Arkansas Wrestle (All images via lrtrojans.com)
LITTLE ROCK – Seven Little Rock wrestlers have been listed in the second NCAA Coaches Ranking while six appear in the first RPI Ranking ahead of the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, as announced by the governing body Thursday morning. All seven Trojans that made the first NCAA Coaches Ranking in January remain in the back-to-back polls.
“What a great day for the Trojans,” said head coach Neil Erisman. “Having seven in the coaches rankings is incredible for our program. We are excited to finish the season strong and accomplish our end-of-the-year goals.”
Who’s In the Second NCAA Coaches Ranking
Once again, the Trojan freshmen check in within the top 10: true freshman Nasir Bailey is sixth at 133 pounds and redshirt freshman Stephen Little tenth at 197 pounds. Both Bailey and Little have been recognized within the top ten in the country for most technical falls compiled over Division I opponents with 9 apiece, proving their dominance on the mat. Bailey’s 21 wins lead the team, while Little is not far off with 18 victories of his own.
Four Little Rock wrestlers sit within the top 25 of their respective weight classes: Tyler Brennan, Matty Bianchi, Josiah Hill and Joseph Bianchi.
Tyler Brennan comes in at 20th in the 174 pound weight class, the same week that the redshirt senior makes his appearance within the top ten in the country for most falls compiled over Division I opponents with 9 of his own. This year Brennan has pieced together a career-high record of 18-4, securing big team points for the Trojans in the eight duals he’s collected pins in.
The duo of Matty Bianchi and Joseph Bianchi continue to have a strong season, ranking 23rd at 157 pounds and 24th at 165 pounds, respectively. The younger Bianchi is in his second year as the primary starter at 157, while the older Bianchi bumped up two weight classes and has been thriving in his role since claiming the starting spot midway through the season. Redshirt sophomore Matty has a record of 14-6, with nine of those bonus point wins, while redshirt senior Joseph boasts a career-high 20-6 and finished undefeated in conference duals.
Showing continuous improvement late in the season, Josiah Hill moved up from number 30 at heavyweight a month ago to 23rd in his weight class today. The redshirt junior has compiled a 20-8 record with eight pins of his own.
Finally, Triston Wills rounds out the group ranking 33rd at 184 pounds. Wills particularly shines when representing his team, turning in a 16-7 record with 14 of those wins in duals.
Little Rock leads the Pac-12 Conference with seven wrestlers listed, tied with Oregon State, who have two less in the poll compared to last month’s first rankings. Stanford has placed six in the poll, one less than last month, while Arizona State added one ranked wrestler to move the Sun Devils up to five. Cal Poly holds steady with five wrestlers included month-to-month while CSU-Bakersfield still is not represented in the ranking.
Who’s In the First RPI Ranking
Of the seven in the Second Coaches Ranking, six have also been included in the first RPI ranking: Nasir Bailey, Joseph Bianchi, Matty Bianchi, Tyler Brennan, Stephen Little and Josiah Hill.
Once again, Bailey leads the way with the fourth-best ranking at 133 pounds nationally, compiling a win percentage of 91.3%. Joey Bianchi comes in at 19th in the 165 pound weight class with his 20 wins, while brother Matty Bianchi checks in 20th at 157 pounds.
At 197 pounds, Stephen Little sits 21st. Despite his high win percentage, Little’s own strength of schedule and his opponent’s strength of schedule may not be as high as others in his weight class. Finally, Tyler Brennan appears 24th at 174 pounds and Josiah Hill is seated at 31st in the heavyweight division.
What These Rankings Mean
The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.
RPI is a calculation that consists of three factors: winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule) and opponent’s opponent winning percentage (opponent’s strength of schedule). Only matches against Division I opponents at the designated weight class count towards the RPI and a wrestler needs to have wrestled 15 matches to be ranked.
The coaches ranking and RPI are two of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage. A full description of the entire selection process for the 2024 Division I Wrestling Championships is available at ncaa.org.
The 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will take place March 21-23 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
For the latest information on Little Rock Wrestling, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWRES on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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