Owrestle
NORMAN. – The NCAA released its second set of coaches’ rankings and the first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday. Six Sooners were included in the coaches’ rankings, with three slotted inside the top 20, while nine were featured in the RPI.
Conrad Hendriksen (NR – 17 RPI at 125), Jace Koelzer (NR – 29 RPI at 133), Willie McDougald (No. 16 – 12 RPI at 149), Jared Hill (No. 27 – 29 RPI at 157), Cael Carlson (No. 29 – 16 RPI at 165), Tate Picklo (No. 32 – 17 RPI at 174), Giuseppe Hoose (NR – 30 RPI at 184), Stephen Buchanan (No. 6 at 7 RPI at 197) and Josh Heindselman (No. 13 – 7 RPI at 285) represent Oklahoma in the latest release.
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 RPI is a calculation that consists of three factors: winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule) and opponent’s opponent winning percentage (opponent’s strength of schedule). Only matches against Division I opponents at the designated weight class count towards the RPI and a wrestler needs to have wrestled 15 matches to be ranked. In the absence of Mosha Schwartz, Carter Schmidt (8-5) and Kaden Smith (5-7) have made the most appearances at 141 pounds for the Sooners. However, neither have wrestled 15 Division I matches this season, making them ineligible for the RPI.
Currently, no wrestlers sit atop both the coaches rank and RPI in their respective weight class. With many wrestlers still looking to reach the 15-match threshold to earn an RPI, the top of those rankings looks a little different than the coaches’ rank.
The coaches ranking and RPI are two 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, conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.
