SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Campbell Camels have been selected as the preseason frontrunner for the second straight season for the upcoming 2023-24 wrestling campaign by the league’s nine head coaches, who also selected a 10-member preseason all-conference team.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams or student-athletes. Five wrestlers maxed out with the number of points possible to be selected to the preseason all-conference team, while six of the wrestlers on the preseason all-conference team were individual title winners at the 2023 SoCon Championship.
Campbell, who finished second to App State with 78.5 points in last year’s SoCon tournament, earned 59 points in the preseason poll and garnered seven first-place votes. The Camels went 7-1 in conference matchups last season and held a 16-9 record overall, fueled by a pair of victories over Big Ten opponents, topping Purdue on Dec. 20 and then 23rd-ranked Maryland on Jan. 14.
The Camels had five wrestlers selected to the preseason All-SoCon team with Shannon Hanna (141), Austin Murphy (174), Caleb Hopkins (184), Levi Hopkins (197) and Taye Ghadiali (HWT) making the squad. Hanna, both Hopkins’ and Ghadiali were all individual champions at the 2023 SoCon Championship and maxed out on the first-place votes in their respective weight class in the preseason voting. Caleb Hopkins will be looking for his fourth straight individual title at 184 pounds, while Hanna and Ghadiali will each be looking for a third consecutive individual conference crown.
App State, the 2023 SoCon regular season and tournament champion, came in second with 49 points and a first-place vote in the preseason poll. The Mountaineers enter their 14th season under the direction of the two-time defending Southern Conference Coach of the Year JohnMark Bentley. Two App State wrestlers, Tommy Askey (157) and Will Miller (165), were selected to the preseason all-conference team. Askey, who won the 157-pound title at the conference championship a season ago, went 30-13 overall with a perfect 8-0 mark in SoCon matches during the 2022-23 season. Askey was the final wrestler to max out the first-place votes in his weight class in the preseason voting. Miller advanced to the NCAA Championship last season after logging 24 wins during the year, including seven in conference duals.
Chattanooga collected 44 points in the preseason poll and placed two wrestlers on the all-conference squad. Brayden Palmer (133) made the team after finishing the 2022-23 season as the conference’s individual champion in his weight class and the SoCon Tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. Palmer also logged two wins during the NCAA Championship last season. The Mocs’ other member of the preseason all-conference team is Noah Castillo (149), who posted a 10-6 overall record and a 5-1 conference ledger during the 2022-23 season.
Gardner-Webb was selected fourth, receiving 37 points, while The Citadel came in fifth with 31 points. Davidson finished in the sixth spot with 23 points. VMI, Bellarmine and Presbyterian finished in a three-way tie for seventh to round out the poll, with each team picking up 16 points. Presbyterian’s Dominic Chavez (125) rounded out the preseason all-conference team.
The 2023-24 wrestling season gets underway on Nov. 1. The Southern Conference Wrestling Championship will take place March 9, 2024, at App State’s Holmes Convocation Center, in Boone, North Carolina.
2023-24 SoCon Wrestling Preseason Coaches’ Poll
School (First-place votes) Points
1. Campbell (7) 59
2. App State (1) 49
3. Chattanooga 44
4. Gardner-Webb 37
5. The Citadel 31
6. Davidson 23
T7. VMI 16
T7. Bellarmine 16
T7. Presbyterian 16
2023-24 SoCon Wrestling Preseason All-Conference Team
125 Dominic Chavez, Presbyterian
133 Brayden Palmer, Chattanooga
141 Shannon Hanna, Campbell
149 Noah Castillo, Chattanooga
157 Tommy Askey, App State
165 Will Miller, App State
174 Austin Murphy, Campbell
184 Caleb Hopkins, Campbell
197 Levi Hopkins, Campbell
HWT Taye Ghadiali, Campbell