Season Preview: Tom Ryan's Buckeyes Look to Capture School's First NCAA Title

Tom Ryan has coached 25 All-Americans, and seen two of his teams snatch a pair of runner-up finishes at the NCAA Championship in his eight seasons as head coach of the Ohio State wrestling team. But his ninth team could be his best yet.

Ryan's Buckeyes, InterMat's No. 2 team entering the season, kick off 2014-15 with quick test when they square off against No. 21 Kent State at 7 p.m. Thursday evening inside the cozy confines of St. John Arena. Four months later, they'll travel to Indianapolis with the goal of capturing the program's first-ever team title.

Returning Starters

Johnni DiJulius – 133
JDJ has two trips to the NCAA Championships under his belt – at 125 and 133 – and the Stow Walsh Jesuit product will be gunning for All-American honors.

Logan Stieber – 141
Stieber is on track to join college wrestling’s elite by becoming just the fourth wrestler to win four NCAA titles. A point-scoring machine, Logie Bear is a dominant force on top and has international aspirations beyond college.

Hunter Stieber – 149
The younger Stieber brother is coming off of a redshirt season. He earned All-American honors in each of his first two seasons for the Buckeyes and will have his sights set on a championship.

Randy Languis – 157
Languis took his lumps in his first season in the starting lineup against Big Ten competition, but he did top talented freshman Micah Jordan in wrestle-offs. That said, he may have a hard time holding down the starting spot because of...

Josh Demas – 157
Demas is returning after an injury-rlated redshirt season and if he can stay healthy, he should own this spot on the roster. He did not participate in Ohio State's wrestle-offs, but he's InterMat's No. 7 wrestler at 157.

Mark Martin – 174
Martin has been solid for the Buckeyes, qualifying for the NCAA tournament in each of his two previous seasons as a starter. He has All-American – if not better – potential this season.

Kenny Courts – 184
Courts is one of the more exciting Buckeyes to watch as he can score points in a hurry at any point in the match. Courts has made the most of being a starter for much of his two years on campus, but fell a match short of earning All-American status at last season’s NCAA tournament. 

Nick Tavanello – HWT
Tavanello endured  a few rough patches in his first season as a starter, but caught fire at the right times a season ago. On more than one occasion, dual meets came down to Tavanello, and he didn’t disappoint. Tav knocked off the then-top-ranked Adam Coon of Michigan during the season and fell just one match shy of earning All-American laurels a season ago. 

Key Additions

Ryan and his staff added a handful of the nation’s top recruits in each of the past two seasons. Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan were among the most sought-after recruits in the class of 2013, and each took a redshirt year last season. With a year of collegiate mat time under their belt, they're poised to make waves at 125 and 165, respectively.

Not to be outdone by the previous class, the 2014 class boasts a trio of wrestlers ranked in the top ten of InterMat recruiting rankings. Kyle Snyder, the nation’s top recruit, will likely begin the season in the starting lineup at 197. Indeed, InterMat likes him enough—he's their No. 7 wrestler at that weight.

Joining Snyder are fellow blue chippers Micah Jordan (Bo’s younger brother) and Thomas Haines, who provide added depth for the future. Jordan projects at either 149 or 157, while Haines is a heavyweight. Both Jordan and Haines have confirmed redshirt seasons this year.

Key Losses

Nick Heflin – 197
Heflin was a three-time All-American in four trips to the NCAA tournament, finishing runner-up in March.

Ian Paddock – 149
Paddock was a four-time NCAA qualifier and was twice named team captain. Ian was a standout in the classroom, as well, earning multiple academic awards, including NWCA All-Academic honors. 

Joe Grandominico – 165
Grandominico was valuable throughout his career as he was able to step in as a late replacement at several weights. Joe also was a four time Ohio State scholar-athlete. 

Nick Roberts – 125
Roberts qualified for the NCAA tournament in March, but transferred to Pitt during the off-season and will likely start at 125 lbs for the Panthers.

Storylines to Watch

NCAA Title Run: Tom Ryan led the team to consecutive NCAA runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2009, but this could be the season that the Buckeyes finally claim the team championship that has eluded the program throughout its long and storied history.

With Hunter Stieber and Demas redshirting last season along with the talented Bo Jordan and Tomasello, expectations were high for this year even before the Buckeyes landed Snyder, Haines, and the younger Jordan.

Both of the Stieber brothers are legit contenders for NCAA titles and if the team can get a few guys to make the leap from earning All-American honors to a higher place on the podium—or even a surprise title or two, 2014-15 could go down as one to remember.

Four Crowns: Logan Stieber is in position to become just the fourth NCAA wrestler to win four individual NCAA titles. That is quite the feat. Stieber is likely to be favored in all of his matches this season because he can score points at will. If you're a casual fan, this is the guy to watch on this team.

A Great Home Slate: The Buckeyes will host No. 3 Iowa, No. 5 Penn State, No. 9 Missouri and the top-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers as part of an outstanding home schedule.

New Grapplers on the Block: Tomasello, Jordan, and Snyder all top-10 prospects, will crack the starting lineup. Simply put, this is the most anticipated freshman class in recent program history. In addition to being starters for the Buckeyes, the trio were all selected as team captains, which demonstrates their maturity on and off the mat. 

B1G Crown: It may be hard to believe, but Ohio State has yet to win so much as a share of a conference title. If this team is good enough to win an NCAA title – and it is – it should be good enough to claim the B1G crown for the first time. That said, depth is much more important at the league level because of the smaller number of teams present.

This is a very good team with an amazing home schedule. Football may be king in Columbus, but you'll be doing yourself a favor if you make plans to catch the wrestling Buckeyes in action.