Early Lineup Look: 2022-23 Oregon State Beavers
Early Lineup Look: 2022-23 Oregon State Beavers
A complete breakdown of the Oregon State Beavers for the upcoming 2022-23 NCAA season.
Oregon State had a breakout performance at the 2022 NCAA Tournament with 4 All-Americans and a 12th place team finish. After that showing, the Beavers won’t be taking anyone by surprise this year with a solid lineup returning for Coach Pendleton and company. Check out a full breakdown of their projected starting lineup for the upcoming NCAA season.
2022-23 Oregon State Projected Starting Lineup
- 125: Brandon Kaylor, JR
- 133: Jason Schaner, SR
- 141: Cleveland Belton, SO / Hunter Eveland, FR
- 149: Triston Lara, SR
- 157: Isaiah Crosby, JR
- 165: Matthew Olguin, SO
- 174: Aaron Olmos, SR
- 184: Trey Munoz, SO
- 197: Tanner Harvey, SR / Ryan Reyes, JR
- 285: Charles Hastriter FR / J.J. Dixon, JR
125: Brandon Kaylor, JR
Brandon Kaylor broke through to reach the podium at the NCAA tournament last year with an 8th place finish in Detroit. At NCAAs, Kaylor earned the #11 seed and reached the quarter-finals with wins over Ryan Miller and #6 seed Eric Barnett. After falling to Patrick Glory in the quarters (7-3), Kaylor earned AA honors with a dramatic pin over Missouri’s Noah Surtin in the round of 12. Though Kaylor lost his next 2 to finish 8th, Kaylor’s NCAA tournament and season proved he’s a legitimate contender at 125 this upcoming season.
The Beavers need Kaylor to earn significant points at the big show next year if they hope to match their finish from last year. With Devan Turner, Grant Willits, and Hunter Willits gone, Kaylor is the only returning All-American in the starting lineup this year for Oregon State.
Hear Brandon Kaylor’s wild blood round story:
133: Jason Shaner, SR
Jason Shaner will be taking over the starting spot at 133 after the graduation of All-American Devan Turner. Shaner was a junior college All-American for Clackamas and showed promise in his spot starts for the Beavers in 2021 and 2022. Shaner recorded notable victories over NCAA qualifiers Paul Bianchi, Reece Witcraft, and Malyke Hines. While Shaner has big shoes to fill from Turner’s absence, he absolutely has the potential to qualify for NCAAs and should perform well against Pac-12 competition.
141: Cleveland Belton, SO / Hunter Eveland, FR
Like at 133, Oregon State will replace an All-American at 141 with Grant Willits’ graduation. The front-runners for this spot look to be two young competitors in Cleveland Belton and Hunter Eveland. Belton is a transfer from Arizona State and has limited competition in his first three years of college. However, as a recruit, Belton was a two-time California state champion and ranked as high as #29 on the class of 2019 Big Board. Like Belton, Eveland has had limited college experience going only 4-2 last year during his redshirt campaign. This will be an interesting roster battle to watch this year and one in which Oregon State needs a wrestler to exceed pre-season expectations.
149: Triston Lara, SR
Oregon State has been successful in the transfer portal era and Triston Lara is a testament to that. After spending five years at Northern Iowa, Lara will finish his college career for the Beavers and will look to break through to earn his first All-American honors. Throughout his career, Lara has shown great potential and has tallied wins over All-Americans Jarrett Degen and Kyle Parco along with a number of NCAA qualifiers. Though Lara isn’t currently ranked in our “Insanely Early NCAA Rankings”, we should expect to see him rise in the 149-pound ranks throughout the season and challenge for All-American honors.
Listen to Triston Lara talk about his journey to Oregon State:
157: Isaiah Crosby, JR
As a Super 32 placer and 2X Florida state champion, Isaiah Crosby was a solid recruit coming out of high school in 2015. However, instead of going the traditional route, Crosby pushed the pause button on wrestling for a few years and went straight into working a full-time job. He then returned to the mat 4 years later for Iowa Western Community College where he won 2 straight NJCAA titles before transferring to Oregon State in 2021.
Crosby had limited time on the mat last year but showed promise in his loss to NCAA qualifier Jacob Wright. In that match, Crosby went out to an early 4-1 lead before giving up a late takedown to lose a close, 7-5 match. The Beaver coaching staff is optimistic about Crosby’s potential and expects him to make big noise as their starter. He’ll certainly be an exciting storyline to watch this year in a wide-open 157-pound weight class.
Hear Isaiah Crosby’s unconventional route to Oregon State:
165: Matthew Olguin, SO
Matthew Olguin was a surprise NCAA qualifier for Oregon State last year after he defeated All-American Anthony Valencia in overtime at the Pac-12 tournament. At the NCAA tournament, Olguin went 2-2 with wins over David Ferrante and Brian Meyer and losses to Evan Wick and Anthony Valencia.
On the outside looking in, Olguin’s season was very average - he went 14-12 and earned the #33 seed at the NCAA tournament. However, if you look a little deeper, you’ll notice how competitive Olguin was in the ultra-deep 165-pound weight class. Of his 12 losses, 9 of them were by 4 points or less with 6 coming by 2 points or less. Does that mean Olguin is an All-American contender? At this point, no. However, Olguin has the potential to make a big jump this year and we should expect him to earn a higher seed than #33 and be a dangerous landmine at the NCAA tournament.
Hear Olguin talk about qualifying for NCAA's last season and his transfer from Fresno State to Oregon State:
174: Aaron Olmos, SR
Aaron Olmos was 1 of 2 Beaver wrestlers who failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament last year. Despite missing the big show, Olmos compiled an 18-8 record and recorded wins over past NCAA qualifiers Austin Murphy, Jake Logan, and Tyler Eischens. Those wins prove Olmos has the potential to reach the NCAA tournament and be a significant contributor to Oregon State's team efforts in the coming year.
184: Trey Munoz, SO
Going into last year’s NCAA tournament, if you would have told college wrestling fans that Oregon State would have 4 All-Americans, most would have predicted Trey Munoz to be 1 of those 4. Munoz put together an outstanding season with a 24-5 record and notable wins over Bernie Truax, Tate Samuelson, Chris Weiler, Brit Wilson, Jonathan Loew, and Keegan Moore. With those accolades, Munoz earned the #6 seed at the NCAA tournament where he made the quarter-finals before dropping consecutive matches to Trent Hidlay and Marcus Coleman to finish 1 win shy of All-American honors.
Despite falling short at the NCAA tournament, Munoz is a high All-American contender and has the potential to finish top 4 at NCAAs. Oregon State will need big points from Munoz in Tulsa if they hope to match their performance from last year.
Highlights of Trey Munoz's win over All-American Jonathan Loew at the 2022 NCAA Tournament:
197: Tanner Harvey, SR / Ryan Reyes, JR
Oregon State has two solid options at 197-pounds in Tanner Harvey and Ryan Ryes. Harvey was a junior college champion at Southwest Oregon Community College before becoming a two-time NCAA qualifier at 184-pounds for American in 2019 and 2020. During those two years, Harvey accumulated a number of notable wins including those over Cam Caffey, Max Lyon, Tate Samuelson, Noah Stewart, Travis Stefanik, and Jonathan Loew. Last year Harvey was out with injury but if he’s healthy this year, expect him to make some noise and challenge the country’s best at 197-pounds.
Tanner Harvey's win over 3X NCAA qualifier Travis Stefanik:
Ryan Reyes manned the starting spot at 197 pounds the last two seasons for Oregon State after transferring from Fresno State. Reyes qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2021 where he went 1-2 but failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament after placing second at the Pac-12 tournament. Reyes still has a redshirt available and if Harvey is healthy enough to go, expect Reyes to use his redshirt to prepare for the future.
Ryan Reyes mic'd up in the weight room is worth the watch:
285: Charles Hastriter FR / J.J. Dixon, JR
After Gary Traub’s graduation, Oregon State has a hole to fill at heavyweight. The two frontrunners for this spot are Charles Hastriter and J.J. Dixon. In his redshirt year last season, Hastriter compiled a 3-5 record with zero wins over an NCAA qualifier. Dixon has spent his career at 197 pounds where he was an NCAA qualifier for the Beavers in 2021. Like at 141, this will be an important roster battle for the Beavers this upcoming season.
Where Will Oregon State Finish At NCAAs In 2023?
How will the Beavers be able to top their performance at the NCAA tournament last season? That will be a tall task for Coach Pendleton and company in the upcoming season. It's clear they have high All-American contenders in Brandon Kaylor and Trey Munoz but they also have a number of unknowns throughout their starting lineup. However, after improving from 46th place in 2021 with zero All-Americans to 12th place in 2022 with 4 All-Americans, Oregon State should not be underestimated. Their improvements last season and their rebuilding year this season make them one of the most exciting storylines to follow throughout 2022-2023.
Hear Coach Nate Engle give an inside look at Oregon State's 2022 post-season:
