Dean Hamiti Jr. is One of Three Top Seeds for OSU in Big 12 Wrestling - Brackets Now Out
STILLWATER – Honestly, we expected more top seeds or at least some better seeds for some of the Oklahoma State wrestlers as there are some Cowboys more highly regarded in the NCAA Coaches Rankings, used for the NCAA Championships seeding process, than they are in the seeds for this coming weekend’s Big 12 Championships in Tulsa. A great example is 125 pound Troy Spratley, who is No. 3 in the NCAA Coaches Rankings and is seeded No. 4 in the Big 12. Then there is a surprise as well. David Taylor is not afraid of that and he has made a late switch in the lineup.
The BOK arena will be the site for the Big 12 Championships on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9. The finals will begin at 8 p.m. on Sunday night and be televised on ESPNU.
Tickets, both all-session and single session, are still on sale for the event.
Below are all the seeds and in parenthesis on the weight class is the allotment the Big 12 got for wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA Championships on March 20-22 in Philadephia, Pa. The Cowboys had all of their wrestlers seeded to make it to the NCAA, except at 149 pounds where Oklahoma State’s Carter Young, despite being seeded No. 18 in the NCAA Coaches Rankings and ranked in every poll out there, is not seeded in the Big 12.
We later learned with the brackets being released that Young is not entered in the Big 12 Championship and will not wrestle in the event. First-year head coach David Taylor has shown a propensity to make changes and the Cowboys have entered original season starter. Teague was injured in the first weekend of duals at Oregon State and put on the chelf. It turns out that he did not need surgery and has been rehabbing and lately, he has been on the mat preparing.
In the 2023-24 season, Teague started at 149 pounds and then moved up and claimed the place in the lineup at 157 pounds. He finished with a 23-8 record, was fourth in the Big 12 Championships, and qualified for his first NCAA as a No. 16 seed. He will be unseeded for the Big 12 Championships.
Another strange aspect of the bracket is that Oklahoma State No. 3 ranked and Big 12 top seed heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson, who sat out the Cowboys dual this season with his former team the Air Force Academy will open the Big 12 Championships against Antonio Ramos (12-15) from Air Force. Hendrickson wrestled four seasons at Air Force and graduated from the Academy and is a USAF second lieutenant that is assigned to Tinker Air Force Base as his duty station. Through the World Class Athlete operation he was allowed to transfer to Oklahoma State and wrestle his COVID season. He is unbeaten at 18-0 and was hoping to avoid his former team and teammate. The draw isn’t going to allow that.
You can find the brackets for this coming weekend’s Big 12 Wrestling Championships HERE.
| Seed | 125 lbs. (7) | 133 lbs. (6) | 141 lbs. (7) | 149 lbs. (6) | 157 lbs. (7) |
| 1. | Richard Figueroa, Ariz.St. | Evan Frost, ISU | Andrew Alirez, No.Col. | Colin Realbuto, No.Iowa | Cody Chittum, ISU |
| 2. | Steve Poulin, No.Col. | Dominick Serrano, No.Col. | Cael Happel, No.Iowa | Paniro Johnson, ISU | Caleb Fish, OSU |
| 3. | Jon Strickenberger, WVU | Julian Farber, No.Iowa | Jacob Frost, ISU | Willie McDougald, OU | Ryder Downey, No.Iowa |
| 4. | Troy Spratley, OSU | Reece Witcraft, OSU | Tagen Jamison, OSU | Gabe Willochell, Wyoming | Cobe Siebracht, SDSU |
| 5. | Tanner Jordan, SDSU | Kyle Burwick, NDSU | Mosha Schwartz, OU | Gavin Drezler, NDSU | Jared Hill, Wyo, |
| 6. | Antonio Lorenzo, OU | Cleveland Belton, OU | Josh Edmond, Missouri | Paul Kelly, Cal.Bapt. | Vinny Zerban, No.Col. |
| 7. | Trever Anderson, No.Iowa | Derrick Cardinal, SDSU | Haiden Drury, Utah Valley | Logan Gioffre, Missouri | James Conway, Missouri |
| 8. | Kysen Terukina, ISU | Kade Moore, Missouri | Julian Tagg, SDSU | Benji Alanis, No.Col. | Drayden Morton, Cal.Bapt. |
| Seed | 165 lbs. (7) | 174 lbs. (6) | 184 lbs. (7) | 197 lbs. (4) | Hwt. (4) |
| 1. | Terrell Baraclough, Utah Valley | Dean Hamiti Jr., OSU | Parker Keckheisen, No.Iowa | Luke Surber, OSU | Wyatt Hendrickson, OSU |
| 2. | Peyton Hall, WVU | Keegan O’Toole, Missouri | Dustin Plott, OSU | Joseph Novak, Wyo. | Cohlton Schultz, Ariz.St. |
| 3. | Cameron Amine, OSU | Gaven Sax, OU | Bennett Berge, SDSU | Wyatt Voelker, No.Iowa | Lance Runyon, No.Iowa |
| 4. | Drake Rhodes, SDSU | Jared Simma, No.Iowa | Evan Bockman, ISU | Zach G;azier, SDSU | Seth Nitzel, Missouri |
| 5. | Cam Steed, Missouri | Cade DeVos, SDSU | Deanthoney Parker Jr., OU | Ian Bush, WVU | Juan Mora, OU |
| 6. | Nicco Ruiz, Ariz.St. | Brody Conley, WVU | Eddie Neitenboch, Wyo. | Nathan Schon, ISU | Daniel Herrera, ISU |
| 7. | JackThomsen, No.Iowa | M.J. Gaitan, ISU | Dennis Robin, WVU | Brian Burburija, AF | Luke Rasmussen, SDSU |
| 8. | Aiden Riggins, ISU | Riley Davis, Wyo. | Colton Hawks, Missouri | Bradley Hill, OU | Sam Mitchell, Wyo. |