Program-High Seven Trojans Listed on First NCAA Coaches Ranking

LITTLE ROCK - Seven Little Rock wrestlers have been listed in the first NCAA Coaches Ranking ahead of the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, as announced by the governing body Monday morning. It is the first time that more than two wrestlers have been listed in the Ranking in program history.

Who's In the Rankings

Two Trojans check in within the top 10 - Nasir Bailey at 133 pounds and Stephen Little at 197 pounds. Both in their first full seasons competing as the primary starter in the Little Rock lineup, the pair show the strength of the youth elevating the program. Bailey recently was recognized as fourth in the country for most technical falls compiled over Division I components (8) and collected the team's first Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week award this season. The true freshman's 17 wins lead the team. Meanwhile, Little continues to prove clutch in several situations, such as his technical fall during the program's first win over a ranked team last weekend. The redshirt freshman owns a record of 13-2, with all but one of those bonus point wins.

Tyler Brennan claims the next-highest ranking, sitting at 14th in the 174-pound weight class. Brennan, the sole Trojan that competed as a full-time starter in the team's inaugural season back in 2019, demonstrates the other side of Little Rock's improvement: development within the team that has been trending upward over the past five years. Brennan holds a career-high record of 16-2 this season as well as the second-highest winning percentage on the team behind only Bailey. 

Brothers Matty Bianchi and Joseph Bianchi both sit in the 20s as they continue their lifelong duty to push one another to be better. The former has been even more reliable in his second year as the starter at 157 pounds, with eight of his 11 wins so far this season bonus point wins. The latter is the other Trojan starter along with Brennan that has been with the program all five years, and has bumped up to 165 pounds this year to earn his spot in the lineup, posting a career-high 16 victories this season.

Rounding out the group are Josiah Hill and Triston Wills, ranking no. 30 at heavyweight and no. 31 at 184 pounds, respectively. The pair represented Little Rock in the first NCAA Coaches Ranking last year and are looking to improve this season with bids to the national tournament. Like the rest of the roster, they have been hot early, as Hill has tied with Brennan for the program's most pins in a single season. Wills has never been more productive to the team than this year, stringing together a 11-3 record in duals alone - five more wins than his previous high in head-to-head matches. Their consistency year-to-year has been crucial to Little Rock's development as well, as both have been starters in the lineup for several years in a row now.

Compared to their Pac-12 foes, only Oregon State has more wrestlers listed, with nine total. Stanford ties the Trojans with seven wrestlers in the Rankings, while Cal Poly trails with five and Arizona State, four. CSU-Bakersfield does not have a single wrestler named.

What These Rankings Mean

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. 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 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will take place March 21-23 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
 

For the latest information on Little Rock Wrestling, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWRES on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

#LittleRocksTeam