LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 27, 2020) – The NCAA has released conference qualifier allocations for the 2020 NCAA Championships, as well as the third coaches' panel and the second RPI rankings of the season. The Big 12 is second in the country this season with 54 allocations, trailing only the Big Ten (79). The Cowboys have six wrestlers ranked in the coaches' panel and the RPI.
The coaches' rankings and the RPI will be used as part of the selection process to determine qualifiers and seeding for the NCAA Championships, held March 19-21 in Minneapolis at US Bank Stadium.
The coaches' rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have participated in at least five matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days.
The RPI is a calculation that considers a wrestler's 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 third addition of the coaches' poll, Montorie Bridges at 133 pounds is the highest-rated Cowboy, as he comes in as the highest-rated Big 12 wrestler at 133, with a No. 9 ranking. Bridges also has the highest RPI ranking (No. 5) for the Pokes.
At 149 pounds, Jaron Jensen comes at 30th in the coaches' panel. At 157 pounds, Dewey Krueger doesn't appear in the coaches' poll, but is 33rd in the RPI. At 174, Hayden Hastings is ranked No. 18 by the coaches and is 32nd in the RPI. Next, at 184, Tate Samuelson comes in at No. 31 in the coaches' poll and is 29th in the RPI.
Stephen Buchanan is ranked at No. 23 by the coaches and has an RPI ranking of 19th at 197 pounds. Rounding-out the rankings for the Cowboys is Brian Andrews at heavyweight, who comes in at No. 17 in the panel and is 13th in the RPI.
The NCAA announced that the Big 12 will receive 54 total automatic qualifying spots to the national tournament. Those bids will be up for grabs next weekend at the Big 12 Championships, March 7-8 in Tulsa, Okla., at the BOK Center.
Each qualifying tournament was awarded automatic bids per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage at the weight class, ratings percentage index (RPI) and the coaches' ranking.
For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his conference tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each conference was awarded a minimum of one automatic bid per weight. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish.
After all of the conference tournaments have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 47 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced March 10. The brackets and seeding will be announced on NCAA.com at 4 p.m., MT March 11. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches' rankings, results against common opponents, RPI, qualifying event placement and winning percentage.
Big 12 Automatic Qualifier Allocations
125 – 4
133 – 8
141 – 5
149 – 5
157 – 5
165 – 4
174 – 5
184 – 5
197 – 6
HWT – 7
Cowboys in the Coaches' Panel Rankings
133 – Montorie Bridges – No. 9
149 – Jaron Jensen – No. 30
174 – Hayden Hastings – No. 18
184 – Tate Samuelson – No. 31
197 – Stephen Buchanan – No. 19
HWT – Brian Andrews – No. 17
Cowboys in the RPI Rankings
133 – Montorie Bridges – No. 5
157 – Dewey Krueger – No. 33
174 – Hayden Hastings – No. 32
184 – Tate Samuelson – No. 29
197 – Stephen Buchanan – No. 23
HWT – Brian Andrews – No. 13
-WYO-
