2022 NCAA Wrestling Championship Brackets Released
MINNEAPOLIS – The stage is set for Detroit as the NCAA released all ten brackets for the NCAA Championships on Wednesday evening. The championships will begin next Thursday, March 17 through March 19 inside Little Caesars Arena.
The class of nine Gophers representing the Maroon & Gold is headlined by senior heavyweight Gable Steveson as he claims the top-seed in his weight class for the third straight season. Steveson just came off of his third Big Ten title in Lincoln and heads into the NCAA tournament with a perfect 13-0 record and a 100% bonus rate on the season.
Patrick McKee claims the 8-seed at 125 pounds after his impressive third-place finish at the conference tournament. He takes a 20-7 seed in Detroit and will face off against Caleb Smith of Appalachian State. This will mark McKee’s second appearance at the NCAA tournament, as he became an All-American last season with a third-place finish.
Jake Gliva enters his first NCAA tournament as the 29-seed as he will get Virginia Tech’s Korbin Myers in the first round. Gliva placed 8th at the Big Ten tournament last weekend, defeating the current 13-seed Brock Hudkins (Indiana) to earn his automatic bid.
Jake Bergeland looks to continue his momentum into Detroit as he sits as the 10-seed at 141 pounds. The redshirt senior currently holds a 19-7 mark on the season and is coming off of a third-place finish in Lincoln. He will toe the line against Gabe Willochell of Edinboro in the first round next Thursday.
Michael Blockhus slots in at No. 31 in the 149-pound bracket as he will get North Carolina State’s Tariq Wilson in the first round. Blockhus holds a 16-13 record on the year as he heads into his second NCAA tournament.
Cael Carlson gets the 28-seed at 165 pounds, as his first career NCAA tournament match will come against the returning NCAA champion Shane Griffith of Stanford. Carlson earned his tournament bid by placing 7th at the Big Tens, pinning Michigan State’s Caleb Fish for the final allocation spot.
One day after earning an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships, Bailee O’Reilly found himself as the No. 21 seed, where he will take on South Dakota State’s Cade DeVos in round one. O’Reilly has an 11-6 record on the year and reached the Big Ten quarterfinals before injury defaulting out of the tournament.
Yet another NCAA first-timer enters the fold at 184 pounds for the Maroon & Gold as Isaiah Salazar holds the 19-seed as he will battle North Carolina’s Gavin Kane. Salazar had an impressive Big Ten tournament as he defeated two top-15 opponents to earn his spot. He holds a 14-5 record this season.
The final NCAA qualifier for the Gophers is Michial Foy at 197 pounds as he gets the No. 26 seed and will face Rocky Elam in the first round. Foy, who as a 2019 NJCAA national champion, earned his spot in his first NCAA Division I championships by defeating Jaron Smith for the final allocation spot at the Big Ten tournament.
NCAA Division I National Championships Brackets
The NCAA Championships will run Thursday-Saturday, March 17-19. The entire tournament will be televised on the ESPN family of networks with ESPN3 providing mat-by-mat coverage online.
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