Ohio State senior captain Kollin Moore is one of eight finalists for the 2020 Dan Hodge Trophy, awarded annually by WIN Magazine to the country’s best college wrestler. The three-time Big Ten champion won 27 matches this season and went wire-to-wire as the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 197 pounds.
Moore was the only Buckeye to finish his season undefeated, and was named the No. 1 seed at 197 pounds for the NCAA Championships that should have kicked off this week in Minneapolis.
Kollin Moore Named a Hodge Trophy Finalist
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The Hodge Trophy, often referred to as wrestling's equivalent of the Heisman, is named for Dan Hodge, the three-time NCAA champ (1955-57) from the University of Oklahoma. Hodge went 46-0 in his college career, recording 36 pins while never allowing a takedown.
Criteria for the award include overall record, number of pins, dominance and quality of competition. Past credentials, sportsmanship, citizenship and heart are secondary criteria used when two finalists have similar stats.
2020 Hodge Trophy Finalists:
- 125 lbs | Spencer Lee, Iowa (18-0)
- 125 lbs | Pat Glory, Princeton (24-0)
- 133 lbs | Chas Tucker, Cornell (31-0)
- 157 lbs | Ryan Deakin, Northwestern (21-0)
- 165 lbs | Shane Griffith, Stanford (28-0)
- 197 lbs | Kollin Moore, Ohio State (27-0)
- 197 lbs | Noah Adams, West Virginia (32-0)
- 285 lbs | Gable Steveson, Minnesota (15-0)
Given that all eight finalists this season are undefeated, pins and dominance will be key factors in deciding this year's winner. Moore's 27 wins include 10 major decisions, six tech falls and four pins. Nearly half of his wins came against opponents ranked in the top-25, and he earned bonus points in eight of those 13 bouts.
Setting aside his four wins by fall, he outscored the competition 341-116 (+225).
This year’s finalists are (alphabetically) West Virginia sophomore Noah Adams (197), Northwestern junior Ryan Deakin (157), Princeton sophomore Pat Glory (125), Stanford freshman Shane Griffith (165), Iowa junior Spencer Lee (125), Ohio State senior Kollin Moore (197), Minnesota sophomore Gable Steveson (Hwt) and Cornell senior Charles Tucker (133).
According to Win, the Hodge Trophy Voting Committee is made up of all past Hodge winners, a retired college coach from each region, and national media members. In addition, the official Fan Vote will begin at 1 p.m. on March 23 at WIN-magazine.com. The Fan Vote winner will receive an additional two first-place votes.
Ohio State legend Logan Stieber is the only Buckeye to win the Hodge, winning the 2015 trophy after becoming just the fourth wrestler in NCAA history to win four Division I titles, leading the Buckeyes to the school's first-ever NCAA Championship in the process.
The winner of the 2020 Hodge Trophy will be announced at 1 p.m. on Monday, March 30.
