Showdown between nation’s top Div. I men's teams looms as WIN's No. 2 Iowa heads to No. 1 Penn State

NEWTON, Iowa — A showdown between undefeated No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Iowa slated for Friday, Jan. 31 in State College, Pa. boasts 18 wrestlers ranked in WIN Magazine’s Jan. 27 rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.

Both teams stand 9-0 on the season, as the Nittany Lions are coming off a 36-3 road win over Rutgers while the Hawkeyes emerged victorious, 20-14, over Ohio State this past Saturday. Penn State remains the No. 1 team in both the dual-team rankings and in WIN’s Tournament Power Index, which projects where teams could finish in this March’s NCAA Division I Championships … based on individual rankings. Iowa enters Friday’s matchup ranked second in both polls.

The following is a breakdown of those individual TPI points per ranking: 20 for 1st, 16 for 2nd, 13.5 for 3rd, 12.5 for 4th, 10 for 5th, 9 for 6th, 6.5 for 7th and 5.5 for 8th. Wrestlers ranked 9-12 earn two points each, followed by one and a half points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and one point for those ranked 17-20.

Highlighting the 2025 version of this clash of storied Big Ten programs are four potential top-five matchups at 149, 157, 165 and 197 and eight total matchups featuring top-20 ranked wrestlers.

Penn State features three top-ranked wrestlers in WIN’s TPI: Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and Carter Starocci (184). Iowa features two No. 1-rated wrestlers: Drake Ayala (133) and Stephen Buchanan (197).

The remaining top-ranked wrestlers at their weights are Purdue’s Matt Ramos (125), Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez (141), Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson (149), Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole (174) and Minnesota’s Gable Steveson (Hwt).

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 27 Top-20 Dual Teams

Rank/School/W-L/Previous/Upcoming Action

1. Penn State 9-0 1st Jan. 31 vs. Iowa

2. Iowa 9-0 2nd Jan. 31 at Penn State; Feb. 2 at Maryland

3. Oklahoma State 11-0 3rd Feb. 2 vs. Missouri

4. Ohio State 11-1 4th Feb. 1 at Michigan

5. Northern Iowa 10-1 5th Feb 1 at WVU

6. Nebraska 8-2 6th Jan. 31 vs. Wisconsin

7. Minnesota 7-1 7th Feb 2 vs. Rutgers

8. NC State 9-1 8th Jan. 31 at UNC

9. Cornell 5-1 9th Feb. 1 at Binghamton; Feb 2 at Columbia

10. Iowa State 8-4 10th Off until Feb. 7 vs. ASU; Feb. 9 vs. Pitt

11. Virginia Tech 6-2 11th Jan. 31 vs. UVA

12. Illinois 8-3 12th Feb 1 vs. Purdue

13. Rutgers 11-4 13th Feb 2 at Minnesota

14. Pitt 8-3 14th Feb. 1 vs. Duke

15. Michigan 5-3 15th Feb 1 vs. Ohio State

16. South Dakota State 10-3 16th Jan. 31 at Utah Valley; Feb. 1 vs. Wyoming

17. Little Rock 14-2 18th Off until Feb. 8 vs. Oklahoma State

18. Stanford 7-2 19th Jan. 31 at Oregon State

19. West Virginia 8-5 17th Feb 1 vs. UNI

20. Oklahoma 6-4 20th Feb 1 vs. Missouri

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 27 Tournament Power Index

Rank/School/Total Ranked/Top 8/TPI Points

1. Penn State 10 9 138

2. Iowa 8 6 95.5

3. Nebraska 8 6 69.5

4. Oklahoma State 10 6 65

5. Minnesota 8 6 63.5

6. Ohio State 8 4 49.5

7. Northern Iowa 9 3 46

8. Cornell 4 3 37

9. Iowa State 7 3 33

10. NC State 6 2 32.5

11. Virginia Tech 8 1 32

12t. Missouri 5 2 31

12t. Stanford 4 3 31

14. Northern Colorado 4 2 29

15. Arizona State 4 3 28

16. Illinois 7 1 24.5

17t. Little Rock 5 2 23

17t. Michigan 5 1 23

19. Cal Poly 2 2 22.5

20. Purdue 2 2 22

21. South Dakota State 6 2 20.5

22. Rutgers 7 1 18.5

23. Lehigh 4 2 17.5

24. West Virginia 2 1 15.5

25t. Maryland 4 1 14.5

25t. North Carolina 5 1 14.5

27t. CSU Bakersfield 1 1 13.5

27t. Utah Valley 2 1 13.5

29. Ohio 2 2 12

30. Navy 2 1 11

31. Appalachian State 1 1 9

32. Pitt 5 0 8

33t. Penn 3 0 5

33t Northwestern 4 0 5

33t Oregon State 3 0 5

33t. Wyoming 4 0 5

37. Rider 3 0 4

38. Princeton 2 0 3

39t. Indiana 2 0 2.5

39t. Binghamton 2 0 2.5

41t. Army West Point 2 0 2

41t. Lock Haven 2 0 2

43t. Central Michigan 1 0 1

43t. Drexel 1 0 1

43t. Harvard 1 0 1

43t. North Dakota State 1 0 1

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 27 Individual Rankings

Wt/Name/School/Yr./Previous

125 Pounds

1. Matt Ramos Purdue Sr. 1st

2. Richard Figueroa Arizona State Jr. 2nd

3. Vincent Robinson NC State RS Fr. 3rd

4. Caleb Smith Nebraska Grad. 5th

5. Stevo Poulin Northern Colorado Jr. 8th

6. Cooper Flynn Minnesota Jr. 6th

7. Troy Spratley Oklahoma State So. 7th

8. Luke Lilledahl Penn State Fr. 4th

9. Jett Strickenberger West Virginia Sr. 10th

10. Eddie Ventresca Virginia Tech Jr. 9th

11. Dean Peterson Rutgers Sr. 13th

12. Sheldon Seymour Lehigh Jr. 11th

13. Maximo Renteria Oregon State Sr. 12th

14. Kysen Terukina Iowa State Sr. 14th

15. Spencer Moore North Carolina Jr. 15th

16. Nick Babin Pitt RS Sr. 16th

17. Max Gallagher Penn So. 18th

18. Tanner Jordan South Dakota State RS Sr. 19th

19. Diego Sotelo Harvard Sr. 20th

20. Gage Walker Missouri Fr. NR

133 Pounds

1. Drake Ayala Iowa Jr. 1st

2. Zeth Romney Cal Poly So. 2nd

3. Lucas Byrd Illinois Sr. 3rd

4. Evan Frost Iowa State So. 4th

5. Tyler Knox Stanford RS Fr. 5th

6. Nasir Bailey Little Rock So. 6th

7. Jacob Van Dee Nebraska So. 7th

8. Nic Bouzakis Ohio State So. 9th

9. Braeden Davis Penn State So. 10th

10. Dylan Shawver Rutgers Sr. 8th

11. Tyler Wells Minnesota So. 11th

12. Julian Farber Northern Iowa Jr. 14th

13. Kai Orine NC State RSSr. 13th

14. Dominick Serrano Northern Colorado Jr. 15th

15. Braxton Brown Maryland Jr. 16th

16. Connor McGonagle Virginia Tech Grad. 17th

17. Ethan Oakley North Carolina Jr. 18th

18. Reece Witcraft Oklahoma State Sr. NR

19. Kyle Burwick North Dakota State Sr. 19th

20. Anthony Noto Lock Haven Sr. 20th

141 Pounds

1. Jesse Mendez Ohio State Jr. 1st

2. Andrew Alirez Northern Colorado Grad. 2nd

3. Beau Bartlett Penn State Sr. 3rd

4. Brock Hardy Nebraska Jr. 6th

5. Cael Happel Northern Iowa Sr. 5th

6. Josh Koderhandt Navy Sr. 7th

7. Vance VomBaur Minnesota Jr. 8th

8. Jacob Frost Iowa State So. 12th

9. Tagen Jamison Oklahoma State So. 4th

10. Sergio Lemley Michigan So. 9th

11. Sam Latona Virginia Tech Grad. 10th

12. CJ Composto Penn Sr. 11th

13. Josh Edmond Missouri Jr. 13th

14. Joey Olivieri Rutgers Jr. 14th

15. Julian Tagg South Dakota State Jr. 15th

16. Mosha Schwartz Oklahoma Sr. 20th

17. Danny Pucino Illinois Sr. 16th

18. Cole Brooks Wyoming So. NR

19. Haiden Drury Utah Valley Sr. 17th

20. Chris Cannon Northwestern Sr. 18th

149 Pounds

1. Caleb Henson Virginia Tech Jr. 1st

2. Ridge Lovett Nebraska Sr. 2nd

3. Kyle Parco Iowa Sr. 3rd

4. Shayne Van Ness Penn State Jr. 4th

5. Lachlan McNeil North Carolina Jr. 5th

6. Paniro Johnson Iowa State So. 6th

7. Chance Lamer Cal Poly Jr. 7th

8. Dylan D’Emilio Ohio State Sr. 8th

9. Jaden Abas Stanford Sr. 10th

10. Colin Realbuto Northern Iowa RSSr. 12th

11. Kannon Webster Illinois RS Fr. 14th

12. Jordan Williams Little Rock So. 11th

13. Ty Whalen Princeton Jr. 9th

14. Willie McDougald Oklahoma Jr. 13th

15. Ethan Stiles Oregon State Fr. 17th at 157

16. Sammy Alvarez Rider Sr. 17th

17. Jesse Vasquez Arizona State Sr. 16th

18. Carter Young Oklahoma State Jr. 15th

19. Gabe Willochell Wyoming Jr. 19th

20. Malyke Hines Lehigh Sr. 18th

157 Pounds

1. Tyler Kasak Penn State So. 1st

2. Meyer Shapiro Cornell So. 2nd

3. Jacori Teemer Iowa RS Sr. NR

4. Antrell Taylor Nebraska So. 4th

5. Ryder Downey Northern Iowa So. 3rd

6. Ethen Miller Maryland Jr. 5th

7. Tommy Askey Minnesota Sr. 7th

8. Peyten Kellar Ohio Jr. 7th

9. Cody Chittum Iowa State So. 10th

10. Caleb Fish Oklahoma State Sr. 11th

11. Joey Blaze Purdue So. 8th

12. Ed Scott NC State Sr. 9th

13. Trevor Chumbley Northwestern RS Sr. 12th

14. Rafael Hipolito Virginia Tech RS Fr. 13th

15. Chase Saldate Michigan Grad. 14th

16. Vince Zerban Northern Colorado Jr. 18th

17. Matt Bianchi Little Rock Jr. 19th

18. Johnny Lovett Central Michigan Sr. 20th

19. Conner Harer Rutgers Fr. NR

20. Jared Hill Wyoming Jr. NR

165 Pounds

1. Mitchell Mesenbrink Penn State So. 1st

2. Michael Caliendo Iowa Jr. 2nd

3. Peyton Hall West Virginia RS Sr. 3rd

4. Terrell Barraclough Utah Valley Sr. 4th

5. Julian Ramirez Cornell Sr. 5th

6. Will Miller Appalachian State Sr. 6th

7. Hunter Garvin Stanford So. 7th

8. Cam Amine Oklahoma State RS Sr. 9th

9. Nicco Ruiz Arizona State Fr. 8th

10. Braeden Scoles Illinois Fr. 11th

11. Christopher Minto Nebraska RS Fr. NR

12. Cam Steed Missouri So. NR

13. Drake Rhodes South Dakota State So. 12th

14. Brock Mantanona Michigan Fr. 13th

15. Tyler Lillard Indiana So. 10th

16. Andrew Sparks Minnesota Sr. 14th

17. Maxx Mayfield Northwestern Sr. 15th

18. Jack Thomsen Northern Iowa Sr. 18th

19. Paddy Gallagher Ohio State Jr. 16th

20. Gunner Filipowicz Army West Point So. 17th

174 Pounds

1. Keegan O’Toole Missouri Sr. 1st

2. Levi Haines Penn State Jr. 2nd

3. Dean Hamiti Oklahoma State Sr. 3rd

4. Lorenzo Norman Stanford RS Fr. 4th

5. Carson Kharchla Ohio State Sr. 7th

6. Patrick Kennedy Iowa Jr. 5th

7. Garrett Thompson Ohio Jr. 8th

8. Cade Devos South Dakota State RS Sr. 9th

9. Nick Incontrera Penn Sr. 6th

10. Danny Wask Navy So. 10th

11. Lenny Pinto Nebraska Jr. 11th

12. Simon Ruiz Cornell Fr. NR

13. Gaven Sax Oklahoma Sr. 13th

14. Jared Simma Northern Iowa Jr. 12th

15. Luca Augustine Pitt Jr. 16th

16. Matt Singleton NC State So. 14th

17. Josh Ogunsanya North Carolina Sr. 17th

18. Jackson Turley Rutgers Sr. 20th

19. Brevin Cassella Binghamton Sr. 19th

20. MJ Gaitan Iowa State So. NR

184 Pounds

1. Carter Starocci Penn State RS Sr. 1st

2. Parker Keckeisen Northern Iowa Sr. 2nd

3. Dustin Plott Oklahoma State Sr. 3rd

4. Max McEnelly Minnesota Fr. 4th

5. Bennett Berge South Dakota State So. 5th

6. Chris Foca Cornell Sr. 6th

7. Colton Hawks Missouri Jr. 7th

8. Silas Allred Nebraska Jr. 8th

9. Gabe Arnold Iowa RS Fr. 9th

10. Jaxon Smith Maryland Jr. 14th

11. Reece Heller Pitt Grad. 12th

12. Edmond Ruth Illinois Sr. 11th

13. Dylan Fishback NC State So. 10th

14. Evan Bockman Iowa State Sr. 13th

15. Isaac Dean Rider Jr. 15th

16. Brian Soldano Rutgers Jr. 16th

17. Gavin Kane North Carolina Sr. 17th

18. Ryder Rogotzke Ohio State So. 18th

19. Brock Delsignore Little Rock Sr. 20th

20. TJ Stewart Virginia Tech So. NR

197 Pounds

1. Stephen Buchanan Iowa Sr. 1st

2. Jacob Cardenas Michigan Grad. 2nd

3. A.J. Ferrari CSU Bakersfield Jr. 3rd

4. Josh Barr Penn State Fr. 4th

5. Stephen Little Little Rock So. 5th

6. Michael Beard Lehigh Sr. 6th

7. Luke Surber Oklahoma State Sr. 7th

8. Isaiah Salazar Minnesota Sr. 8th

9. Andy Smith Virginia Tech RS Sr. 9th

10. Trey Munoz Oregon State RS Sr. 10th

11. Wyatt Voelker Northern Iowa So. 11th

12. Joseph Novak Wyoming So. 12th

13. Luke Stout Princeton Sr. 14th

14. Mac Stout Pitt So. 15th

15. Zac Braunagel Illinois Sr. 16th

16. John Poznanski Rutgers Sr. 13th

17. Seth Shumate Ohio State So. 17th

18. Michael O’Malley Drexel Sr. 18th

19. Zach Glazier South Dakota State Sr. 19th

20. Evan Bates Northwestern Jr. 20th

Heavyweight

1. Gable Steveson Minnesota Grad. 1st

2. Greg Kerkvliet Penn State RS Sr. 2nd

3. Wyatt Hendrickson Oklahoma State Sr. 3rd

4. Isaac Trumble NC State Jr. 5th

5. Cohlton Schultz Arizona State RS Sr. 6th

6. Yaraslau Slavikouski Rutgers Grad. 9th

7. Owen Trephan Lehigh Jr. 8th

8. Nick Feldman Ohio State So. 4th

9. Luke Luffman Illinois Sr. 7th

10. Jimmy Mullen Virginia Tech Fr. 10th

11. Josh Heindselman Michigan Grad. 11th

12. Seth Nevills Maryland Grad. 12th

13. Ben Kueter Iowa RS Fr. 15th

14. Lance Runyon Northern Iowa Sr. 13th

15. Dayton Pitzer Pitt So. 14th

16. Cory Day Binghamton Grad. 16th

17. Jacob Bullock Indiana RSSr. 17th

18. Lucas Stoddard Army West Point So. 18th

19. David Szuba Rider Sr. 19th

20. Gavin Hoffman Lock Haven Sr. NR