The upcoming roster and depth chart

[BrockBronson]

Nice write up on the starting lineup and roster

Penn State Wrestling Roster Taking Shape for 2024

Get the inside scoop on Penn State Wrestling's dominant force under coach Cael Sanderson. Learn about the talented lineup and returning champions for the 2023-2024 season.

nittanycentral.com

 

[Ian]

I thought Donovan Ball has moved on…

 

[86PSUPaul]

Didn’t one of the Lee brothers stand at the banquet as a graduating senior?

 

[creamery freak]

Didn’t one of the Lee brothers stand at the banquet as a graduating senior?

Yes, Joe I believe.

 

[matter7172]

Kurt McHenry gets too little credit, imo. It took Bob Weaver a number of years to make an impact in NCAA folkstyle due his size disadvantage. If Robbie Howard can't go, I see McHenry having a very positive impact for the team.

 

[jschrantz]

Kurt McHenry gets too little credit, imo. It took Bob Weaver a number of years to make an impact in NCAA folkstyle due his size disadvantage. If Robbie Howard can't go, I see McHenry having a very positive impact for the team.

I strongly believe that credit will follow after some good collegiate results for Kurt

 

[El-Jefe]

I thought Donovan Ball has moved on…

PSU is notoriously bad at updating the roster. They still had Cenzo at 149 (his shirt weight) for nearly his entire first year at 165.

 

[jack66]

If Carter takes an Oly RS, I think it's likely we'll see Facundo or Messenbrink bump up to 174

 

[McScoreley]

If Carter takes an Oly RS, I think it's likely we'll see Facundo or Messenbrink bump up to 174

Facundo 100% would be the guy there, I think that's his ideal weight anyways.

 

[jschrantz]

If Carter takes an Oly RS, I think it's likely we'll see Facundo or Messenbrink bump up to 174

Please tell me this won’t the case

 

[Creek Side]

If Carter takes an Oly RS, I think it's likely we'll see Facundo or Messenbrink bump up to 174

Please tell me this won’t the case

I've got a feeling that Carter didn't "come to play school" 😒. If he takes any breaks that may be the last we see him in a PSU singlet.

 

[Ja1339]

If Carter takes an Oly RS, I think it's likely we'll see Facundo or Messenbrink bump up to 174

When he committed, I thought Messenbrink mentioned he could go 57 or 65, I didn’t think 74 was an option for him.

 

[NoVa Lion]

If Carter takes an Oly RS, I think it's likely we'll see Facundo or Messenbrink bump up to 174

Carter's choices for the Olympics are 163 (I don;t see that happening) or 189 to challenge DT & Brooks. Unless he has had a serious growth spurt I don;t see any reason for him to take an Oly RS,

 

[creamery freak]

I've got a feeling that Carter didn't "come to play school" 😒. If he takes any breaks that may be the last we see him in a PSU singlet.

Talking with Carter at the 2022 Spring banquet, I asked if he was going to be the 1st possible 5 time champ. He said at that time 4 was his goal and not 5. I think he wrestles this year for his 4th and moves on.

 

[jack66]

Carter's choices for the Olympics are 163 (I don;t see that happening) or 189 to challenge DT & Brooks. Unless he has had a serious growth spurt I don;t see any reason for him to take an Oly RS,

Is that how Carter sees it?

When he talks about becoming an Olympic champ, he must realize he'll need to choose one or the other.

 

[wrestlingfan22]

Is that how Carter sees it?

When he talks about becoming an Olympic champ, he must realize he'll need to choose one or the other.

he has said he is going 163 for 2024 Trials in the past

 

[jpsolo]

I think Mesenbrink will be a mainstay at either 157 or 165 if he doesn’t Oly RS. He’s just scratching the surface and I think once he gets in the lineup he’s not going to lose many matches and could be a star. That’s nothing against Levi or Alex either and we’ll see how they fit in.

 

[Hazy_Davey]

he has said he is going 163 for 2024 Trials in the past

I feel like he's said this multiple times. I think that's where people start to assume an Oly redshirt this year. I don't see how he could wrestle a full season at 174 and then shrink his body by Oly Team trials and hope to be anywhere near peak effectiveness. Hell, even with him taking a full year off to shrink his body, I don't know how he does it with day of weigh ins, then goes through the trials tournament, and beats Nolf and Dake. Especially after we just saw what Dake did to Nolf

 

[Cali_Nittany]

I think Mesenbrink will be a mainstay at either 157 or 165 if he doesn’t Oly RS. He’s just scratching the surface and I think once he gets in the lineup he’s not going to lose many matches and could be a star. That’s nothing against Levi or Alex either and we’ll see how they fit in.

Levi won't be pushed out of the lineup.

 

[jpsolo]

Right. I think it will be Levi and Mitchell 157/165 in some order with potential redshirts in there. Don’t forget Mitchell beat Levi last year in freestyle. Both have improved since. Not saying he beats Levi out just a data point. Will be interesting for sure how it shakes out. Carter has 2 years and an OLY shirt too. Facundo has an oly and 3 years just for starters.

 

[Hotshoe]

Carter's choices for the Olympics are 163 (I don;t see that happening) or 189 to challenge DT & Brooks. Unless he has had a serious growth spurt I don;t see any reason for him to take an Oly RS,

I also believe he wants number 4. Not many have ever done that.

 

[McScoreley]

No sources but I lean on Starocci wrestling just from a hunch, few reasons why:

1. He said multiple times he wants 4, that is a magic number. He said on Flo he will wrestle next year, win 4 then win Olympics. It's 5 he isn't interested in and for good reason, I don't think that differentiates him in any significant way, it's awesome but nobody else had the chance. Hell Carter could win 6 and nobody will think he's better than Cael lol.

2. He's ready to get started on MMA, I don't think wrestling 2024-2025 is something he wants to do candidly.

3. He likes the spotlight and college is the peak of it. He has the chance to be the face of one of the most dominant teams ever, going for #4 with his best friend Aaron Brooks. You can bet that intrigues him.

4. Interesting thing I noticed but every Olympic medalist recently out of college WRESTLED college folk season. J'Den Cox did, Kyle Snyder did and Gable Steveson did. Spencer Lee wrestled in 2020 as well. He said he uses Gable as an example, Gable never took off from folk. Yianni redshirted and it didn't work well for him. I think Cox is his best comparison, he was making a huge cut to 86KG and wasn't really wrestling free at all and just threw his hat in the ring.

5. NIL duh.

All in all, Carter likes the suspense and I'm sure he is serious about it but he has until January to officially decide decide so no need to ponder too much. He could say he's redshirting then change his mind getting FOMO seeing the team happy in Florida wrestling duals lol.

Inserting my quote from a previous thread. I do think Carter is genuinely thinking it through right now but reasons above is why I think he wrestles.

 

[Hotshoe]

Inserting my quote from a previous thread. I do think Carter is genuinely thinking it through right now but reasons above is why I think he wrestles.

We've never had a four timer, and next year we could have two. My God, have we sucked since David, Ed, Jason, Zain, and Bo left. Lol

 

[El-Jefe]

Right. I think it will be Levi and Mitchell 157/165 in some order with potential redshirts in there. Don’t forget Mitchell beat Levi last year in freestyle. Both have improved since. Not saying he beats Levi out just a data point. Will be interesting for sure how it shakes out. Carter has 2 years and an OLY shirt too. Facundo has an oly and 3 years just for starters.

Levi has probably earned the right to choose his weight between 157/165.

 

[GogglesPaizano]

A strong case can be made for a redshirt this year for any one of the four - Levi, Messi, Facundo and Carter individually.

Each permutation or scenario poses a legitimate rationale with merits worthy of endless debate.

The first and most important domino to fall is settling if Carter wants to shirt. In one sense that solves next year's lineup question the easiest, with Alex most likely bumping up and Levi and Messi can draw straws for who wants to cut for 157. (Cael has a plan).

Early indications are that Carter won't redshirt. I hope so, and he gets #4 this year along with Aaron. Tandem 4xers would be amazing. IMO the weight cut for the Olympics is not something he can do effectively in a couple of months. In all honestly I don't see the Oly stars aligning for him this cycle. Sorry, but he isn't beating the best in the USA or in the world sucked down.

Even with Carter in the lineup, any of the remaining three can shirt and it would make a lot of sense for whomever suits out. I doubt we will know for sure until late November.

What a luxury to have little too no drop off across the 3 younger wrestlers at those two weights. I expect Alex to be a solid AA candidate this year, but replacing Carter's points won't happen if he bumps up.

 

[McScoreley]

Mesenbrink in his initial interview said he is prepared to do whatever the coaches think is best for him.

He has a regular redshirt, Olympic redshirt, he can go 157 or he can go 165 next year. He's open to anything so that helps a ton with the jam.

Not only a phenomenal wrestler but a perfect fit culturally to the room. His post U20 interview had PSU wrestler written all over it, discussed making adjustments and also not being focused on just the results but enjoying the process itself.

 

[PSU_Pride_93]

Mesenbrink in his initial interview said he is prepared to do whatever the coaches think is best for him.

He has a regular redshirt, Olympic redshirt, he can go 157 or he can go 165 next year. He's open to anything so that helps a ton with the jam.

Not only a phenomenal wrestler but a perfect fit culturally to the room. His post U20 interview had PSU wrestler written all over it, discussed making adjustments and also not being focused on just the results but enjoying the process itself.

I thought he used his RS last year at Cal Baptist

 

[McScoreley]

I thought he used his RS last year at Cal Baptist

I think you're right ... I think he said he was taking online classes so he might have used a redshirt.

 

[GogglesPaizano]

We've never had a four timer, and next year we could have two. My God, have we sucked since David, Ed, Jason, Zain, and Bo left. Lol

I hope we finally get 4xers from Cael's program this year.

That said, I for one am more enamored with career bonus rate than a 4th NC in terms of making a case for who is a GOAT.

It seems crazy that not only might we get our 1st, but also the 2nd in the same year, while looking back over the excellence that has gone through this program the past decade.

As for GOATs all 5 names you list, appear above Carter and Aaron on my secret list, even after assuming they both get number 4 this coming year.

 

[tullfan68]

Kurt McHenry gets too little credit, imo. It took Bob Weaver a number of years to make an impact in NCAA folkstyle due his size disadvantage. If Robbie Howard can't go, I see McHenry having a very positive impact for the team.

what has he done for credit so far?I hope he does well here!

 

[tullfan68]

but he won't beat out Howard if he is healthy!

 

[matter7172]

but he won't beat out Howard if he is healthy!

But I'm fully skeptical that Steen or Nasdeo is better than McHenry at this point.

 

[mjmirv]

I’ve broken down the potential rosters for 157, 165 and 174 many different ways. There’s obviously gonna be log jams in the next few years, but the scenario that creates the least amount of log jams is redshirting Mesenbrink.

If you redshirt Mesenbrink in 2024, that leaves you with Levi and Facundo with only two years left, Mesenbrink with 4. This scenario opens up either 157 or 165 in 2027. Because the other two guys will have graduated after 2026.

If you redshirt Levi or Facundo this year, you will have two guys after 2024 with three years of eligibility left. Mesenbrink and whoever redshirted. That means 157 and 165 will both be locked down through the 2027 season.

174 seems pretty obvious. Either Starocci goes the next two years or Facundo bumps up. If Starocci goes one more season or not at all, things get easier for the above 3 guys. If Starocci uses both years, you’ll probably see somebody transfer.

I hope Josh Barr delays enrollment. If Starocci uses both years and Barr enrolls this summer, I have no idea how everybody gets in the lineup. I’m sure Barr could go 184, but then where the heck does Ryder fit in?

Redshirting Mesenbrink and Barr delaying enrollment seems like the most efficient path forward for this year.

 

[El-Jefe]

Mesenbrink in his initial interview said he is prepared to do whatever the coaches think is best for him.

He has a regular redshirt, Olympic redshirt, he can go 157 or he can go 165 next year. He's open to anything so that helps a ton with the jam.

Not only a phenomenal wrestler but a perfect fit culturally to the room. His post U20 interview had PSU wrestler written all over it, discussed making adjustments and also not being focused on just the results but enjoying the process itself.

Expecting Levi to hold 157 for 3 more years isn't smart. So the strategic play is to shirt him when he needs to go 165, and manage Mesenbrink accordingly.

 

[Petch]

Expecting Levi to hold 157 for 3 more years isn't smart. So the strategic play is to shirt him when he needs to go 165, and manage Mesenbrink accordingly.

Good Lord we are so spoiled!

 

[Cali_Nittany]

I’ve broken down the potential rosters for 157, 165 and 174 many different ways. There’s obviously gonna be log jams in the next few years, but the scenario that creates the least amount of log jams is redshirting Mesenbrink.

If you redshirt Mesenbrink in 2024, that leaves you with Levi and Facundo with only two years left, Mesenbrink with 4. This scenario opens up either 157 or 165 in 2027. Because the other two guys will have graduated after 2026.

If you redshirt Levi or Facundo this year, you will have two guys after 2024 with three years of eligibility left. Mesenbrink and whoever redshirted. That means 157 and 165 will both be locked down through the 2027 season.

174 seems pretty obvious. Either Starocci goes the next two years or Facundo bumps up. If Starocci goes one more season or not at all, things get easier for the above 3 guys. If Starocci uses both years, you’ll probably see somebody transfer.

I hope Josh Barr delays enrollment. If Starocci uses both years and Barr enrolls this summer, I have no idea how everybody gets in the lineup. I’m sure Barr could go 184, but then where the heck does Ryder fit in?

Redshirting Mesenbrink and Barr delaying enrollment seems like the most efficient path forward for this year.

And you didn't even mention Sealey.

 

[Ian]

Cael lets them grow… few cut heavy weight. Honestly, I was surprised Max and Brooks didn’t switch last year… Brooks was bulging and Max seemed small for 197.

 

[GogglesPaizano]

Even some grey shirts won't fully solve the issue. It seems likely we lose two from this list IMO.

A painful way of looking at it, but the odds of a blue chip transferring out from most to least likely 149-184:

Gibson - ???, ok not a top blue chip
Barr - 184
Kasak - 149, 157
Facundo - 165, 174
Sealy - 149, 157
Ryder - 184
Mesinbrink - 157
Haynes - 157, 165
SVN - 149

PS - I think last year was an aberration. Facundo with an AA this year will drop his position slightly.

PSS - looking at it this way leaves me less enamored with the prospect of Carter going for 5x. Is that one year worth 4 from those to follow?

 

[Random4598375]

Even some grey shirts won't fully solve the issue. It seems likely we lose two from this list IMO.

A painful way of looking at it, but the odds of a blue chip transferring out from most to least likely 149-184:

Gibson - ???, ok not a top blue chip
Barr - 184
Kasak - 149, 157
Facundo - 165, 174
Sealy - 149, 157
Ryder - 184
Mesinbrink - 157
Haynes - 157, 165
SVN - 149

PS - I think last year was an aberration. Facundo with an AA this year will drop his position slightly.

PSS - looking at it this way leaves me less enamored with the prospect of Carter going for 5x. Is that one year worth 4 from those to follow?

Sealy at 149? Is that even a possibility?

 

[El-Jefe]

Sealy at 149? Is that even a possibility?

Yes. But only if you ignore his career weight trajectory (HS FR 152) and his stated desire to wrestle 165 in college since it's closest to 74 kg freestyle.

It's not possible on the mat.