University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Checking In with Bailee O'Reilly
8/18/2020 10:10:00 AM | Wrestling
For any young wrestler growing up in Minnesota, it is more than likely a dream to one day strap on the iconic Maroon & Gold singlet. For Bailee O'Reilly, that dream became a reality. After winning two state titles, O'Reilly found himself on campus just an hour up the road from his hometown of Goodhue, Minnesota. Two years of sitting behind All-American Devin Skatzka, and Bailee finally made his breakthrough into the starting lineup at 165 pounds.
Now, after a successful first season as a Division-1 starter, the redshirt junior is looking to use his experience to fill another role as a much-needed leader for this young Gophers core. Hear from Bailee O'Reilly as he reflects on his experience of fulfilling a lifetime dream, where his focus is going into next season, and more.
First of all, how's your summer been since school ended?
O'Reilly: "Mid-June is when we found out that we were able to start training again, so I went back up to Minneapolis at the beginning of the summer, eased into training with some lifting and getting back on the mats. Other than that, I stayed at a cabin with my girlfriend for 4th of July. I live on a farm back home too, so when I'm back home, I'm helping out in the fields and stuff like that."
Has the preparation for the season this summer been different than previous summers?
O'Reilly: "Yeah, normally we have three training cycles throughout the summer, but this summer we only had two, since we had a bit of a late start. Other than that, it was a lot of the same stuff, we're still getting on the mat and lifting regularly. The biggest thing was practicing at different facilities. We couldn't train in Bierman, so we practiced at Pinnacle, we practiced at C1 Athletics in Hudson. We just had to get a little creative."
What was communication like between coaches and teammates during quarantine?
O'Reilly: "When we were all back home, we had some Zoom calls, which were obviously a bit different. We had team Zoom meetings a couple times a month, we also had individual meetings with our coaches. The coaches did a really good job of reaching out to us through texts and calls, I think that they did the best they could of trying to let us all know what was going on. Now we're back on campus a bit more but overall, it looked a little bit different, but I think it went pretty well."
Let's talk about last season now, because it seemed as though you kind of came out of nowhere. Was making the starting lineup the expectation for you going into the season or was it more so just taking advantage of the opportunity that you had in front of you?
O'Reilly: "It's always been the goal (to make the starting lineup). Coming into college, I wasn't highly recruited, but obviously Minnesota is a really good program so it's always been a dream of mine just to make the starting lineup. Once I was in that lineup, I knew I had a job to do, and my coaches and teammates helped me get a lot better. Of course there's pressure that comes with being in the lineup but I just had fun with it."
What a lot of people don't know too is that you dropped down a weight class to 165 last year? Was there any challenges with the weight cut at all throughout the season?
O'Reilly: "Yeah, so in the summer I walk around at about 190 lbs, so it was hard right away, just because the first couple weight cuts usually are, but once my body got used to it, I was making the weight a lot easier. It went well for the most part though, I think 165 is my best weight, I wrestle really well there. I can use my size and length pretty well at that weight. It's a big weight cut, but I think I managed it pretty well for my first year."
So, the first home dual of the year is against Bakersfield, you're stepping out on the mat for the first time and you get the win, what was that like getting your hand raised in Maturi Pavilion.
O'Reilly: "It was super cool. I remember telling myself that I wasn't going to get nervous, but I got nervous. It was really relieving to go out and get the win, just a really good feeling."
165 was one of the toughest weights in the Big Ten. What was that experience like competing amongst the best wrestlers in the nation?
O'Reilly: "It was awesome. Some people might be scared of competition like that, but I think it was cool. You don't get that many opportunities to wrestle guys who are that good and also knowing that I can hang with guys like that … it was really cool to see. Especially at the end of the year I feel like I got a lot better and now I think I'm right there with those guys at the top."
Did you have a favorite moment from the season last year?
O'Reilly: "There were a lot of cool moments. Our first home dual, being able to compete in front of the home fans. I would say the Wisconsin dual too. It was cool to have friends and family so close too, because they were able to drive up and watch me compete. My most favorite memory would probably be running out of that tunnel for the first time."
Let's talk about how the season ended. You find out that you are going to be competing at the NCAA tournament in your home state via an at-large bid, and in a blink of an eye, it was all taken away. Describe what that experience was like for you and the emotions behind that.
O'Reilly: "Yeah, I didn't really have the best B1G tournament, but I had a really good year. My coaches and I were confident that I was going to get an at-large bid, and I did. We actually got a tour of the U.S. Bank Stadium, showing us around and how everything was going to get set up and then the next day they cancelled it. That just sucked, because I was super excited and then the next day I was just heartbroken. It would have been awesome to have my friends and family come up and watch. So yeah, it was awesome but at the same time, it made me really grateful for the year I had, and that I have another couple years to wrestle."
Now let's look ahead to next season. Do you have any expectations or goals set for yourself?
O'Reilly: "The goal for this year is to (become an) All-American. I'm looking to wrestle at 165 again next year, we'll see how everything with the team works out, but 165-pound All-American is the goal for me. That's what I believe I can do, that's what my coaches believe I can do, so that's the plan."
This team is relatively young as well, so by default you find yourself as a veteran in the lineup. Have you given that any thought that you're going to be one of the leaders on the team?
O'Reilly: "Yeah, it's kind of weird how young we are up and down the lineup, I think we'll have even more young guys stepping in. Brayton, Pat, and Gable, they're even a year younger than me, but we'll be the leaders on the team for those guys. It's been awesome though, even in our summer training I've been able to step up and help the younger guys and get them going. We had some incoming freshmen come in the room, and I try to be a good example for those guys. It makes me really excited for the upcoming year, because last year we had some older guys who were definitely our captains, and this year I'm looking to be one of those guys."
Who's one teammate that you would tell fans look out for next season?
O'Reilly: "I'd probably say Brayton Lee. He's motivated, and he's gonna do great things. I mean, he did this last year, everybody saw him wrestle, but he's a guy that's always gonna go out there and wrestle hard, put on a show for fans. I love when he wrestles before me in the dual meets because it always gets me amped up to go out there and wrestle hard."
With everything going on in the world surrounding COVID-19, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, but what will it mean to you to get back on the mat in Maturi Pavilion in front of fans again whenever that may be?
O'Reilly: "It'll mean the world. This is probably the longest break that I've had not competing … I just want to get back in front of the home crowd and wrestle, and get back to being with the guys and coaches. Obviously, there's still stuff that needs to get figured out, but it'll be awesome. I get hyped up just thinking about it."
Final question, is there anything that you would want to say to the Gopher fans.
O'Reilly: "Just try to get as many people as we can supporting the team and coming out to our duals. Obviously, we don't know if we'll have fans for duals, but we can still try and grow the sport. Minnesota is a great wrestling state, and we have tons of people that we can get to buy into our team and buy into our sport. Wrestling can help you outside the sport in so many different ways so I want people to get excited about it and buy in."
Now, after a successful first season as a Division-1 starter, the redshirt junior is looking to use his experience to fill another role as a much-needed leader for this young Gophers core. Hear from Bailee O'Reilly as he reflects on his experience of fulfilling a lifetime dream, where his focus is going into next season, and more.
First of all, how's your summer been since school ended?
O'Reilly: "Mid-June is when we found out that we were able to start training again, so I went back up to Minneapolis at the beginning of the summer, eased into training with some lifting and getting back on the mats. Other than that, I stayed at a cabin with my girlfriend for 4th of July. I live on a farm back home too, so when I'm back home, I'm helping out in the fields and stuff like that."
Has the preparation for the season this summer been different than previous summers?
O'Reilly: "Yeah, normally we have three training cycles throughout the summer, but this summer we only had two, since we had a bit of a late start. Other than that, it was a lot of the same stuff, we're still getting on the mat and lifting regularly. The biggest thing was practicing at different facilities. We couldn't train in Bierman, so we practiced at Pinnacle, we practiced at C1 Athletics in Hudson. We just had to get a little creative."
What was communication like between coaches and teammates during quarantine?
O'Reilly: "When we were all back home, we had some Zoom calls, which were obviously a bit different. We had team Zoom meetings a couple times a month, we also had individual meetings with our coaches. The coaches did a really good job of reaching out to us through texts and calls, I think that they did the best they could of trying to let us all know what was going on. Now we're back on campus a bit more but overall, it looked a little bit different, but I think it went pretty well."
Let's talk about last season now, because it seemed as though you kind of came out of nowhere. Was making the starting lineup the expectation for you going into the season or was it more so just taking advantage of the opportunity that you had in front of you?
O'Reilly: "It's always been the goal (to make the starting lineup). Coming into college, I wasn't highly recruited, but obviously Minnesota is a really good program so it's always been a dream of mine just to make the starting lineup. Once I was in that lineup, I knew I had a job to do, and my coaches and teammates helped me get a lot better. Of course there's pressure that comes with being in the lineup but I just had fun with it."
What a lot of people don't know too is that you dropped down a weight class to 165 last year? Was there any challenges with the weight cut at all throughout the season?
O'Reilly: "Yeah, so in the summer I walk around at about 190 lbs, so it was hard right away, just because the first couple weight cuts usually are, but once my body got used to it, I was making the weight a lot easier. It went well for the most part though, I think 165 is my best weight, I wrestle really well there. I can use my size and length pretty well at that weight. It's a big weight cut, but I think I managed it pretty well for my first year."
So, the first home dual of the year is against Bakersfield, you're stepping out on the mat for the first time and you get the win, what was that like getting your hand raised in Maturi Pavilion.
O'Reilly: "It was super cool. I remember telling myself that I wasn't going to get nervous, but I got nervous. It was really relieving to go out and get the win, just a really good feeling."
165 was one of the toughest weights in the Big Ten. What was that experience like competing amongst the best wrestlers in the nation?
O'Reilly: "It was awesome. Some people might be scared of competition like that, but I think it was cool. You don't get that many opportunities to wrestle guys who are that good and also knowing that I can hang with guys like that … it was really cool to see. Especially at the end of the year I feel like I got a lot better and now I think I'm right there with those guys at the top."
Did you have a favorite moment from the season last year?
O'Reilly: "There were a lot of cool moments. Our first home dual, being able to compete in front of the home fans. I would say the Wisconsin dual too. It was cool to have friends and family so close too, because they were able to drive up and watch me compete. My most favorite memory would probably be running out of that tunnel for the first time."
Let's talk about how the season ended. You find out that you are going to be competing at the NCAA tournament in your home state via an at-large bid, and in a blink of an eye, it was all taken away. Describe what that experience was like for you and the emotions behind that.
O'Reilly: "Yeah, I didn't really have the best B1G tournament, but I had a really good year. My coaches and I were confident that I was going to get an at-large bid, and I did. We actually got a tour of the U.S. Bank Stadium, showing us around and how everything was going to get set up and then the next day they cancelled it. That just sucked, because I was super excited and then the next day I was just heartbroken. It would have been awesome to have my friends and family come up and watch. So yeah, it was awesome but at the same time, it made me really grateful for the year I had, and that I have another couple years to wrestle."
Now let's look ahead to next season. Do you have any expectations or goals set for yourself?
O'Reilly: "The goal for this year is to (become an) All-American. I'm looking to wrestle at 165 again next year, we'll see how everything with the team works out, but 165-pound All-American is the goal for me. That's what I believe I can do, that's what my coaches believe I can do, so that's the plan."
This team is relatively young as well, so by default you find yourself as a veteran in the lineup. Have you given that any thought that you're going to be one of the leaders on the team?
O'Reilly: "Yeah, it's kind of weird how young we are up and down the lineup, I think we'll have even more young guys stepping in. Brayton, Pat, and Gable, they're even a year younger than me, but we'll be the leaders on the team for those guys. It's been awesome though, even in our summer training I've been able to step up and help the younger guys and get them going. We had some incoming freshmen come in the room, and I try to be a good example for those guys. It makes me really excited for the upcoming year, because last year we had some older guys who were definitely our captains, and this year I'm looking to be one of those guys."
Who's one teammate that you would tell fans look out for next season?
O'Reilly: "I'd probably say Brayton Lee. He's motivated, and he's gonna do great things. I mean, he did this last year, everybody saw him wrestle, but he's a guy that's always gonna go out there and wrestle hard, put on a show for fans. I love when he wrestles before me in the dual meets because it always gets me amped up to go out there and wrestle hard."
With everything going on in the world surrounding COVID-19, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, but what will it mean to you to get back on the mat in Maturi Pavilion in front of fans again whenever that may be?
O'Reilly: "It'll mean the world. This is probably the longest break that I've had not competing … I just want to get back in front of the home crowd and wrestle, and get back to being with the guys and coaches. Obviously, there's still stuff that needs to get figured out, but it'll be awesome. I get hyped up just thinking about it."
Final question, is there anything that you would want to say to the Gopher fans.
O'Reilly: "Just try to get as many people as we can supporting the team and coming out to our duals. Obviously, we don't know if we'll have fans for duals, but we can still try and grow the sport. Minnesota is a great wrestling state, and we have tons of people that we can get to buy into our team and buy into our sport. Wrestling can help you outside the sport in so many different ways so I want people to get excited about it and buy in."
Jore Volk Reflects on Minnesota Return
Tuesday, April 07
2026 Senior Salute
Thursday, April 02
Cinematic Recap: Max McEnelly Wins Title
Monday, March 23
Press Conference: Max McEnelly
Monday, March 23