SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The NCAA released the first coaches’ panel rankings for the 2022-23 wrestling season on Thursday, Jan. 19, with 16 Southern Conference student-athletes appearing on the list.

The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, EIWA, MAC, Pac-12 and SoCon). For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days. 

The coaches’ ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage. The 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will take place March 16-18 at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The SoCon’s 16 ranked individuals are: 
 
125 pounds
Caleb Smith, App State (No. 11)
Anthony Molton, Campbell (No. 25)

133 pounds
Brayden Palmer, Chattanooga (No. 13)
Sean Carter, App State (No. 23)
Domenic Zaccone, Campbell (No. 29)

141 pounds
Shannon Hanna, Campbell (No. 32)

149 pounds
Jon Jon Millner, App State (No. 9)

157 pounds
Tommy Askey, App State (No. 28)

165 pounds
Rodrick Mosley, Gardner-Webb (No. 24)
Will Formato, App State (No. 26)

174 pounds
Rocky Jordan, Chattanooga (No. 11)
Will Miller, App State (No. 27)

184 pounds
Matthew Waddell, Chattanooga (No. 26)
Caleb Hopkins, Campbell (No. 28)

197 pounds
Levi Hopkins, Campbell (No. 29)

Heavyweight
Taye Ghadiali, Campbell (No. 13)

For a full list of rankings by weight class, click here.