NCAA Wrestling Tournament Brackets Released

The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Tournament doesn't start until next week (March 16-18 in Tulsa, OK), but the field is set for the event and the brackets have been released. Brackets for all 10 weights are available here.

Iowa qualified a wrestler at all 10 weights. Two Iowa wrestlers (Spencer Lee and Real Woods) received #1 seeds at their respective weights, but only three other Iowa wrestlers received single-digit seeds (Max Murin, Patrick Kennedy, and Tony Cassioppi). The other five Iowa wrestlers heading to the NCAA Tournament (Brody Teske, Cobe Siebrecht, Nelson Brands, Abe Assad, and Jacob Warner) all received double-digit seeds. Those double-digit seeds set them up for difficult matches -- they'll need to need to produce several upsets to stay alive on the championship side of the bracket.

NCAA SEEDS

125: #1 Spencer Lee
133: #24 Brody Teske
141: #1 Real Woods
149: #8 Max Murin
157: #14 Cobe Siebrecht
165: #6 Patrick Kennedy
174: #11 Nelson Brands
184: #12 Abe Assad
197: #14 Jacob Warner
285: #4 Tony Cassioppi

IOWA: #1 Spencer Lee (RS SR, 17-0)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #32 Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State, RS SO, 16-14) or #33 Tucker Owens (Air Force, RS FR, 24-12)

As expected, Spencer Lee received the #1 seed at 125 lbs. In the second round, he could face Michigan's Jack Medley for the third time in his last seven matches. In the semifinals, Lee could face #4 Matt Ramos (Purdue), who took Lee to his back and opened up an 8-1 lead in their match earlier this season (Lee pinned him in 2:56).

The main threats for Lee on the other side of the bracket are #2 Pat Glory (Princeton) and #3 Liam Cronin (Nebraska). Lee went 2-0 against Cronin this season, including an 8-2 win in the Big Ten Tournament championship last weekend. Lee is 2-0 lifetime against Glory, but hasn't wrestled him since the 2018-19 season, when he beat Glory 18-2 in a dual meet and 12-6 at the Midlands Championships.

IOWA: #24 Brody Teske (RS JR, 9-4)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt, RS SR, 13-3)

Teske received the lowest seed of any Iowa wrestler -- #24 at 133 lbs. That sets him up for a difficult match with Pitt's Micky Phillippi in the first round; if he gets by Phillippi, he'd likely face #8 Aaron Nagao (Minnesota), runner-up at 133 lbs in last weekend's Big Ten Tournament.

Upsets over Phillippi and Nagao would likely set him up for a quarterfinal match with #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State). Given that challenging path, it seems likely that Teske may need to do his damage in the consolation portion of the bracket.

IOWA: #1 Real Woods (SR, 16-0)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #32 Kai Miller (Maryland, FR, 16-16) or #33 Josh Mason (Bloomsburg, RS JR, 18-13)

Woods is the other Iowa wrestler seeded #1 at his weight. He won't see any familiar faces in the first two rounds, but could see #8 Allan Hart (Missouri) in the quarterfinals; Woods beat Hart 4-0 at last year's Southern Scuffle.

In the semifinals, Woods could face #4 Brock Hardy (Nebraska), perhaps his most challenging opponent so far this season. Woods beat him 6-4 at the dual earlier this season and 2-1 in the Big Ten Tournament final last weekend.

#5 Ryan Jack (NC State) is the other top seed on Woods' side of the bracket. #2 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) and #3 Cole Matthews (Pitt) are the top two seeds on the other side of the bracket. Woods beat Alirez 5-4 at last year's Southern Scuffle, but lost 7-3 to Matthews at last year's NCAA Tournament.

IOWA: #8 Max Murin (RS SR, 21-4)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #25 Ryan Burgos (NC State, RS SO, 15-5)

Murin received a #8 seed, which puts him on the top half of the bracket. He hasn't faced his first round opponent (NC State's Ryan Burgos) before, but he has faced potential second round opponent #9 John Millner (Appalachian State) lat year; Millner beat him 8-1 at last year's NCAA Tournament.

If Murin makes it to the quarterfinals, he'd most likely face #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell). That would be a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament quarterfinals; Diakomihalis won that match, 6-3.

IOWA: #14 Cobe Siebrecht (RS SO, 13-6)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #19 Garrett Model (Wisconsin, RS SR, 15-9)

Siebrecht is the #14 seed at 157 lbs, which puts him on the bottom half of the bracket. His first round opponent is #19 Garrett Model (Wisconsin); Siebrecht beat him 3-2 at the dual earlier this season. If Siebrecht beats Model again, he'd likely face #3 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) in the quarterfinals; Robb beat him 7-2 at the dual earlier this season.

Assuming Siebrecht isn't able to pull the big upset over Robb, he'd drop down to the consolation side of the bracket and need to win three matches in order to become an All-American. Given the rest of the bracket, Siebrecht could see #11 Chase Saldate (Michigan State); Saldate beat him 9-2 at the Big Ten Tournament last weekend.

IOWA: #6 Patrick Kennedy (RS SO, 18-3)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #27 Will Fornato (Appalachian State, RS JR, 27-8)

Kennedy received a #6 seed after his runner-up finish at the Big Ten Tournament and he'll actually face a familiar opponent in the first round: he lost to #27 Will Fornato (Appalachian State) 6-4, albeit in sudden victory, at last year's Southern Scuffle.

If Kennedy avenges that defeat, he'd likely face #11 Cameron Amine (Michigan). Kennedy beat Amine 3-2 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals last weekend. If Kennedy gets to the quarterfinals, his most likely opponent would be #3 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin); Hamiti beat Kennedy 4-3 at the dual earlier this year and 9-6 in the Big Ten Tournament final.

IOWA: #11 Nelson Brands (SR, 10-6)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #22 Alex Faison (NC State, SR, 14-7)

Brands wrestled above his seed at the Big TenTournament and finished 5th, which earned him a #11 seed in this tournament. He'll face #22 Alex Faison (NC State), who he's never wrestled before.

If Brands defeats Faison, he'd likely face #6 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) in the second round. Brands and Smith have never wrestled previously. An upset win over Smith would likely set up a quarterfinal showdown with #3 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech).

IOWA: #12 Abe Assad (JR, 17-4)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #21 Guiseppe Hoose (Buffalo, RS JR, 19-7)

Assad finished 7th at the Big Ten Tournament, which dropped him to the #12 seed at the NCAA Tournament and put him in the top half of the bracket. Assad's will face his first round opponent, #21 Guiseppe Hoose (Buffalo), for the second time this season; Assad beat him via 22-7 technical fall in November.

If Assad beats Hoose again, he'll likely face #5 Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) in the second round; Assad lost to Coleman 3-2 back in December of this year. An upset of Coleman would likely set up a quarterfinal match with #4 Trey Munoz (Oregon State).

IOWA: #14 Jacob Warner (RS SR, 16-6)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #19 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State, RS SR, 21-5)

Warner finished 5th at last weekend's Big Ten Tournament; that finish, plus being on the wrong end of a few upset losses during the season, dropped Warner to the #14 seed at the very unpredictable 197 lb weight class. He'll face an extremely familiar opponent in the first round: #21 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State). Warner has a 5-0 record against Caffey, including 8-3 and 4-1 wins in 2021, a 5-3 win at last year's Big Ten Tournament, and a 3-2 win at this year's Big Ten Tournament. (Warner also received a win via medical forfeit over Caffey in the 5th place match at this year's Big Ten Tournament.)

If Warner is able to pick up another win over Caffey, he'll likely get #3 Rocky Elam (Missouri) in the second round. A win over Elam could mean a match with #6 Isaac Trumble (NC State) in the quarterfinals; Warner beat Trumble 3-2 at a dual meet last season.

IOWA: #4 Tony Cassioppi (SR, 21-3)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: #29 Jeron Smith (Maryland, RS SR, 13-11)

Cassioppi received the #4 seed at 285 after a 3rd place finish at the Big Ten Tournament; that seed puts him on the top half of the bracket. Cassioppi's first round opponent is a Big Ten wrestler he's never faced before -- mainly because 2022-23 was Smiths' first season up at 285 lbs.

If Cassioppi beats Smith, he could have an in-state challenge in the second round in #13 Tyrell Gordon (UNI). Past Gordon, Cassioppi could see #5 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) in the quarterfinals. Cassioppi is 2-0 against him all-time, with both wins (4-1 and 5-0) coming at the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

A third win over Schultz would likely set up a semifinal showdown with #1 Mason Parris (Michigan). Parris is 4-0 all-time against Cassioppi, but Cassioppi has narrowed the gap: after getting pinned in their first two encounters, Cassioppi lost 11-5 at last year's NCAA Tournament and 9-7 at a dual earlier this season.