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.
	- Spencer Lee, Iowa
- Liam Cronin, Nebraska
- Malik Heinselman, Ohio State
- Patrick McKee, Minnesota
- Rayvon Foley, Michigan State
- Eric Barnett, Wisconsin
- Devin Schroder, Purdue
- Michael DeAugustino, Northwestern
- Dylan Ragusin, Michigan
- Justin Cardani, Illinois
- Robert Howard, Penn State
- Jacob Moran, Indiana
- Dylan Shawver, Rutgers
- Zach Spence, Maryland
133 LBS.
	- Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State
- Austin DeSanto, Iowa
- Sammy Alvarez, Rutgers
- Lucas Byrd, Illinois
- Chris Cannon, Northwestern
- Jack Medley, Michigan
- Boo Dryden, Minnesota
- Jordan Decatur, Ohio State
- Jacob Rundell, Purdue
- Kyle Burwick, Wisconsin
- Tucker Sjomeling, Nebraska
- Jordan Hamdan, Michigan State
- Kyle Luigs, Indiana
- Jackson Cockrell, Maryland
141 LBS.
	- Jaydin Eierman, Iowa
- Nick Lee, Penn State
- Sebastian Rivera, Rutgers
- Chad Red, Nebraska
- Dylan Duncan, Illinois
- Marcos Polanco, Minnesota
- Dylan D'Emilio, Ohio State
- Drew Mattin, Michigan
- Parker Filius, Purdue
- Cayden Rooks, Indiana
- Danny Bertoni, Maryland
- Matt Santos, Michigan State
- Colin Valdiviez, Northwestern
- Dominic Dentino, Wisconsin
149 LBS.
	- Sammy Sasso, Ohio State
- Max Murin, Iowa
- Griffin Parriott, Purdue
- Yahya Thomas, Northwestern
- Kanen Storr, Michigan
- Michael Blockhus, Minnesota
- Ridge Lovett, Nebraska
- Michael VanBrill, Rutgers
- Graham Rooks, Indiana
- Peyton Omania, Michigan State
- Beau Bartlett, Penn State
- Drew Scharenbrock, Wisconsin
- Christian Kanzler, Illinois
- Michael North, Maryland
157 LBS.
	- Ryan Deakin, Northwestern
- Kaleb Young, Iowa
- Brayton Lee, Minnesota
- Kendall Coleman, Purdue
- Brady Berge, Penn State
- Will Lewan, Michigan
- Chase Saldate, Michigan State
- Garrett Model, Wisconsin
- Elijah Cleary, Ohio State
- Caleb Licking, Nebraska
- Michael Doetsch, Maryland
- Johnny Mologousis, Illinois
- Luke Baughman, Indiana
165 LBS.
	- Alex Marinelli, Iowa
- Dan Braunagel, Illinois
- Ethan Smith, Ohio State
- Cameron Amine, Michigan
- Andrew Sparks, Minnesota
- Joe Lee, Penn State
- Peyton Robb, Nebraska
- Jake Tucker, Michigan State
- Nick South, Indiana
- Gerrit Nijenhuis, Purdue
- Jonathan Spadafora, Maryland
- David Ferrante, Northwestern
- Brett Donner, Rutgers
- Josh Otto, Wisconsin
174 LBS.
	- Michael Kemerer, Iowa
- Mikey Labriola, Nebraska
- Carter Starocci, Penn State
- Logan Massa, Michigan
- Donnell Washington, Indiana
- Kaleb Romero, Ohio State
- Jackson Turley, Rutgers
- Jared Krattiger, Wisconsin
- Jake Allar, Minnesota
- Drew Hughes, Michigan State
- DJ Shannon, Illinois
- Emil Soehnlen, Purdue
- Troy Fisher, Northwestern
- Philip Spadafora, Maryland
184 LBS.
	- Aaron Brooks, Penn State
- Christopher Weiler, Wisconsin
- Layne Malczewski, Michigan State
- Owen Webster, Minnesota
- John Poznanski, Rutgers
- Taylor Venz, Nebraska
- Max Lyon, Purdue
- Zach Braunagel, Illinois
- Nelson Brands, Iowa
- Rocky Jordan, Ohio State
- Kyle Cochran, Maryland
- Jaden Bullock, Michigan
- Jon Halvorsen, Northwestern
- Santon Cantu III, Indiana
197 LBS.
	- Eric Schultz, Nebraska
- Myles Amine, Michigan
- Jacob Warner, Iowa
- Cam Caffey, Michigan State
- Lucas Davison, Northwestern
- Thomas Penola, Purdue
- Michael Beard, Penn State
- Matt Wroblewski, Illinois
- Gavin Hoffman, Ohio State
- Billy Janzer, Rutgers
- Garrett Joles, Minnesota
- Jaron Smith, Maryland
- Nick Willham, Indiana
- Andrew Salemme, Wisconsin
285 LBS.
	- Gable Steveson, Minnesota
- Mason Parris, Michigan
- Tony Cassioppi Iowa
- Luke Luffman, Illinois
- Christian Lance, Nebraska
- Trent Hillger, Wisconsin
- Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State
- Tate Orndorff, Ohio State
- Christian Rebottaro Michigan State
- Jack Heyob, Northwestern
- Christian Colucci, Rutgers
- Dorian Keys, Purdue
- Rudy Streck, Indiana
- Garrett Kappes, Maryland