Wrestling fans puzzled with decision to lead off NCAA finals with Penn State’s Carter Starocci
Penn State wrestling’s Carter Starocci will lead off the finals of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships in a significant deviation from what most fans expected, based on a social media post from an ESPN analyst working the event.
According to Rock Harrison, a wrestling analyst for ESPN and ACC Network, Saturday night’s NCAA championships will start at the 184-pound weight class and end with the 285-pound bout featuring Minnesota’s Gable Steveson and Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson.
It’s believed to be the first time the NCAA has wrestled the finals matches out of order. Typically, the finals start at a specific weight and then simply count up. Saturday night’s order will see Starocci start off against Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen at 184 pounds, before going back to 125 pounds and then resuming the typical order.
Most fans wrongly assumed Starocci’s bout would come last during the event aired by ESPN. The finals kick off at 7 p.m. inside Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.
Starocci is eyeing an unprecedented fifth NCAA title, something no other wrestler has achieved — but which became possible in the wake of an additional year of eligibility thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Starocci is facing off against an opponent he needed sudden victory to beat at November’s 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic.
Keckeisen is the defending champion at 184 pounds. Starocci, who moved up to 184 this offseason, won all four of his previous titles at 174 pounds.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me,” former Penn State wrestler Jason Nolf, a three-time national champ, posted to his Instagram. “Somebody please explain.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 11:47 AM.
