia with some hardware.
Reserve: Clayton Whiting or Sean Harmon
- Once again the toughest weight class to envision will be 184. Mizzou has three different guys all capable of stepping into the starting role and producing. Sean Harmon, the oldest among the three has seen time both in and out of the starting lineup. Whiting is coming off a stellar freshman season capped off with just three losses. Any of the following three guys can hold their own on this team and the competition is going to be intriguing to watch unfold.
197lbs:
No Change
Projected Starter: Rocky Elam
- Once again there’s nothing to overlook at 197. Rocky will continue to make his push to become a National Champ after finishing the past three seasons with a 3rd, 4th, and 5th place medal at the NCAA Championships. Rocky has a 62-12 record over the past three seasons and continues to improve year after year.
Reserve: Jesse Cassat
- Cassat, a third-year sophomore, was present twice in the starting lineup over the past season where he went 1-1. He will return to the Tiger room as the next man up again.
285lbs:
No Change
Projected Starter: Zach Elam
- Zach Elam will step on the mats for the Tigers for his final season with the Mizzou. Elam returns for another year after finishing with the first All-American medal of his collegiate career. He currently holds a 93-32 overall record and will be looking to join the ranks of the 100-win club.
Reserve: Seth Nitzel or Ryan Boersma
- Both Nitzel and Boersma will be battling it out for an opportunity to see some starting time and slot into the reserve role. Nitzel returns after a 14-6 sophomore season and has a 36-13 overall record. Boersma just finished his freshman season going 15-8, competing inside the starting lineup once where he took a 3-1 loss verse Wyoming.
Projected Lineup
- 125: Noah Surtin
- 133: Zeke Seltzer
- 141: Josh Edmonds
- 149: Brock Mauller
- 157: Cameron Steed
- 165: Keegan O’Toole
- 174: Peyton Mocco
- 184: Colton Hawks
- 197: Rocky Elam
- 285: Zach Elam
Loading comments...