PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Feb. 19, 2021) – The Big Ten Conference announced its preliminary seeding for the 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, scheduled for March 6-7 in University Park, Pennsylvania. These seeds will be confirmed and finalized in bracket form by league coaches on Friday, March 5 prior to the start of the tournament. The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference's coaches, rank 14 starters in all 10 weight classes.
 
Two Scarlet Knights – Sammy Alvarez (133) and Sebastian Rivera (141) – earned No. 3 seeds in their respective weight classes, while John Poznanski (184) earned a No. 5 seed to open the tournament. Jackson Turley (174) and Michael VanBrill (149) are No. 7 and No. 8, respectively to represent Rutgers wrestling as top-8 seeds.
 
To qualify automatically for the 2021 NCAA Championships from March 18-20 in St. Louis, each Scarlet Knight will have to finish within the threshold listed at his weight. The Big Ten leads the country with 76 of the total 266 automatic bids on the table, with a total conference breakdown below.

2021 NCAA Championships Qualifier Breakdown

Conference	125	133	141	149	157	165	174	184	197	HWT	PA	AQ	Total
ACC	2	3	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	3	23	10	33
Big 12	4	4	3	4	2	4	3	3	4	4	35	10	45
Big Ten	7	7	7	6	7	7	7	7	5	6	66	10	76
EIWA	2	2	4	3	4	4	4	5	4	3	35	10	45
MAC	3	4	3	3	3	1	2	2	2	2	25	10	35
Pac 12	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	2	1	9	10	19
Southern	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	10	13

The full list of pre-seeds can be found below.
 

2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships – Pre-Seeds

125 LBS.

1. Spencer Lee, Iowa
2. Liam Cronin, Nebraska
3. Malik Heinselman, Ohio State
4. Patrick McKee, Minnesota
5. Rayvon Foley, Michigan State
6. Eric Barnett, Wisconsin
7. Devin Schroder, Purdue
8. Michael DeAugustino, Northwestern
9. Dylan Ragusin, Michigan
10. Justin Cardani, Illinois
11. Robert Howard, Penn State
12. Jacob Moran, Indiana
13. Dylan Shawver, Rutgers
14. Zach Spence, Maryland

133 LBS.

1. Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State
2. Austin DeSanto, Iowa
3. Sammy Alvarez, Rutgers
4. Lucas Byrd, Illinois
5. Chris Cannon, Northwestern
6. Jack Medley, Michigan
7. Boo Dryden, Minnesota
8. Jordan Decatur, Ohio State
9. Jacob Rundell, Purdue
10. Kyle Burwick, Wisconsin
11. Tucker Sjomeling, Nebraska
12. Jordan Hamdan, Michigan State
13. Kyle Luigs, Indiana
14. Jackson Cockrell, Maryland

141 LBS.

1. Jaydin Eierman, Iowa
2. Nick Lee, Penn State
3. Sebastian Rivera, Rutgers
4. Chad Red, Nebraska
5. Dylan Duncan, Illinois
6. Marcos Polanco, Minnesota
7. Dylan D'Emilio, Ohio State
8. Drew Mattin, Michigan
9. Parker Filius, Purdue
10. Cayden Rooks, Indiana
11. Danny Bertoni, Maryland
12. Matt Santos, Michigan State
13. Colin Valdiviez, Northwestern
14. Dominic Dentino, Wisconsin

149 LBS.

1. Sammy Sasso, Ohio State
2. Max Murin, Iowa
3. Griffin Parriott, Purdue
4. Yahya Thomas, Northwestern
5. Kanen Storr, Michigan
6. Michael Blockhus, Minnesota
7. Ridge Lovett, Nebraska
8. Michael VanBrill, Rutgers
9. Graham Rooks, Indiana
10. Peyton Omania, Michigan State
11. Beau Bartlett, Penn State
12. Drew Scharenbrock, Wisconsin
13. Christian Kanzler, Illinois
14. Michael North, Maryland

157 LBS.

1. Ryan Deakin, Northwestern
2. Kaleb Young, Iowa
3. Brayton Lee, Minnesota
4. Kendall Coleman, Purdue
5. Brady Berge, Penn State
6. Will Lewan, Michigan
7. Chase Saldate, Michigan State
8. Garrett Model, Wisconsin
9. Elijah Cleary, Ohio State
10. Caleb Licking, Nebraska
11. Michael Doetsch, Maryland
12. Johnny Mologousis, Illinois
13. Luke Baughman, Indiana

165 LBS.

1. Alex Marinelli, Iowa
2. Dan Braunagel, Illinois
3. Ethan Smith, Ohio State
4. Cameron Amine, Michigan
5. Andrew Sparks, Minnesota
6. Joe Lee, Penn State
7. Peyton Robb, Nebraska
8. Jake Tucker, Michigan State
9. Nick South, Indiana
10. Gerrit Nijenhuis, Purdue
11. Jonathan Spadafora, Maryland
12. David Ferrante, Northwestern
13. Brett Donner, Rutgers
14. Josh Otto, Wisconsin

174 LBS.

1. Michael Kemerer, Iowa
2. Mikey Labriola, Nebraska
3. Carter Starocci, Penn State
4. Logan Massa, Michigan
5. Donnell Washington, Indiana
6. Kaleb Romero, Ohio State
7. Jackson Turley, Rutgers
8. Jared Krattiger, Wisconsin
9. Jake Allar, Minnesota
10. Drew Hughes, Michigan State
11. DJ Shannon, Illinois
12. Emil Soehnlen, Purdue
13. Troy Fisher, Northwestern
14. Philip Spadafora, Maryland

184 LBS.

1. Aaron Brooks, Penn State
2. Christopher Weiler, Wisconsin
3. Layne Malczewski, Michigan State
4. Owen Webster, Minnesota
5. John Poznanski, Rutgers
6. Taylor Venz, Nebraska
7. Max Lyon, Purdue
8. Zach Braunagel, Illinois
9. Nelson Brands, Iowa
10. Rocky Jordan, Ohio State
11. Kyle Cochran, Maryland
12. Jaden Bullock, Michigan
13. Jon Halvorsen, Northwestern
14. Santon Cantu III, Indiana

197 LBS.

1. Eric Schultz, Nebraska
2. Myles Amine, Michigan
3. Jacob Warner, Iowa
4. Cam Caffey, Michigan State
5. Lucas Davison, Northwestern
6. Thomas Penola, Purdue
7. Michael Beard, Penn State
8. Matt Wroblewski, Illinois
9. Gavin Hoffman, Ohio State
10. Billy Janzer, Rutgers
11. Garrett Joles, Minnesota
12. Jaron Smith, Maryland
13. Nick Willham, Indiana
14. Andrew Salemme, Wisconsin

285 LBS.

1. Gable Steveson, Minnesota
2. Mason Parris, Michigan
3. Tony Cassioppi Iowa
4. Luke Luffman, Illinois
5. Christian Lance, Nebraska
6. Trent Hillger, Wisconsin
7. Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State
8. Tate Orndorff, Ohio State
9. Christian Rebottaro Michigan State
10. Jack Heyob, Northwestern
11. Christian Colucci, Rutgers
12. Dorian Keys, Purdue
13. Rudy Streck, Indiana
14. Garrett Kappes, Maryland