MADISON, Wis. – With the 2023 NCAA Championships only weeks away, four Wisconsin wrestlers are ranked in the top 10 of the latest NCAA coaches poll,
shared this week by the NCAA. Seven Badgers were included overall in the national rankings determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven Division I conferences.
Wisconsin's Austin Gomez was named to the No. 2 spot at 149 pounds and remains the Badgers' highest-ranked wrestler. He previously was selected at No. 1 in the coaches polls from Jan. 20 and Feb. 10. Three-time NCAA Champion Yianni Diakomihalis now holds the top spot, although Gomez defeated Diakomihalis 9-3 in a stunning upset decision in November in the only ever meeting between the two wrestlers.
Eric Barnett climbed to No. 5 at 125 pounds, while Dean Hamiti is ranked No. 6 at 125 pounds and heavyweight Trent Hillger is ranked No. 10 at 285 pounds.
Braxton Amos earned a nod at No. 17 at 197 pounds, Garrett Model was named to No. 18 at 157 pounds and Taylor LaMont is ranked No. 28 at 133 pounds.
The NCAA also released the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and eight Badgers were included in these calculations: Barnett (6, 125), LaMont (20, 133), Joseph Zargo (27, 141), Model (13, 157), Hamiti (1, 165), Tyler Dow (24, 184), Amos (10, 197), Hillger (13, 285). According to the NCAA, the RPI is a calculation that consists of three factors: winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule) and opponent's opponent winning percentage (opponent's strength of schedule). Only matches against Division I opponents at the designated weight class count towards the RPI and a wrestler needs to have wrestled 15 matches to be ranked.
Notably, both Gomez (10-2) and Diakomihalis (12-1) were not included in RPI for 149 pounds due to wrestling less than 15 matches each.
The NCAA also released its pre-allocations for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, hosted in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from March 16-18. The Big Ten Conference was awarded 88 of the 284 automatic qualifying bids.
The Big Ten hosts its qualifying tournament March 4-5 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The weight class conference champion in each qualifying tournament will earn an automatic berth to the national championships. NCAA championship spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at conference tournaments based solely on place-finish.
The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 46 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 7, while brackets and seeding will be announced on NCAA.com at 5 p.m. (CT) on March 8. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
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| Conference |
125 |
133 |
141 |
149 |
157 |
165 |
174 |
184 |
197 |
285 |
Total |
| Atlantic Coast Conference |
2 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
33 |
| Big 12 Conference |
6 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
64 |
| Big Ten Conference |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
8 |
7 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
88 |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association |
6 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
45 |
| Mid-American Conference |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
23 |
| Pacific-12 Conference |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
19 |
| Southern Conference |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
12 |
| Pre-Allocations |
29 |
28 |
29 |
29 |
29 |
28 |
28 |
26 |
29 |
29 |
284 |
| At-Large |
4 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
46 |
