Big Ten Wrestling’s 30 Best for 2024: Nos. 21-30

With the 2023-24 wrestling season done and over with, it’s never too early to look ahead to next season. So, we’re putting out a list of the Top 30 Big Ten wrestlers going into the 2024-25 season in three segments — starting with Nos. 21-30.

Look out each of the next two Wednesdays for the rest of the list.

The Big Ten is by far the most superior wrestling conference in the country — the last team to win the NCAA team title that wasn’t out of the Big Ten was in 2006 when Oklahoma State won its fourth straight. Since then, Penn State has won 11 times, Iowa has won four, Ohio State and Minnesota each won one title.

Now, on to our list of the 30 best wrestlers returning in the Big Ten next season. Gone are guys like four-time NCAA champion Aaron Brooks, NCAA finalist Real Woods and Big Ten champion Austin Gomez, among others.

Those are some big shoes to fill, but the Big Ten has a tendency to re-load every year, so this was not an easy list to get onto. There were tough cuts to make and hairs to split in ranking these guys.

Big Ten’s 30 Best (Nos. 21-30)

30. Penn State’s 125-pounder

(Braeden Davis or Luke Lilledahl)

As a true freshman in 2024, Braeden Davis won a Big Ten title at 125 pounds. He went 22-4 on the year but failed to find the podium at NCAAs as the 1-seed.

Word is that Davis won’t be at 125 again, evidenced by him going 61 kg (134 pounds) recently at the U20 US Open. He also has a redshirt available, and based on Penn State’s depth, it might be the best thing for both the team and Davis to redshirt because he could slide right in at 133 or possibly 141 in 2025-26.

Davis’ replacement at 125 will likely be another true freshman in Luke Lilledahl. The top-ranked recruit in the country, Lilledahl was a U20 World silver-medalist in 2023 and is on the team again this year. He was a U17 World gold-medalist in 2022 after winning silver at U17 Worlds in 2021.

Here he is taking out Brandon Courtney, a former NCAA finalist for Arizona State, at Senior Nationals.

Lilledahl shines in a Nittany Lion recruiting class that’s full of hammers — he’s really that good. However, he’s not higher on this list because he hasn’t even set foot in the room, but when Penn State gets to choose between a Big Ten champ and a (maybe multiple) age-level World champ, whomever they choose needs to be in this Top-30.

29. Lenny Pinto - Nebraska

Over the past two seasons, Pinto has been a fixture in Nebraska’s lineup. Someone who lets it fly, Pinto kind of lives by the sword and dies by the sword. He was ranked #3 most of this past season but failed to find the podium at NCAAs for the second year in a row, falling in the blood round in March.

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Pinto was a third-placer at Big Tens this year and has a career 46-17 record. This past regular season, he only dropped matches to the best of the best. With his natural athleticism and abilities, Pinto enters his junior year with high expectations now that he has two years of experience under his belt.

I certainly think that expectations for Pinto this year will be to finish on the podium for the first time in his career. His team needs it, and I think he needs it. He’s currently ranked #7 at 184 by FloWrestling.

28. Yaraslau Slavikouski - Rutgers

A Harvard transfer last offseason, Slavikouski earned All-American honors for Rutgers as a junior with a 22-8 record, taking seventh at heavyweight in March.

Heading into his senior year, Slavikouski actually entered the transfer portal briefly but decided to stay at Rutgers. He placed fourth at Big Tens this year and has an 82-22 career record.

With a lot of the big guns at heavyweight returning, it’ll be tough for Slavikouski to climb higher on the podium, but I expect him to be in contention for All-American honors again for the Scarlet Knights.

Slavikouski is currently ranked #5 in the country by Flo.

27. Dylan D’Emilio - Ohio State

He hasn’t always been elite, but D’Emilio has been a fixture as a Buckeye at both 141 and 149 pounds. At 149 this past season, he went 26-13 and finished sixth at Big Tens.

Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images

An All-American in 2023 when he finished eighth at 141 pounds, D’Emilio has a career record of 72-46 and I imagine he wants to finish his career on the podium. He’s shown himself to be a tough out and keeps a lot of his matches close.

D’Emilio is currently ranked #13 at 149 by Flo.

26. Jaxon Smith - Maryland

A junior this coming season, Smith is a two-time NCAA qualifier for Maryland at 197 pounds.

Smith fell in the bloodround in 2023 at NCAAs. On the freestyle scene, Smith downed Nebraska’s Silas Allred in 2022 to make the U20 World Team, placing fifth at the U20 World Championships in Bulgaria.

With a 41-15 record so far in his career, Smith seems like he’s on a trajectory to find the podium a couple times before his career wraps up.

Smith is going into the season ranked #15 by Flo.

25. Antrell Taylor - Nebraska

Nebraska’s 2024 Male Freshman Athlete of the Year, Taylor took over the 165-pound spot for Nebraska and earned All-American honors as a redshirt freshman, finishing eighth in Kansas City.

Photo by Chance Parker/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

After going 23-10 with almost all of his losses coming to elite guys, Taylor figures to move down to 157 pounds now that Peyton Robb has graduated. A more natural weight for Taylor, he should excel at 157 after a year of experience against the bigger guys up a weight.

Taylor looks like a surefire four-time All-American and has some serious freestyle chops as well, finishing second at the U20 World Team Trials at 70 kg last year. He wrestled at the U20 Pan-American Championships and came home with gold.

Taylor is currently ranked #7 at 157 by Flo going into the season.

24. Zach Glazier - Iowa

Coming out of nowhere in 2023, Glazier was solid at 197 pounds for the Hawkeyes. He went 20-4 on the year.

Photo by Evert Nelson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Before starting as a junior, Glazier was just 7-5 for his career, showing that determination and sticking around and improving can pay dividends. He was a Big Ten finalist this past year and has a win over Allred to his name.

After missing the podium as a junior, the odds are that Glazier finishes his career out as an All-American considering this past season’s two finalists will be out of the picture.

Glazier is currently ranked #12 by Flo going into the season.

23. Silas Allred - Nebraska

Silas Allred would be much higher on this list if he could just get over the hump at NCAAs. The 2023 Big Ten Champion at 197 pounds, Allred has made it to the bloodround (Round of 12) at NCAAS twice and wasn’t able to punch through for All-American honors.

Dylan Guenther / Corn Nation

Going into his junior season with both NCAA finalists from this past season gone, Allred will be a heavy favorite to land on the podium. Allred has a career record of 51-15 and has been a consistent presence for Nebraska near the end of the lineup. With the weight class clearing out a bit near the top, I expect big things this year.

Allred is currently ranked #8 at 197 by Flo.

22. Edmond Ruth - Illinois

Heading into his senior year, Ruth won his first career Big Ten title in 2024 at 174 pounds. He had the best overall year of his career with a 26-4 record as a junior.

Photo by Evert Nelson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

At the NCAA tournament, Ruth went 4-2 to finish seventh for his first All-American honor, taking eventual finalist Rocco Welsh of Ohio State to overtime in a loss. Ruth beat Welsh in sudden victory in their Big Ten semifinal and also beat him in their dual matchup.

The younger brother of Penn State legend Ed Ruth, who is on staff at Illinois, Edmond Ruth has a lot of upside and will anchor a much-improved Illinois lineup this coming season. Rumored to be moving up to 184 for his final season, Ruth will be able to wrestle at his freshest without having to cut as much weight.

He’s currently ranked #6 in the country at 184 by Flo.

21. Aaron Nagao - Penn State

A two-time NCAA qualifier, the junior-to-be Nagao is ranked #7 going into the season at 133 pounds. Nagao finished fifth at NCAAs in 2023 as a redshirt freshman for Minnesota before transfering to Penn State last summer.

This past season, Nagao struggled at times but still went 17-7 while finishing third at Big Tens before falling in the blood round at NCAAs. For his career, he’s 46-16.

A nightmare in the top position, Nagao has a ton of talent and should improve in his second year in the Penn State room. He’ll again be a threat at 133.