Across the last 10 actually wrestled D1 tournaments we've gotten 23 All-Americans. And we've seen 113 All-Americans from the last 10 actually wrestled D2, D3, NAIA, NJCAA tournaments.
That's 2.3 D1 and 11.3 smaller-division All-Americans per year.
Who get these men's spots for us this year?
I follow D1 much more than the others, so it's the one I know. Trying to see things objectively, I think only 2 AAs is the most likely scenario this year.
How I'd categorize our Indiana high school grads' AA chances:
Likely:
Mendez--He is in an always-deep 141, but he would need to lose a couple of significant upsets not to medal. He's one of 2 (maybe 3) clear gold medal contenders.
Davison--Heavyweight, contrary to high school, tends to be fairly predictable with obvious tiers. Davison seems headed for about a #6 seed, and him winning above his seed or losing below his seed outside of about 3 to 8 is unlikely.
Small chance:
Allred--His ranking suggests he's in about the same position he was last year heading into Big 10s, where he emerged not only as an AA threat, but also a dark horse to take the whole thing. However, we haven't seen the same scoring savvy that he showed last year in any of his matches against top competition this year. He's got a great shot to win a couple NCAA matches again, but he'll need to rekindle some things we haven't seen yet this year to make an AA run.
B-Lee--I love how hard this dude has worked to get back and to be ready to bang headed into Big 10s. He's capable of some interesting moments again. Sadly, though, he will need to rediscover one or two more helpings of that past prowess to make a run.
G-Rooks--He's come agonizingly close before, so I wouldn't count him out. Like last year, he needs a workable draw, and he needs to get hot. It's not probable--but not impossible. He's got a really similar mix of results to last year, and he seems headed for a similar seed.
Notable others:
DJ Washington--Not sure why he's struggled so much for a sustained period now, but I would have had him in the "small chance" category for sure early this season. He doesn't look like himself at all right now, so it's hard to imagine much post-season impact from him unless he recovers from whatever is ailing him very quickly.
Blake Boarman--Breakout year for Blake. He seems headed for an NCAA bid with a sparkling record of 17-4. But he wrestles a lesser schedule, so it's hard to get a handle on how much he might be able to do against top guys. I'm excited to follow him at SoCon's and beyond.
Gabe Sollars--Super fun pin artist that's had a couple tight ones with AA contenders. He hasn't quite broken through against the upper tier; but if he manages to get into the tournament, he could make some noise.
Brody Baumann--He's another one that needs to sneak into the tournament first, but that shows flashes of creating interesting upsets.
Evan Bates--He's solid. He beats who he should, but loses fairly clearly against the top 30. Getting into the tournament, which he could very likely do, would be a good result for him.
Connor Barket--Big strides forward, but he'll need a special performance at the ACC tournament to get into NCAAs.
Brodie Porter--Same as Barket...big strides, but likely a year or two away from big noise.
Nick Wilham--Admirable job jumping in at 285, but would also need a huge conference tournament.