Wrestling: Husker Commits Win Dual Tourney; Big Boards by MatScouts

Nebraska may have recently lost a commit for the class of 2025, but the rest of the class was in action this past weekend at the Boys Ultimate Club Duals wrestling for Team Kong United in freestyle.

In a highly competitive field, Kong won the tournament with the help of a pair of future Huskers in Cade Ziola and Tyler Eise. After going undefeated in pool play, Kong ran through the Gold bracket with their closest dual a 38-24 win in the semis.

Currently ranked #2 in the country at 190 pounds by MatScouts, Omaha Skutt’s Ziola was mostly dominant at 89 kg (196 pounds), picking up a big ranked win along the way when he pinned #4 Elijah Diakomihalis in the semis. In his first three matches, Ziola outscored his opponents 31-1 and ended each match in under two minutes. He did have a bit of hiccup in the final where he fell to Pete Snyder 7-6. After holding a 5-1 lead with two minutes to go, Ziola dropped the match after getting pushed out with five seconds left. Despite the slight setback, Ziola showed why he’s one of the best in the country.

Currently ranked #3 in the country at 175 pounds, the Colorado native Eise was similarly dominant as Ziola while experiencing a slight setback of his own along the way at 83 kg (183 pounds). Eise won his first three matches by a combined score of 30-0 with just 2:58 of mat time — he 10-0 teched his first opponent in just 15 seconds. In the semis, Eise beat #4 Adam Waters 4-4 on criteria. In the final, Eise faced off against top-ranked Ryan Burton out of New Jersey, a Virginia Tech commit, and dropped the match 6-0. Eise looked sharp and big this weekend.

MatScouts Final 2024 Big Board

Nebraska is bringing in a pretty small 2024 class, but it’s not short on impact.

Out of the four commits for the class, three of them were on MatScout’s final 2024 Big Board. The Big Board is a list of 250 seniors, ranked regardless of weight class. On top of their rankings, they’re given star ratings. Of the 250 on the list, eight are 5-stars, 18 are 4-stars, 54 are 3-stars, 55 are 2-stars, and 115 are 1-stars.

Leading the incoming Huskers is #13 LJ Araujo out of Bismarck, N.D. A five-time state champion, Araujo is a Super 32 champ and an elite folkstyle prospect with his skills in the top position. Imagine a 174-pound Ridge Lovett. Araujo is a four-star prospect according to MatScouts.

Then there’s #61 Omar Ayoub, a two-time Ohio state champion who’s projected at 149 pounds. A three-star prospect, Ayoub is the younger brother of Ismael Ayoub, a sophomore-to-be at Nebraska at 141 pounds. Omar Ayoub will most definitely redshirt this year but could crack the lineup in the coming years. He’s a three-star prospect according to MatScouts.

Coming in at #108, Marco Christiansen is a state champion out of Minnesota. Projected at 184 pounds, Christiansen is a two-star prospect according to MatScouts.

Matscouts Newest 2025 Big Board

On the newest iteration of the Big Board for the 2025 class, MatScouts has both of Nebraska’s current commits in the Top-35, giving Nebraska a solid start to what could be a top class when all is said and done.

Coming in at #24 is Tyler Eise as a four-star prospect. A Colorado state champion and one of the best prospects in the middle of the country, Eise projects at 184 in college. I think Eise will be Lenny Pinto’s eventual replacement at 184 pounds and could be a four-year starter for the Huskers.

Next up is #35 Cade Ziola, a two-time Nebraska state champion out of Omaha Skutt. Projected at heavyweight in college, Ziola could possibly take a grayshirt then a redshirt out of high school to build into heavyweight, but I expect him to do big things once in the Husker lineup.

Huskers in Portal Find Landing Spots

Nebraska has had a trio of transfers find new schools over the past few weeks. The biggest transfer out was Kyle Burwick heading to North Dakota State. Burwick transferred to Nebraska from Wisconsin a couple years ago and was Nebraska’s starter in 2023, but he was supplanted by Van Dee this past year. He was a valuable piece for Nebraska both on the mat and in the room. He’ll be missed, and NDSU got a good one. I wish him the best and I’ll be cheering for him during his senior season (unless he’s wrestling Van Dee).

Dylan Guenther / Corn Nation

Tanner Frothinger, a 141-pound redshirt freshman, will be at Utah Valley next season. As previously mentioned, 165-pounder Griffin Ray will be wrestling at SIU Edwardsville next season. Both have four years of eligibility remaining.

Huskers still in the portal but have not announced a destination: redshirt freshmen Ethan Stiles (157 pounds) and Drew Cooper (133).