Playoff Round 1 Fantasy Preview
PLAYOFFS! The moment (some of you) have been waiting for is HERE! The reason I say “some” is because, unfortunately, there are people out there in the toilet bowl bracket (bottom 4). Fortunately, whether you are playing for a title or simply trying not to be the worst in your office league, you still need fantasy advice.
Now is NOT the time to start winging it, so I have done extra research this week to truly put out the best options for you this week. The guys below have a high probability of scoring solid points for you in the first round of your playoffs.
If I can stress one thing for you to do this week it would be to WORK THE HECK OUT OF THE PORTAL! There are only two weeks left to get you to glory. If someone isn’t going to score you serious points this week, DROP THEM. Remember that you are working for points here and not just to keep popular names on your roster. Do yourself a favor and surf the portal at EVERY weight. Keep an eye out for the names I have listed below and get yourself one win closer to fantasy wrestling immortality.
125
Michael Colaiocco (UPenn) – Princeton, Drexel, F&M
Jackson DiSario (Stanford) – Little Rock, ND State, SD State
Pat Glory (Princeton) – UPenn, Drexel
Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) – Cal Poly, CSU-B
Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) – Rutgers, Maryland
Alex Mackall (Iowa State) – West Virginia, UNI
Jack Mueller (Virginia) – Duke
Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) – Oklahoma
Spencer Lee (Iowa) – Minnesota
Devin Schroder (Purdue) – Illinois
Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) – Bucknell
Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) – Citadel
Trey Chalifoux (Army) – Bucknell
My top portal adds this week at 125 are Jackson DiSario and Brandon Courtney. Yes, there are better wrestlers on this list; however, these guys have bomb matchups. Combined DiSario and Courtney are wrestling against Little Rock, ND State, SD State, Cal Poly, and CSU-B. Name a better group of opponents for your fantasy starter to be facing in round one of the playoffs, i’ll wait…
133
Carmen Ferrante (UPenn) – Princeton, Drexel, F&M
Michael Jaffe (Harvard) – Columbia, Hofstra, Long Island
Chaz Tucker (Cornell) – Binghamton, UNC
Cam Sykora (ND State) – Stanford, Air Force
Noah Gonser (Campbell) – App State, VMI
Todd Small (Iowa State) – West Virginia, UNI
Anthony Madrigal (Oklahoma) – Air Force, Oklahoma State
Josh Kramer (Arizona State) – Cal Poly, CSU-B
Seth Gross (Wisconsin) – Michigan
Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) – Ohio State
Louie Hayes (Virginia) – Duke
Micky Phillippi (Pitt) – VT
Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) – Purdue
Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) – Michigan
Derrick Spann (Buffalo) – NIU
Nick Farro (Lehigh) – Bucknell
Cayden Rooks (Indiana) – SIUE
Alan Hart (Missouri) – SIUE
Tim Rooney (Kent State) – Clarion
Some of my favorite portal peoples at 133 are Cam Ferrante, Michael Jaffe, and Anthony Madrigal. Again, matchups are KING in this pivotal fantasy weekend. Ferrante and Jaffe are both having solid fantasy seasons and are staring down three favorable matchups each in round 1. Madrigal has also had a great season thus far. While his bonus rate isn’t as high as we’d like it to be (21%) he is highly favored in his two matchups.
141
Real Woods (Stanford) – Little Rock, ND State, SD State
Sa’Derian Perry (Old Dominion) – Drexel, Navy, George Mason
Matthew Kazmir (Columbia) – Brown, Harvard, Sacred Heart
Doug Zapf (UPenn) – Princeton, Drexel, F&M
Dom Demas (Oklahoma) – Air Force, Oklahoma State
Evan Cheek (Cleveland State) – Bloomsburg, Michigan State
Ian Parker (Iowa State) – West Virginia, UNI
Josh Heil (Campbell) – App State, VMI
Zach Sherman (UNC) – Pitt, Cornell
Mitch McKee (Minnesota) – Iowa
Chad Red (Nebraska) – Michigan
Tristan Moran (Wisconsin) – Michigan
Tariq Wilson (NC State) – VT
Grant Leeth (Missouri) – SIUE
Peter LiPari (Rider) – Clarion
Dylan Duncan (Illinois) – Purdue
Corey Shie (Army) – Bucknell
Take your pick from the guys above. Guys like Perry, Kazmir, Zapf, and even Cheek may be in your portal at the current moment. All have three matchups this weekend that they are favored in. Take advantage of (if all goes as planned) at least 9 points at 141 for your fantasy team. Heck, i’d even consider picking up two at the weight and throwing one in as a floater if they’re available.
149
Austin O’Connor (UNC) – Pitt, Cornell
Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) – UPenn, Drexel
Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) – Utah Valley, Wyoming
Kanan Storr (Michigan) – Nebraska, Wisconsin
Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) – Rutgers, Maryland
Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) – West Virginia, UNI
Colston DiBlasi (George Mason) – Old Dominion, Bloomsburg
Brock Zacherl (Clarion) – Kent State, Rider
Henry Pohlmeyer (SD State) – Fresno State, Stanford
Max Thomsen (UNI) – West Virginia, Iowa State
Josh Maruca (Arizona State) – Cal Poly, CSU-B
Jaden Van Maanen (ND State) – Stanford, Air Force
Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) – Oklahoma
Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) – Penn State
Denton Spencer (Virginia) – Duke
Griffin Parriott (Purdue) – Illinois
Brock Mauller (Missouri) – SIUE
Jonathan Millner (App State) – Campbell
PJ Ogunsayna (Army) – Bucknell
Jimmy Hoffman (Lehigh) – Bucknell
Tanner Smith (Chattanooga) – Citadel
Graham Rooks (Indiana) – SIUE
Matthew Kolodzik is available in almost all leagues… enough said.
157
Larry Early (Old Dominion) – Drexel, Navy, George Mason
Kyle Mosher (Columbia) Brown, Harvard, Sacred Heart
Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) – Rutgers, Maryland
Quincy Monday (Princeton) – UPenn, Drexel
David Carr (Iowa State) – West Virginia, UNI
Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) – Air Force, Oklahoma State
Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) – Cal Poly, CSU-B
Jared Franek (ND State) – Stanford, Air Force
Hayden Hidlay (NC State) – VT
Kendall Coleman (Purdue) – Illinois
Kaleb Young (Iowa) – Minnesota
Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) – Clarion
Justin McCoy (Virginia) – Duke
Josh Humphries (Lehigh) – Bucknell
Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) – SIUE
Matthew Zovistoski (App State) – Campbell
Jacob Tucker (Michigan State) – Cleveland State
Jacob Wright (Fresno State) – SD State
Markus Hartman (Army) – Bucknell
There are a lot of dudes available in the portal this week at 157. If you don’t have the Deakin’s or Hidlay’s of the world, find the guy and matchup you like. There is plenty to choose from at this weight.
165
Shane Griffith (Stanford) – Little Rock, ND State, SD State
Phillip Conigliaro (Harvard) – Columbia, Hofstra, Long Island
Ebed Jarrell (Drexel) – Old Dominion, Princeton, UPenn
Josh Shields (Arizona State) – Cal Poly, CSU-B
Kennedy Monday (UNC) – Pitt, Cornell
Quentin Perez (Campbell) – App State, VMI
Zach Hartman (Bucknell) – Lehigh, Army
Aaron Almos (Oregon State) – Cal Baptist, Little Rock
Alex Marinelli (Iowa) – Minnesota
Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) – Ohio State
Evan Wick (Wisconsin) – Michigan
Isaiah White (Nebraska) – Michigan
Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) – Oklahoma
David McFadden (VT) – NC State
Peyton Mocco (Missouri) – SIUE
Cam Coy (Virginia) – Duke
Drew Hughes (Michigan State) – Cleveland State
Danny Braunagel (Illinois) – Purdue
There’s a Harvard man near the top of my 165lb fantasy wishlist this week and his name is Phillip Conigliaro. He has great matchups this week and has turned in a record of 23-6 in his freshman season thus far. He should be an easy grab for you at 165 this week.
174
Michael O’Malley (Drexel) – Old Dominion, Princeton, UPenn
Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) – Cal Poly, CSU-B
Bryce Steiert (UNI) – West Virginia, Iowa State
Neal Richards (VMI) – Gardner-Webb, Campbell
Mark Hall (Penn State) – Ohio State
Michael Kemerer (Iowa) – Minnesota
Dylan Lydy (Purdue) – Illinois
Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) – Bucknell
Daniel Bullard (NC State) – VT
Michael Labriola (Nebraska) – Michigan
Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) – Northern Colorado
Andrew McNally (Kent State) – Clarion
Connor Flynn (Missouri) – SIUE
Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) – Northern Colorado
Ben Harvey (Army) – Bucknell
Spencer Carey (Navy) – Old Dominion
Lane Malczewski (Michigan State) – Cleveland State
Jacob Covaciu (Indiana) – SIUE
This may be the weakest fantasy weight of the week. Most of the guys with good matchups above are on a fantasy roster currently, but there are a couple names to look out for. One that I love is Daniel Bullard of NC State. Bullard was losing 4-1 to Clay Lautt of UNC last week before picking up a couple takedowns and asserting a DOMINANT ride to end the match. I love me some leg-riders and the Bullard brothers are some of the best in the country in that aspect.
184
Brandon Kui (Brown) – Columbia, Long Island, Hofstra
Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) – Cal Poly, CSU-B
Taylor Lujan (UNI) – West Virginia, Iowa State
Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg) – Cleveland State, George Mason
Andrew Morgan (Campbell) – App State, VMI
Colt Doyle (Oregon State) – Cal Baptist, Little Rock
Zach Carlson (SD State) – Fresno State, Stanford
Travis Stefanik (Princeton) – UPenn, Drexel
Cam Caffey (Michigan State) – Cleveland State
Taylor Venz (Nebraska) – Michigan
Aaron Brooks (Penn State) – Ohio State
Louie DePrez (Binghamton) – Cornell
Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) – VT
Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) – Citadel
Anthony Montalvo (Oklahoma State) – Oklahoma
Chris Weiler (Lehigh) – Bucknell
Noah Stewart (Army) – Bucknell
Brit Wilson (NIU) – Buffalo
Dylan Wisman (Missouri) – SIUE
Kui, Allard, Morgan, and Doyle were ALL available in my portal this week. All have nice outlooks on the week. Check out who is available and which matchups you like best, then pull the trigger on your round 1 champion.
197
Nathan Traxler (Stanford) – Little Rock, ND State, SD State
Ben Darmstat (Cornell) – Binghamton, UNC
Pat Brucki (Princeton) – UPenn, Drexel
Noah Adams (West Virginia) – UNI, Iowa State
Lucas Davidson (Northwestern) – Rutgers, Maryland
Tanner Sloan (SD State) – Fresno State, Stanford
Greg Bulsak (Clarion) – NIU, Rider
Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) – Cal Poly, CSU-B
JJ Dixon (Oregon State) – Cal Baptist, Little Rock
Kollin Moore (Ohio State) – Penn State
Jacob Warner (Iowa) – Minnesota
Eric Schultz (Nebraska) – Michigan
Jay Aiello (Virginia) – Duke
Christian Brunner (Purdue) – Illinois
Wyatt Koelling (Missouri) – SIUE
Jake Koser (Navy) – Old Dominion
I’m going to be straight with y’all, 197 has been a s***show this year. Because of the wild results we’ve had, people have been dropping and adding people willy nilly all year on wrestlestat. This is a great thing for you in the playoffs, because some guys that should be taken aren’t. Check out this list from top to bottom in the portal and you might get lucky.
285
Yaraslau Slavilouski (Harvard) – Columbia, Hofstra, Long Island
Mason Parris (Michigan) – Nebraska, Wisconsin
Tanner Hall (Arizona State) – Cal Poly, CSU-B
Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) – West Virginia, UNI
Colton McKiernan (SIUE) – Missouri, Indiana
Brandon Metz (ND State) – Stanford, Air Force
Gable Steveson (Minnesota) – Iowa
Nick Nevills (Penn State) – Ohio State
Jordan Wood (Lehigh) – Bucknell
Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley) – Northern Colorado
Josh Hokit (Fresno State) – SD State
Quinn Miller (Virginia) – Duke
Brian Andrews (Wyoming) – Northern Colorado
Ben Sullivan (Army) – Bucknell
In this week’s edition of “Who the h*** do I start at heavyweight”, we find another Harvard gentleman on top. Slavilouski has been killing it this season. In just his freshman campaign he is currently sitting at 23-7. Brandon Metz from ND State is another good option this week. My advice, look to see if Slavilouski is available first. If he isn’t Metz almost certainly will be.
Want to hear me and the boys at HMA talk wrestling? Head on over to the podcast tab above and listen in to our Penn State vs Ohio State whiteboard war going down tonight 2/12/2020!
Also, follow me on Twitter @GingerWrastler and let me know how your team does!