Crown Point, Indiana native, Jesse Mendez, wrestling in his first season with Ohio State. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
The 2024-25 wrestling season is fast approaching, and Ohio State has its eyes set on a national championship.
With six All-Americans returning and nine Buckeyes ranked in the NCAA’s preseason top-25 poll for their respective weight classes, the Ohio State squad’s depth might help it secure that coveted trophy by the season’s end.
Head coach Tom Ryan will enter his 19th season representing the program. In that span of time, Ryan has amassed two NCAA Head Coach of the Year awards (2009, 2015) and a 213-68 coaching dual record.
Ryan’s staff includes three former Ohio State wrestlers in associate head coach J Jaggers, assistant coach Bo Jordan and assistant coach Logan Steiber.
Season outlook
Ohio State will open its season as the No. 6 team in the country. After ending with a 15-2 dual record last year, Ryan expects another year of dominating the mats, he said.
“We’ve been one of the elite programs in the country for a long time, and that’ll always be the case,” Ryan said. “It’s about us helping each man live up to their full potential.”
Jaggers said he knows exactly what the Buckeyes are trying to accomplish: growth and success.
“We want individual national champions, individual Big Ten champions, All-Americans, team trophies,” Jaggers said. “But more importantly, we just look at development on a day-to-day basis; is each guy progressing towards another level of wrestling?”
Ohio State will begin competing in the Clarion Open Nov. 3 in Clarion, Pennsylvania. The Buckeyes’ first dual match will be at home against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs Nov. 14 at the Covelli Center.
The Buckeyes’ Big Ten conference schedule will see them compete four times at home and four times on the road, with Ohio State’s first away matchup against the University of Illinois being set for Jan. 10.
Key matchups for the Buckeyes include traveling to Iowa Jan. 25 for a dual with the Hawkeyes and a home battle against last year’s NCAA Champions, the Penn State Nittany Lions Feb. 14.
Returning stars
Jesse Mendez — the defending 141-pound NCAA Champion — will officially step into his junior season as a Buckeye.
Despite winning last year’s tournament, Mendez is ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll for his weight class, according to Flowrestling.org. Mendez said he’s using this designation as motivation to become a two-time champion.
“I kind of feel like I have something to prove,” Mendez said. “I am No. 1, and I want to [show] that in dominant fashion”
Rocco Welsh will return for his sophomore year after being named an All-American as a true freshman.
With a record of 26-6, Welsh finished second overall in the 174-pound division. He currently ranks No. 3 in his weight class, according to Flowrestling,com.
Nick Feldman is ranked No. 3 in the 285-pound division. Notably, the redshirt sophomore placed fifth in last season’s NCAA tournament for his weight.
In addition to being a force on the mat, Feldman was also named an Ohio State Scholar Athlete in 2023-24, according to the Ohio State Athletics website.
Other ranked Buckeyes include redshirt sophomore Brendan McCrone (No. 17 at 125 pounds), redshirt sophomore Nic Bouzakis (No. 12 at 133 pounds), graduate Dylan D’Emilio (No. 13 at 149 pounds), redshirt junior Paddy Gallagher (No. 9 at 157 pounds), sophomore Ryder Rogotzke (No. 18 at 184 pounds) and Luke Geog (No. 18 at 197 pounds).
New faces
Joining the Buckeyes this season is 133-pound freshman Ben Davino. The No. 4 ranked recruit in his class, Davino was named Illinois State Champion four times while wrestling for St. Charles East High School.
Freshman e’Than Birden was a two-time state champion in Ohio during his junior and senior years at Dublin Coffman High School. Throughout those two seasons, Birden achieved a combined record of 97-4.
A strong combination of seasoned wrestlers and emerging talent should prove to be a difference maker in the Buckeyes’ quest for a national title.
