Penn State Nittany Lions Wrestling is coming off of its tenth NCAA Team Title in the past twelve years. With the latest additions coming to the team via offseason transfers, the potential for a legendary run fueled by a dominant lineup is nearly guaranteed.

The Nittany Lions finished the 2022-23 season with two NCAA Champions, five finalists, and eight All-Americans, but moving into next year, the potential for success is even greater. A look at its possible lineup for 2023-24 shows a strong team at every weight class where All-American status is not necessarily guaranteed but definitely expected, as all ten wrestlers have the potential to reach the peak of college wrestling this season.

DON'T HAVE RIVALS PREMIUM? SIGN UP TODAY FOR JUST $9.95/MONTH!

The Lion faithful have been waiting a few years now to see Robbie Howard in the Blue and White, and we expect that he will finally enter the lineup this year. Gary Steen filled in for Penn State at 125 this year, and while he missed the NCAA tournament altogether, he still contributed with a few wins this year.

Howard is coming off of an injury that ended his year before it even started, but he has the potential to become Penn State's first All-American at 125 since Nico Megaludis won a National Champion by defeating Thomas Gilman in Madison Square Garden.

Expect Howard to enter the lineup this year and make plenty of noise at 125. With the departures of Spencer Lee, Pat Glory, and other notable names in the weight class, Howard will have high expectations, and All-American status would be the ideal year for him.

Penn State's most recent and arguably its biggest transfer of the offseason was Aaron Nagao, an All-American from Minnesota. Roman Bravo-Young heads out of State College and likely for MMA, and the two-time NCAA Champion lost his final collegiate match to Vito Arujao of Cornell in what was a dominant run that seemed to capture the Big Red's 133-pound champ's breakthrough in college competition.

Nagao brings more depth to Penn State at the lighter weights, and the pickup is monumental because it fills a sizeable void for the Lions. It is tough to replace a 4x All-American, 3x Finalist, and 2x NCAA Champion. Nagao will do quite nicely.

Coming off of an impressive third-place finish this past year, Beau Bartlett fell to eventual NCAA Champion Andrew Alirez in the Semi-Finals but accumulated some fantastic wins this past year. Bartlett dropped just three matches this year, and in all transparency, none of them were necessarily out of reach.

Moving into his junior year, Bartlett will be near the top of the podium once again. He will fill out perhaps the strongest starting three to a Penn State lineup in recent memory.

Shayne Van Ness will be a National Champion this year, and I would put money on that. SVN was just minutes away from knocking off eventual four-time NCAA Champion Yianni Diakomihalis in the Semi-Finals this past year before getting caught in a compromising position and giving up near-fall points that led to an 8-3 loss.

SVN has learned from his mistakes in that match, and there is no doubt he can stand on top of the podium this year. He is surrounded by a group of killers in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex, and with Bartlett to his left and Levi Haines to his right, iron sharpens iron. Expect big things.

Levi Haines has to be considered the overwhelming favorite for an NCAA title at 157 this year. Dropping his final match of the season to Austin O'Connor of UNC, who won his second NCAA Championship, was not necessarily something that many expected, at least not in my opinion. But it was obvious that experience was the factor in this matchup.

Haines is close to Lion Legend David Taylor, who also fell short in his inaugural campaign as a freshman in this same weight class. While I don't expect Haines to jump to 165 this year as Taylor did for his sophomore campaign, I do expect a similar stature of performance from him. Dominance and bonus points in the vast majority of his matches will help the Lions cruise to another Big Ten Dual Meet title and eventual conference and Divison 1 championships.

Then again, Haines still has a red shirt available. I don't see him using that this year, though.

This is the first weight class where things get sort of dicey. However, I feel that Fauncdo will win the spot at 165, and Mesenbrink will get an Olympic Redshirt, giving him another year of development and experience as he left Cal Baptist in December.

Facundo was ranked as high as #5 this year but cooled off as the post-season approached. He still has an Olympic Redshirt available to him as well, but he also has a year of collegiate experience, and I could see this alone being the reason Penn State chooses to start him and not Mesenbrink this year. Mesenbrink also brings a notable resume to the Freestyle scene, as he beat Haines for the World Team Spot, making it to the finals and capturing a Silver medal.

The thing is, 157 and 165 are so up in the air, any guess is as good as anyone else's. Mesenbrink said in an interview with FloWrestling that he has put his trust in Cael Sanderson and staff to decide which way is best. Ideally, Mesenbrink, Facundo, and Haines could be scrambled around, and there could be quite a mixup with the redshirt rules.

All three have a redshirt available to them, but I see Facundo getting 165 this year, Mesenbrink potentially getting the nod the following year, and Haines being at 157 both this year and next. His Olympic dreams will likely come after college.

I'm not too sure what to make of Starocci's recent Tweets that seemed to indicate he was undecided on his future. For what it's worth, he is a three-time NCAA Champion, and is likely the favorite to become Penn State's first four-timer. It would be a monumental accomplishment, and it is quite incredible that Penn State, with the tradition it has established through the past 15 years, has not had a single wrestler capture four collegiate crowns.

Starocci won't pass that opportunity up. I know there are talks of his Olympic quest beginning this year, and there are also potential offers from MMA organizations that would make him pretty wealthy right out of college.

I don't think he's in any hurry to sign a big check, there is still business to take care of in State College, and being recognized as the first four-time champion in Penn State's history is something money simply cannot buy.

Another one that is completely up in the air with the arrival of Bernie Truax, Aaron Brooks has been rumored to either be at 184 or 197 this coming year. Truax has experience at 197, and while undersized, he performs at that weight. I am under the impression that Truax would get the Anthony Cassar treatment and be eating well and lifting heavy this offseason to fill that spot.

Brooks has the same opportunity as Starocci this year and could become another four-time NCAA Champion. Brooks is a natural 184-pounder, and he fits the mold of that weight so well. 184 seems ideal, but I would not say I'd be surprised to see him at 197 if that happens.

Basically a redundancy from the 184 section, Truax just seems to be a better fit at 197 because of his experience at the weight. Throw him in the weight room, get him some extra meal points, and let him grow into that 197 spot. With All-American performances at 197, imagine what he could do if he wasn't undersized at this weight.

Big potential here.

A revenge tour is in store for Greg Kervliet. He really hit his stride after losing to Mason Parris at the dual in the BJC. He came back the following week and took care of Tony Cassioppi of Iowa numerous times, which was big because he had previously not beaten the Hawkeye. Parris was basically untouchable this past year, and he looked incredible at the NCAA Tournament. The performance led to a Hodge Trophy award, and rightfully so.

Kerk has all the potential in the world and I truly believe this will be his year.

The Lions this year have the potential to be the best college team in the history of wrestling. The legendary squads, like the 2001 Minnesota team that had 10 All-Americans, the 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes that captured five NCAA titles, or the 2012 and 2017 Nittany Lions, could be joined by this upcoming squad. Ten All-Americans is certainly not out of the question, five NCAA Champions is not either.

Only time will tell, but it seems that it won't be if the Lions will take home another team title this year. Instead, the question will be, "By how much?"

--------------------------------------------------------------

• Follow us on Twitter!

• Like us on Facebook

• Follow us on Instagram

• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

•Talk about it inside The Lions Den Message Board

• Talk about it inside The FREE Wrestling Room Board