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Photo by: Bjorn Franke
Big Ten Championship Pre-Seeds Unveiled with Steveson No. 1
3/5/2025 12:00:00 PM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS - Seeking a fourth Big Ten title, Minnesota's Gable Steveson earned the top seed at heavyweight as the Big Ten conference released pre-seeds Wednesday for this weekend's 2025 Big Ten Wrestling Championships in Evanston, Ill.
Led by Steveson, Minnesota heads into the championships with nine wrestlers seeded within the conference allocations determined by the NCAA last week, including seven Gophers who slot in within the top five in their weight class.
The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference's coaches, rank 14 starters in all 10 weight classes. Official final brackets for the tournament are set to be finalized and released later this week.
Returning after a three-year hiatus, Steveson showed no signs of rust after a perfect 11-0 dual season where he posted an 8-0 mark in conference action to push his overall winning streak to 63, the third longest in school history. The No. 1 seed for the fourth time in his career, Steveson is a three-time Big Ten champion after winning titles from 2020-22. Entering with a 7-0 mark against this year's field, he is looking to become the first Big Ten heavyweight to win four titles. He would be the 19th four-time B1G champion overall and the second Gopher to do so along with Verne Gagne (1944, '47-49).
Set to compete at the Big Ten Championships for the first time in his career, redshirt freshman Max McEnelly earned the No. 2 seed at 184 pounds. He was a perfect 18-0 in the regular season and 8-0 against the Big Ten. McEnelly leads Minnesota with 15 bonus-points wins, including 11 by tech fall. Those 11 tech fall wins rank tied for third in the nation. He has yet to lose in collegiate career, going 15-0 last year in his redshirt season as a true freshman. Since the current weight classes were established in 1999, McEnelly becomes the seventh Gopher freshman to earn a seed of second or better.
The reigning Big Ten champion at 184 pounds, fifth-year senior Isaiah Salazar is the No. 4 seed at 197 pounds. Moving up a weight for the first time in his career, Salazar was 15-4 during the regular season, 9-2 in duals and 5-2 in the Big Ten with the only conference losses coming to wrestlers ranked ahead of him in the pre-seeds. The No. 4 seed is the highest for a Gopher at the weight since Brett Pfarr was the top seed in 2017. In addition to his championship last year, Salazar also placed fourth at 184 pounds in 2023 and eighth in 2022.
Coming off an All-American campaign in 2024, redshirt junior Vance VomBaur will compete at Big Tens for the second time in his career, this time as the No. 4 seed. He made his debut last year, finishing seventh as the No. 10 seed. VomBaur tied for the team lead during the regular season with 20 wins in 23 matches, including a 10-2 dual record and 6-2 conference mark. With a 5-2 record against the field, he becomes the highest seeded Gopher at the weight since Tommy Thorn was No. 3 in 2017.
Three Gophers were given the No. 5 seed.
Fifth-year senior Tommy Askey will take part in his first Big Ten Championships as the No. 5 seed at 157 pounds. A two-time SoCon Champion while at Appalachian State, Askey matched VomBaur for the team lead with an identical 20-3 record. Askey was 9-2 in duals and 6-2 in the Big Ten during the regular season and enters the weekend with a 4-2 mark versus the field with the only conference losses coming to wrestlers ranked third and fourth.
After spending the 2024 campaign at 174 pounds, fellow fifth-year senior Andrew Sparks returns to 165 pounds as he competes at Big Tens for the fourth time in his career. His No. 5 seed this year matches his personal best, also earning that seed as a freshman in 2021. Sparks' top-five seeds are the best for a Gopher at 165 pounds since Cody Yohn was also No. 5 in 2013. The No. 9 seed in both 2023 and 2024, Sparks placed sixth last year at 174 and ninth in 2023 at 165. He is 19-5 on the year with a 9-3 dual record and 5-3 conference mark.
Like Askey, redshirt sophomore Clayton Whiting is also making his first appearance at Big Tens after transferring into Minnesota this year. Whiting, who will be making his conference tournament debut, was tabbed as the No. 5 seed at 174 pounds after spending the last two seasons at Missouri. He was 14-8 this season with a 7-5 dual record and 5-3 mark against conference foes. All three losses came to wrestlers ranked second through fourth in the pre-seeds.
Redshirt junior Cooper Flynn joins Askey and Whiting in making his debut at Big Tens after three seasons at Virginia Tech. A finalist last year at the ACC Championships, Flynn is the No. 9 seed at 125 pounds this go-around. Overall, Flynn went 12-4 during the regular season with a dual record of 7-3 and conference record of 3-3.
Sophomore Tyler Wells and redshirt junior Drew Roberts both were placed 10th in the pre-seeds at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Both will be making their second career appearances at Big Tens.
Wells, who did not place last year after being seeded eighth, was 11-5 during the regular season. He added a 5-4 dual mark, including a 1-4 record within the Big Ten. Roberts, meanwhile, placed ninth after earning a No. 9 seed a year ago. He heads into the weekend 12-7 on the year, 6-6 in duals and 2-6 in the Big Ten.
Minnesota starts its postseason journey this weekend at the 2025 Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Ill. The two-day, four-session event will take place at Welsh-Ryan Arena starting Saturday. Linear and streaming coverage will be provided by Big Ten Network and B1G+, respectively.
Led by Steveson, Minnesota heads into the championships with nine wrestlers seeded within the conference allocations determined by the NCAA last week, including seven Gophers who slot in within the top five in their weight class.
The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference's coaches, rank 14 starters in all 10 weight classes. Official final brackets for the tournament are set to be finalized and released later this week.
| Weight | Wrestler | Pre-Seed |
| 125 | Cooper Flynn | 9 |
| 133 | Tyler Wells | 10 |
| 141 | Vance VomBaur | 4 |
| 149 | Drew Roberts | 10 |
| 157 | Tommy Askey | 5 |
| 165 | Andrew Sparks | 5 |
| 174 | Clayton Whiting | 5 |
| 184 | Max McEnelly | 2 |
| 197 | Isaiah Salazar | 4 |
| 285 | Gable Steveson | 1 |
Returning after a three-year hiatus, Steveson showed no signs of rust after a perfect 11-0 dual season where he posted an 8-0 mark in conference action to push his overall winning streak to 63, the third longest in school history. The No. 1 seed for the fourth time in his career, Steveson is a three-time Big Ten champion after winning titles from 2020-22. Entering with a 7-0 mark against this year's field, he is looking to become the first Big Ten heavyweight to win four titles. He would be the 19th four-time B1G champion overall and the second Gopher to do so along with Verne Gagne (1944, '47-49).
Set to compete at the Big Ten Championships for the first time in his career, redshirt freshman Max McEnelly earned the No. 2 seed at 184 pounds. He was a perfect 18-0 in the regular season and 8-0 against the Big Ten. McEnelly leads Minnesota with 15 bonus-points wins, including 11 by tech fall. Those 11 tech fall wins rank tied for third in the nation. He has yet to lose in collegiate career, going 15-0 last year in his redshirt season as a true freshman. Since the current weight classes were established in 1999, McEnelly becomes the seventh Gopher freshman to earn a seed of second or better.
The reigning Big Ten champion at 184 pounds, fifth-year senior Isaiah Salazar is the No. 4 seed at 197 pounds. Moving up a weight for the first time in his career, Salazar was 15-4 during the regular season, 9-2 in duals and 5-2 in the Big Ten with the only conference losses coming to wrestlers ranked ahead of him in the pre-seeds. The No. 4 seed is the highest for a Gopher at the weight since Brett Pfarr was the top seed in 2017. In addition to his championship last year, Salazar also placed fourth at 184 pounds in 2023 and eighth in 2022.
Coming off an All-American campaign in 2024, redshirt junior Vance VomBaur will compete at Big Tens for the second time in his career, this time as the No. 4 seed. He made his debut last year, finishing seventh as the No. 10 seed. VomBaur tied for the team lead during the regular season with 20 wins in 23 matches, including a 10-2 dual record and 6-2 conference mark. With a 5-2 record against the field, he becomes the highest seeded Gopher at the weight since Tommy Thorn was No. 3 in 2017.
Three Gophers were given the No. 5 seed.
Fifth-year senior Tommy Askey will take part in his first Big Ten Championships as the No. 5 seed at 157 pounds. A two-time SoCon Champion while at Appalachian State, Askey matched VomBaur for the team lead with an identical 20-3 record. Askey was 9-2 in duals and 6-2 in the Big Ten during the regular season and enters the weekend with a 4-2 mark versus the field with the only conference losses coming to wrestlers ranked third and fourth.
After spending the 2024 campaign at 174 pounds, fellow fifth-year senior Andrew Sparks returns to 165 pounds as he competes at Big Tens for the fourth time in his career. His No. 5 seed this year matches his personal best, also earning that seed as a freshman in 2021. Sparks' top-five seeds are the best for a Gopher at 165 pounds since Cody Yohn was also No. 5 in 2013. The No. 9 seed in both 2023 and 2024, Sparks placed sixth last year at 174 and ninth in 2023 at 165. He is 19-5 on the year with a 9-3 dual record and 5-3 conference mark.
Like Askey, redshirt sophomore Clayton Whiting is also making his first appearance at Big Tens after transferring into Minnesota this year. Whiting, who will be making his conference tournament debut, was tabbed as the No. 5 seed at 174 pounds after spending the last two seasons at Missouri. He was 14-8 this season with a 7-5 dual record and 5-3 mark against conference foes. All three losses came to wrestlers ranked second through fourth in the pre-seeds.
Redshirt junior Cooper Flynn joins Askey and Whiting in making his debut at Big Tens after three seasons at Virginia Tech. A finalist last year at the ACC Championships, Flynn is the No. 9 seed at 125 pounds this go-around. Overall, Flynn went 12-4 during the regular season with a dual record of 7-3 and conference record of 3-3.
Sophomore Tyler Wells and redshirt junior Drew Roberts both were placed 10th in the pre-seeds at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Both will be making their second career appearances at Big Tens.
Wells, who did not place last year after being seeded eighth, was 11-5 during the regular season. He added a 5-4 dual mark, including a 1-4 record within the Big Ten. Roberts, meanwhile, placed ninth after earning a No. 9 seed a year ago. He heads into the weekend 12-7 on the year, 6-6 in duals and 2-6 in the Big Ten.
Minnesota starts its postseason journey this weekend at the 2025 Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Ill. The two-day, four-session event will take place at Welsh-Ryan Arena starting Saturday. Linear and streaming coverage will be provided by Big Ten Network and B1G+, respectively.
Gopher Wrestling Tries Gymnastics
Thursday, May 29
Steveson Advances to NCAA Title Match
Friday, March 21
Gable Steveson: NCAA Quarterfinals
Friday, March 21
Gable Steveson: NCAA Pin
Thursday, March 20