NCAA Wrestling Tournament Qualifier Allocations for the Big 12 Announced

Earlier this season we discussed NCAA resume building in wrestling. On Thursday, the qualifier allocations for all conferences were announced and here’s how it looks.

This means that if the Cowboys finish at or above these spots at the Big 12 tournament at each weight they’ll get an automatic bid for this NCAA tournament. For example, if Nick Piccininni finishes in the top 7 at 125 he’ll qualify with an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. Kaid Brock at 133 in the top 5, Dean Heil top 3, etc…

With this, the seeds they get at the tournament become pretty important. At the lower weights, Nick Piccininni will probably be a 1-2 seed at 125, Kaid Brock the 3 seed at 133, Dean Heil the 2 seed at 141, Boo Lewallen a 2 seed at 149, and Jonce Blaylock is probably a 5-6 seed at 157. Tristan Moran is who will be the starter at 157 if Jonce is still injured. His seed would probably be in the 9-10 range since he hasn’t wrestled much at 157.

At the upper weights Chandler Rogers will likely be a 2 seed at 165 and Jacobe Smith a 3 seed at 174. Keegan Moore would be a 4 seed at 184 and Andrew Marsden would probably be similar. Preston Weigel the 1 seed at 197 and Derek White the 1 seed at 285.

If the seeds play out that way, which they roughly should, the Cowboys will just need to wrestle to their seed at most weights to get in. The only one where they would currently be on the outside looking in is 157. If Blaylock is healthy and back in the lineup he’ll need to wrestle over his head a bit to get the automatic bid as he’ll probably be a 5 seed at a weight with only three allocations.

Keegan Moore or Andrew Marsden at 184 is another weight to watch closely. They’d probably be seeded right on the line at 4 and could even be a 5 seed, only the top 4 at his weight get allocations. There shouldn’t be any real drama with the rest of the lineup getting automatic bids as long as everyone’s healthy, but you really want to watch what happens with those guys closely.

If anyone fails to receive an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament they still have a shot at an at large bid which will be announced after the conference tournaments are concluded.