The final seeds and bracket for the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Tournament were officially released on Friday. This year's tournament is set to take place in College Park, MD on March 9-10. As expected, the final seeds did not differ from the pre-seeds released earlier in the week.

The pre-seeds (and final seeds) provided confirmation that both of Iowa's star true freshmen, Gabe Arnold (174/184) and Ben Kueter (285), will not be competing at the Big Ten Tournament and will be taking redshirts for the 2023-24 season.

That's not particularly surprising news. If Arnold was used at the Big Ten Tournament, it would have to be at 184, which is not his best weight. There's little point in using up a year of his eligibility for that. Kueter has tremendous upside at 285, but very little experience so far. Using his redshirt this year preserves the potential to get four years of strong results from him in the future.

The Big Ten's NCAA Tournament allocations are listed in parentheses next to each weight in the seeds. As a reminder, allocations refer to the qualifying spots the Big Ten has received at each weight. For instance, the Big Ten was allocated 9 spots at 125, which means the top-9 finishers at 125 in the Big Ten Tournament will all receive bids to the NCAA Tournament. The Big Ten has 7 spots at 133, which means the top-7 finishers at 133 in the BTT will receive bids to the NCAA Tournament, and so on.

Wrestlers who finish outside of the qualifying spots will need to to receive an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Tournament. To be eligible for an at-large bid, a wrestler has to meet these criteria:

* wrestle at least two matches at the conference tournament

* meet or exceed two of the following three criteria:
-- .700 winning percentage
-- Top 33 RPI
-- Top 33 coaches rankings

It looks like every Iowa wrestler would qualify for an at-large bid except for Aiden Riggins at 184, although Brody Teske (133) and Bradley Hill (285) could be borderlines cases if they have poor showings at the Big Ten Tournament.

125 - Drake Ayala #2
133 - Brody Teske #25
141 - Real Woods #3
149 - Caleb Rathjen #8
157 - Jared Franek #5
165 - Michael Caliendo #6
174 - Patrick Kennedy #6
184 - Aiden Riggins N/A
197 - Zach Glazier #11
285 - Bradley Hill #33

125 - Drake Ayala #1
133 - Brody Teske N/A
141 - Real Woods #3
149 - Caleb Rathjen N/A
157 - Jared Franek #2
165 - Michael Caliendo #5
174 - Patrick Kennedy N/A
184 - Aiden Riggins N/A
197 - Zach Glazier #6
285 - Bradley Hill #25

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125 lbs. (9)

1. Matt Ramos (PUR)
2. Drake Ayala (IOWA)
3. Eric Barnett (WIS)
4. Patrick McKee (MINN)
5. Caleb Smith (NEB)
6. Braeden Davis (PSU)
7. Michael DeAugustino (MICH)
8. Brendan McCrone (OSU)
9. Dean Peterson (RUT)
10. Tristan Lujan (MSU)
11. Justin Cardani (ILL)
12. Massey Odiotti (NU)
13. Tommy Capul (MD)
14. Blaine Frazier (IND)

ANALYSIS: 125 has been one of the more chaotic weights this season, with multiple upsets over the course of the season and a lot of movement within the Top 10 and Top 20. Ayala is 19-3 this season and 5-2 in Big Ten. As the 2-seed, Ayala will get a bye in the first round.

Ayala should face the winner of the DeAugustino-Lujan first round match in the next round. DeAugustino was one of the two Big Ten wrestlers to beat Ayala this season (along with Ramos), defeating him 2-1 in tiebreakers earlier this season. If Ayala faces DeAugustino and avenges his prior loss, he'd likely see (3) Eric Barnett in the semifinals; he did not wrestle Barnett this season.

133 lbs. (7)

1. Dylan Ragusin (MICH)
2. Dylan Shawver (RUT)
3. Nic Bouzakis (OSU)
4. Jacob Van Dee (NEB)
5. Aaron Nagao (PSU)
6. Tony Madrigal (ILL)
7. Braxton Brown (MD)
8. Tyler Wells (MINN)
9. Nicolar Rivera (WIS)
10. Cayden Rooks (IND)
11. Dustin Norris (PUR)
12. Andrew Hampton (MSU)
13. Patrick Adams (NU)
14. Brody Teske (IOWA)

ANALYSIS: If any of Iowa's wrestlers are going to receive a seed better than their pre-seed, Teske is probably the most likely. He went 11-3 this season and 3-1 in Big Ten competition, which is certainly better than the typical 14-seed.

Teske is set to face Ohio State's Nic Bouzakis in the first round, which is a difficult draw. If he isn't able to upset Bouzakis, he'll need to pick up some wins in the consolation bracket.

141 lbs. (11)

1. Beau Bartlett (PSU)
2. Jesse Mendez (OSU)
3. Real Woods (IOWA)
4. Brock Hardy (NEB)
5. Sergio Lemley (MICH)
6. Danny Pucino (ILL)
7. Mitch Moore (RUT)
8. Jordan Hamdan (MSU)
9. Dan Fongaro (IND)
10. Vance VomBaur (MINN)
11. Kal Miller (MD)
12. Greyson Clark (PUR)
13. Kolby McClain (NU)
14. Felix Lettini (WIS)

ANALYSIS: Real Woods earns the 3-seed at 141 lbs after going 14-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten competition during the regular season. Both of the wrestlers who beat Woods during the regular season (Lemley and Bartlett) are on the other side of the bracket, so Woods would only see them again in the Big Ten final. A potential semifinal with Ohio State's Jesse Mendez looks like Woods' biggest test prior to the final.

149 lbs. (9)

1. Ridge Lovett (NEB)
2. Austin Gomez (MICH)
3. Caleb Rathjen (IOWA)
4. Tyler Kasak (PSU)
5. Dylan D’Emilio (OSU)
6. Ethen Miller (MD)
7. Joseph Zargo (WIS)
8. Graham Rooks (IND)
9. Drew Roberts (MINN)
10. Michael Cetta (RUT)
11. Marcos Polanco (PUR)
12. Braden Stauffenberg (MSU)
13. Aiden Vandenbush (NU)
14. Jake Harrier (ILL)

ANALYSIS: Caleb Rathjen also earned a 3-seed at 149 after going 15-3 overall and 4-2 against Big Ten foes in the regular season. Rathjen is set to get Illinois' Jake Harrier in the first round, which could be a bonus point opportunity. He could see Maryland's Ethen Miller in the quarterfinal and then Michigan's Austin Gomez in the semifinal. Rathjen didn't face either Miller or Gomez in the regular season.

157 lbs. (9)

1. Levi Haines (PSU)
2. Michael Blockhus (MINN)
3. Brayton Lee (IND)
4. Jared Franek (IOWA)
5. Peyton Robb (NEB)
6. Chase Saldate (MSU)
7. Will Lewan (MICH)
8. Joey Blaze (PUR)
9. Trevor Chumbley (NU)
10. Isaac Wilcox (OSU)
11. Al DeSantis (RUT)
12. Michael North (MD)
13. Luke Mechler (WIS)
14. Logan Swaw (ILL)

ANALYSIS: Franek earned a 4-seed at 157 after going 20-3 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten duals this season. He's set to face Wisconsin's Luke Mechler in the first round; he beat Mechler via 17-5 major decision earlier this season.

The road gets much tougher for Franek after that. He could face 5-seed Peyton Robb of Nebraska in the second round; Franek had a narrow 5-4 win over Robb earlier this season. If Franek gets by Robb again, he'd likely face Penn State's Levi Haines in the semi; Haines beat him 12-0 earlier this year. If Franek gets to the final, he could face Minnesota's Michael Blockhus, who defeated Franek 5-4 in the dual meet.

165 lbs. (10)

1. Dean Hamiti (WIS)
2. Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU)
3. Michael Caliendo (IOWA)
4. Caleb Fish (MSU)
5. Antrell Taylor (NEB)
6. Cameron Amine (MICH)
7. Stoney Buell (PUR)
8. Bryce Hepner (OSU)
9. Tyler Lillard (IND)
10. Blaine Brenner (MINN)
11. Chris Moore (ILL)
12. Maxx Mayfield (NU)
13. Anthony White (RUT)
14. AJ Rodrigues (MD)

ANALYSIS: Caliendo was the third Iowa wrestler to earn a 3-seed after going 20-3 overall and 6-2 against Big Ten foes. The only two Big Ten wrestlers to beat Caliendo this season are seeded ahead of him (Hamiti and Mesenbrink). Caliendo is set to face Maryland's AJ Rodrigues in the first round and then likely Michigan's Cameron Amine in the next round. Caliendo and Amine did not wrestle earlier this season.

174 lbs. (8)

1. Carter Starocci (PSU)
2. Shane Griffith (MICH)
3. Patrick Kennedy (IOWA)
4. Edmond Ruth (ILL)
5. Rocco Welsh (OSU)
6. Jackson Turley (RUT)
7. Max Maylor (WIS)
8. DJ Washington (IND)
9. Andrew Sparks (MINN)
10. Brody Baumann (PUR)
11. Dominic Solis (MD)
12. Bubba Wilson (NEB)
13. DJ Shannon (MSU)
14. David Ferrante (NU)

ANALYSIS: Kennedy is yet another Iowa wrestler with a 3-seed for the Hawkeyes after going 12-4 overall and 6-2 in Big Ten action. Starocci and Griffith were the only Big Ten opponents to beat Kennedy this year. Kennedy gets Ferrante in the first round; Kennedy picked up an 11-2 major decision against Ferrante earlier this season. Kennedy will see the winner of the Turley-Solis match in the second round (he wrestled neither during the season), then could face Griffith in a rematch in the semifinal.

184 lbs. (8)

1. Isaiah Salazar (MINN)
2. Lenny Pinto (NEB)
3. Bernie Truax (PSU)
4. Ryder Rogotzke (OSU)
5. Jaden Bullock (MICH)
6. Layne Malczewski (MSU)
7. Shane Liegel (WIS)
8. Brian Soldano (RUT)
9. Troy Fisher (NU)
10. Roman Rogotzke (IND)
11. Dylan Connell (ILL)
12. James Rowley (PUR)
13. Aiden Riggins (IOWA)
14. Chase Mielnik (MD)

ANALYSIS: 184 is the weakest weight in the Iowa lineup and Riggins has a tall task ahead of him. He went 10-11 overall this year and 2-5 in Big Ten duals. Riggins will face Ohio State's Ryder Rogotze in the first round; barring a significant upset, he'll need to do a lot of damage in the consolation bracket in this tournament.

197 lbs. (7)

1. Aaron Brooks (PSU)
2. Jaxon Smith (MD)
3. Zach Glazier (IOWA)
4. Silas Allred (NEB)
5. Garrett Joles (MINN)
6. Luke Geog (OSU)
7. John Poznanski (RUT)
8. Evan Bates (NU)
9. Ben Vanadia (PUR)
10. Gabe Sollars (IND)
11. Kael Wisler (MSU)
12. Isiah Pettigrew (ILL)
13. Bobby Striggow (MICH)
14. Josh Otto (WIS)

ANALYSIS: Glazier has been one of the best stories of the Iowa season, going 21-1 overall and 7-1 against Big Ten opponents to earn the 3-seed. Glazier's only loss was to Brooks (the 1-seed); he and Smith (the 2-seed) did not wrestle during the season. Glazier will face 14-seed Otto in the first round; he picked up a 13-4 major decision win over Otto a few weeks ago. Glazier will see the winner of Geog-Wisler in the second round; he didn't face either guy in the regular season. A showdown with Smith could await in the semifinals.

285 lbs. (7)

1. Greg Kerkvliet (PSU)
2. Nick Feldman (OSU)
3. Lucas Davison (MICH)
4. Yaraslau Slavikouski (RUT)
5. Seth Nevills (MD)
6. Nick Willham (IND)
7. Bradley Hill (IOWA)
8. Bennett Tabor (MINN)
9. Josh Terrill (MSU)
10. Nash Hutmacher (NEB)
11. Jack Jessen (NU)
12. Gannon Rosenfeld (WIS)
13. Peter Marinopoulus (ILL)
14. Hayden Filipovich (PUR)

ANALYSIS: With Ben Kueter officially using a redshirt for this season, the 2024 postseason belongs to Bradley Hill at heavyweight. Hill went 16-5 during the regular season, including 4-1 in Big Ten duals. Hill will see Hutmacher in the first round; Hill beat him 4-1 two months ago. If he gets by Hutmacher again, Hill will see Ohio State's Nick Feldman. Should be manage to upset Feldman, Hill would likely see Lucas Davison in the semifinal.

Session I of the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament is set to get underway at 9 AM CT. BTN will have coverage, with additional coverage on BTN+.

The consolation round portion of Session II will get going at 4 PM CT, with coverage on BTN+. The semifinal round segment of Session II starts at 6 PM CT, with coverage on BTN.