WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Boilermakers will start their season with a road dual at Gardner-Webb Friday night, bringing along a mixture of experience and youth in a talented lineup.
All five NCAA qualifiers from last season's team return for 2024-25, and each of them have earned spots in the preseason national polls. Matt Ramos (No. 4 at 125), Joey Blaze (No. 15 at 157), Stoney Buell (No. 22 at 165), Greyson Clark (No. 23 at 141) and Brody Baumann (No. 31 at 174) look to lead the Boilermakers and build on their success from last season.
Head coach Tony Ersland, entering his 11th season at Purdue, returns 20 wrestlers from last season's roster and welcomes aboard eight true freshmen for 2024-25.
"The continuity from last year's group is big for this team," Ersland said. "A lot of guys got much-needed experience going through the grind of last season, and the guys who didn't get a ton of meaningful reps got bigger and stronger just spending a year in our program. We'll be counting on all the guys to take another step this year, especially with just one senior."
Read on to get the full scoops of Purdue's 125, 133 and 141-pound divisions for Part 1 of our season preview. Parts 2 and 3 will be released later this week.
125
Purdue's lone senior needs no introduction. Matt Ramos, the 2024 NCAA qualifier and 2023 NCAA runner-up in the 125-pound class, rides into his fourth year as the unequivocal leader of the Boilermakers.
The All-American spent multiple weeks as the unanimous top-ranked wrestler in the country last season before a podium finish at the Big Ten Championships. He rode a 13-match win streak from Dec. 2, 2023, to March 9, 2024, encompassing the entirety of Big Ten dual season when he went 8-0. He finished the year 28-8 overall.
Ramos leads the team in at least 23 categories including matches (36), wins (28), dual wins (13), ranked wins (13), bonus point wins (12), B1G wins (14), longest win streak (13), times scoring first (23), takedowns (52), and total points (249).
The Lockport, Ill., native will have numerous opportunities to reclaim the top national spot with competition, with 21 of the top 33 wrestlers in the 125-pound division appearing in events Purdue is scheduled for this season.
Ramos' ultimate goal? Big Ten domination and another opportunity to cement his name as the fourth NCAA Champion in program history.
The 125 class also includes Ashton Jackson and Isaiah Quintero, who have impressive resumes themselves.
Jackson, a redshirt freshman and former two-time Indiana state champion from LaPorte, finished 10-8 in his redshirt season. His six wins via falls led the team and he notched two podium finishes in his first year.
In last Friday's Wrestle Offs, Jackson went the distance with Ramos but ultimately fell in a major decision to the redshirt senior.
This past April, Quintero placed fifth in the US Open Championships U20 division to bolster his already stellar resume that includes a California state title and Fargo All-American honors. He joined the Boilermakers as the No. 55 recruit in the country in FloWrestling's final recruiting rankings of 2024.
133
Redshirt junior Dustin Norris, redshirt sophomore Jacob Macatangay and freshman Cooper Rider are the names to know in the 133-pound division.
Entering his third season of varsity competition, Norris enters the year with a goal of consistently dominating on the mat. He flashed his potential with ranked upset victories over Illinois' No. 23 Anthony Madrigal and North Carolina's No. 25 Caden McCrary last season.
Norris ultimately earned his first Big Ten placewinners medal with an eighth-place finish in College Park, coming up just one spot short of NCAA qualification. The Cincinnati native looks to take another leap in 2024-25.
Macatangay saw his first action in Big Ten duals against Rutgers and Indiana last season. The 2021 Illinois state champion looks to build his resume with more opportunities in the best wrestling conference in the nation.
Rider competed in six matches in 2023-24 and picked up two wins via tech fall at the Greyhound Open. Prior to Purdue he placed fourth (2022), fifth (2023) and sixth (2021) in his career at the Missouri state championships.
141
Greyson Clark, Cole Solomey and Christian White are the Boilers' three representatives in the 141 class.
Clark, a sophomore from Wrightstown, Wis., burst onto the scene as one of Purdue's five NCAA qualifiers this past spring.
As a true freshman, he finished with an impressive 17-10 record with seven bonus points and three ranked victories.
Clark earned an NCAA auto-bid with a 10th place finish in his debut Big Ten tournament, coming back from down five in the third period in the extra 11th place bracket to upset No. 26-ranked Jordan Hamdan of Michigan State to punch his ticket.
Solomey went 7-6 in his redshirt season, racking up three bonus point wins. He took second at the Purple Raider Open, going 3-1 with a pin and a major.
White posted an 11-7 record as a redshirt sophomore last season, picking up three dual and four bonus point wins. It was a solid improvement over his first varsity season the year prior, and the two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree will have more opportunities to take another step forward in 2024-25.
All five NCAA qualifiers from last season's team return for 2024-25, and each of them have earned spots in the preseason national polls. Matt Ramos (No. 4 at 125), Joey Blaze (No. 15 at 157), Stoney Buell (No. 22 at 165), Greyson Clark (No. 23 at 141) and Brody Baumann (No. 31 at 174) look to lead the Boilermakers and build on their success from last season.
Head coach Tony Ersland, entering his 11th season at Purdue, returns 20 wrestlers from last season's roster and welcomes aboard eight true freshmen for 2024-25.
"The continuity from last year's group is big for this team," Ersland said. "A lot of guys got much-needed experience going through the grind of last season, and the guys who didn't get a ton of meaningful reps got bigger and stronger just spending a year in our program. We'll be counting on all the guys to take another step this year, especially with just one senior."
Read on to get the full scoops of Purdue's 125, 133 and 141-pound divisions for Part 1 of our season preview. Parts 2 and 3 will be released later this week.
125
Purdue's lone senior needs no introduction. Matt Ramos, the 2024 NCAA qualifier and 2023 NCAA runner-up in the 125-pound class, rides into his fourth year as the unequivocal leader of the Boilermakers.
The All-American spent multiple weeks as the unanimous top-ranked wrestler in the country last season before a podium finish at the Big Ten Championships. He rode a 13-match win streak from Dec. 2, 2023, to March 9, 2024, encompassing the entirety of Big Ten dual season when he went 8-0. He finished the year 28-8 overall.
Ramos leads the team in at least 23 categories including matches (36), wins (28), dual wins (13), ranked wins (13), bonus point wins (12), B1G wins (14), longest win streak (13), times scoring first (23), takedowns (52), and total points (249).
The Lockport, Ill., native will have numerous opportunities to reclaim the top national spot with competition, with 21 of the top 33 wrestlers in the 125-pound division appearing in events Purdue is scheduled for this season.
Ramos' ultimate goal? Big Ten domination and another opportunity to cement his name as the fourth NCAA Champion in program history.
The 125 class also includes Ashton Jackson and Isaiah Quintero, who have impressive resumes themselves.
Jackson, a redshirt freshman and former two-time Indiana state champion from LaPorte, finished 10-8 in his redshirt season. His six wins via falls led the team and he notched two podium finishes in his first year.
In last Friday's Wrestle Offs, Jackson went the distance with Ramos but ultimately fell in a major decision to the redshirt senior.
This past April, Quintero placed fifth in the US Open Championships U20 division to bolster his already stellar resume that includes a California state title and Fargo All-American honors. He joined the Boilermakers as the No. 55 recruit in the country in FloWrestling's final recruiting rankings of 2024.
133
Redshirt junior Dustin Norris, redshirt sophomore Jacob Macatangay and freshman Cooper Rider are the names to know in the 133-pound division.
Entering his third season of varsity competition, Norris enters the year with a goal of consistently dominating on the mat. He flashed his potential with ranked upset victories over Illinois' No. 23 Anthony Madrigal and North Carolina's No. 25 Caden McCrary last season.
Norris ultimately earned his first Big Ten placewinners medal with an eighth-place finish in College Park, coming up just one spot short of NCAA qualification. The Cincinnati native looks to take another leap in 2024-25.
Macatangay saw his first action in Big Ten duals against Rutgers and Indiana last season. The 2021 Illinois state champion looks to build his resume with more opportunities in the best wrestling conference in the nation.
Rider competed in six matches in 2023-24 and picked up two wins via tech fall at the Greyhound Open. Prior to Purdue he placed fourth (2022), fifth (2023) and sixth (2021) in his career at the Missouri state championships.
141
Greyson Clark, Cole Solomey and Christian White are the Boilers' three representatives in the 141 class.
Clark, a sophomore from Wrightstown, Wis., burst onto the scene as one of Purdue's five NCAA qualifiers this past spring.
As a true freshman, he finished with an impressive 17-10 record with seven bonus points and three ranked victories.
Clark earned an NCAA auto-bid with a 10th place finish in his debut Big Ten tournament, coming back from down five in the third period in the extra 11th place bracket to upset No. 26-ranked Jordan Hamdan of Michigan State to punch his ticket.
Solomey went 7-6 in his redshirt season, racking up three bonus point wins. He took second at the Purple Raider Open, going 3-1 with a pin and a major.
White posted an 11-7 record as a redshirt sophomore last season, picking up three dual and four bonus point wins. It was a solid improvement over his first varsity season the year prior, and the two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree will have more opportunities to take another step forward in 2024-25.