NCAA Announces its Wrestling Championship Brackets

Jared Hill Leads the Pokes, Capturing a No. 13 Seed

LARAMIE, Wyoming (3/12/25) – The NCAA wrestling committee released the 10 brackets for the Championships next week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All five University of Wyoming student-athletes who qualified now know their first-round opponents and how the rest of their respective brackets shook out.

No. 13 Jared Hill (157) led the way for the Pokes. He’ll battle No. 20 seed Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) in the opening round on March 20. Hill is 24-10 on the season and this is his third trip to the NCAA Championships but first as a Cowboy.

No. 15 Joey Novak (197) will take on No. 18 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell) in the opening round. Novak is 23-5 on the year and this marks his second consecutive trip to the Championships.

No. 19 Eddie Neitenbach (184) will square off with No. 14 DJ Parker (Oklahoma) in the opening round. The two have already met this season with Parker earning a 4-3 decision win in Norman, Oklahoma. Neitenbach is 13-7 this season and making his first-career NCAA Championships.

No. 30 Gabe Willochell (149) will go up against No. 3 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) in the opening round. The two have already met this season with Van Ness logging a fall of Willochell in State College, Pennsylvania. Willochell is 17-12 on the year and making his third-career NCAA appearance, second as a Cowboy.

No. 30 Sam Mitchell (HWT) will battle No. 3 Greg Kirkvliet (Penn State) in the opening round. Mitchell is 27-10 on the season and will be making his second NCAA Championships, first as a Poke and first as a heavyweight.  

The NCAA utilizes a number of different tools to seed the brackets. The items they look at include the Coaches’ Ranking, head-to-head competition, quality wins, RPI, conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.