Early Lineup Look: 2022-23 Wisconsin Badgers
Early Lineup Look: 2022-23 Wisconsin Badgers
A complete breakdown of the Wisconsin Badgers for the upcoming 2022-23 NCAA season.
Wisconsin finished 14th at the NCAA tournament last season and has a talented roster leading into the upcoming year that looks poised to move up the ranks. Check out a full preview of the Badgers for the 2022-23 season.
Projected Wisconsin 2022-23 Lineup:
125: Eric Barnett, JR
133: Taylor LaMont, SR
141: Joseph Zargo, SO
149: Austin Gomez, JR
157: Garrett Model, SR
165: Dean Hamiti Jr., SO
174: Graham Calhoun, FR
184: Tyler Dow, JR / James Rowley, FR
197: Braxton Amos, SO
285: Trent Hillger, SR
125: Eric Barnett, JR
Eric Barnett had one of the more impressive consolation runs at last year’s NCAA Tournament to earn All-American honors. After losing in the second round to Brandon Kaylor, Barnett put together consecutive wins over Malik Heinselman, Jakob Camacho, and Sam Latona before falling to Mitch McKee. Then, in the 7th-place match, Barnett got revenge over Brandon Kaylor with a second-period pin. That performance moved Barnett one place up the podium after an 8th-place finish in 2021.
This year, Barnett comes in at #6 in our pre-season rankings and will look to once again improve on his performance from last season. He’ll certainly have the opportunity to prove himself with an incredibly challenging schedule that contains potential matches against #2 Patrick Glory, #10 Matt Ramos, #4 Michael DeAugustino, #3 Patrick McKee, and #1 Spencer Lee.
Barnett's win in the 7th place match over Brandon Kaylor:
133: Taylor LaMont, SR
Wisconsin picked up a valuable graduate transfer over the off-season in All-American Taylor LaMont. Not only is LaMont moving to Wisconsin from Utah Valley, but he’ll also be moving up from 125 to man the starting spot at 133 for the Badgers. The only other year LaMont wrestled at 133 in his college career was during the 2019-20 season. That year, LaMont compiled a 17-7 record earning the #17 seed at the NCAA tournament that was ultimately canceled.
LaMont is currently ranked #12 in our pre-season rankings and will be challenged by a loaded Big 10 field at 133 pounds. During the dual schedule, LaMont is set to wrestle the likes of #7 Chris Cannon, #15 Brody Teske, #6 Dylan Ragusin, #5 Lucas Byrd, and #1 Roman Bravo-Young. That schedule will show us exactly where LaMont stacks up against the best in the nation.
LaMont's win over All-American Sam Latona in the quarterfinals of the 2021 NCAA Tournament:
141: Joseph Zargo, SO
Joe Zargo is coming back for his second consecutive year as the starter at 141 pounds for the Badgers. Last year, Zargo qualified for the national tournament where he earned the #27 seed and ultimately went 1-2. Beyond that tournament, Zargo’s season was defined by close losses to numerous All-Americans. If he’s able to improve and jump a level, he has the potential to challenge many of the top ten wrestlers in the country at 141 pounds.
149: Austin Gomez, JR
Austin Gomez was one of the best stories of the 2021-2022 season. He was the 2022 Big 10 champion and took home 4th place honors last season after being away from the mat for 2 full years and moving up 2 weight classes. Last year, Gomez had notable wins over Sammy Sasso (twice), Tariq Wilson, Kaden Gfeller, Ridge Lovett (twice), Yahya Thomas, and Zach Sherman. The Badgers will rely on Gomez as a leader this year and to secure big-time points at the NCAA tournament.
Highlights of Gomez's win over Sammy Sasso:
157: Garrett Model, SR
Garrett Model had an up-and-down season for the Badgers last year. He qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in his career but ultimately went 0-2 at the big show. After qualifying for the NCAA tournament, the other highlight of Model’s season was his 10-5 win over All-American Brayton Lee. If the Badgers hope to move into the top 10 this year, they’ll need Model to replicate that win over Lee and move up the ranks at 157 pounds.
165: Dean Hamiti, SO
Dean Hamiti was a revelation last year and one of the most exciting wrestlers in the entire country. Hamiti was the only true freshman All-American at the 2022 NCAA tournament putting together a 28-4 record with 22 wins by bonus - 8 falls, 6 tech falls, and 8 majors. Hamiti’s hitlist from his freshman year included notable wins over Peyton Hall, Julian Ramirez (twice), Jake Wentzel, and Carson Kharchla. Can Hamiti make another jump this year and challenge for the national title? That question will be answered early in the season as Hamiti has head-to-head matches against #3 David Carr on November 5th (dual) and #1 Keegan O’Toole on November 22 (NWCA All-Star Classic).
Watch Hamiti and Peyton Hall in one of the craziest match of the 2022 NCAA Tournament:
174: Graham Calhoun, FR
Graham Calhoun will likely man the 174-pound spot for the Badgers after going 13-10 during his redshirt season in 2021-22. 174 pounds is absolutely loaded in the Big 10 and Calhoun is scheduled to have 9 potential matches against wrestlers ranked in the top 33 of our pre-season rankings. At this point, Calhoun isn’t projected to qualify for the NCAA tournament, but look for him to jump a level this year as coach Bono and company have a proven track record of getting the most out of their starters.
184: Tyler Dow, SR / James Rowley, FR
At this point, Wisconsin has two options for their starting spot at 184. The early favorite is Tyler Dow - a fifth-year senior who has progressively moved up in weight during his time at Wisconsin. Dow started his college career in the 2018-19 season when he wrestled 165 and put together a 22-4 record. Dow hasn’t had a ton of success since that year and has only wrestled 8 total matches since the end of the 2020 season.
True freshman James Rowley looks to be the other option for the Badgers at 184. Rowley was a blue-chip recruit out of high school finishing at #21 on the class of 2021 Big Board and was a 3-time Oregon state champion, Super 32 runner-up, Ironman runner-up, and won a silver medal at the 2021 Cadet World Championships. Look for Wisconsin to test out Rowley early at the Michigan State Open or Midlands and in a Big 10 dual to see if he’s ready to go right away. If he secures ranked wins, don’t be surprised if Rowley is wrestling for the Badgers at the NCAA tournament in Tulsa.
197: Braxton Amos, SO
As a junior world champ and #1 recruit coming out of the class of 2020 Amos brought a ton of hype with him to Madison. However, he failed to live up to high expectations in his first year - compiling an 18-11 record and going just 1-2 at the NCAA tournament.
If you dive a little deeper into his record, you’ll see how close Amos was in his losses to some of the best in the country. 9 of his 11 losses came by 2 points or less with 6 of those losses coming against All-Americans. Simply put - Amos is right there. With that year of experience under his belt and another year in the Wisconsin room under the tutelage of Bono and Reader, we should expect Amos to make a step forward in the 2022-23 season.
Watch Braxton Amos win a junior world gold medal:
285: Trent Hillger, SR
Rounding out the Badger lineup for the 5th and final year will be 2-time All-American Trent Hillger. After placing 8th and 6th respectively in 2019 and 2021, Hillger struggled last season placing 9th at Big 10s and going 1-2 at the NCAA tournament. Despite that disappointing performance, Hillger’s ranked #11 in our pre-season rankings and will be right in the mix to reach the podium for the 3rd time. The Badgers need Hillger to wrestle to his potential this year if they hope to crack the top 10 in March.
Watch Hillger's win over All-American Tate Orndorff from the 2019-20 season:
Where Will Wisconsin Finish At NCAAs in 2023?
With 5 past All-Americans in the starting lineup entering this year, the Wisconsin Badgers have the potential to finish in the top 10 and are outside contenders for a trophy. With the current rankings, Wisconsin is projected to come in 11th place at the NCAA tournament with 38.5 team points. They’ll need their proven guys to live up to expectations along with starters like Braxton Amos, Joe Zargo, and Garrett Model to improve on their performance from last season. If everything falls into place, this could be one special year in Madison.