Entering his 16th year at the helm of the Mountain Hawks, head coach Pat Santoro will once again have a plethora at options at many weights. Lehigh has long had one of the largest and deepest rooms in the NCAA wrestling's Division 1 and this upcoming season is no exception. 

Lehigh has over 40 athletes on their preseason roster, plus a full complement of four coaches, with newly minted assistant coach Evan Henderson (who was a volunteer assistant last season) joining Zach Rey and Brad Dillion as assistant and associate head coaches, respectively.

The Hawks of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania's South Mountain will need to harness all the firepower at their disposal to ascend to the top of the EIWA and knock off rival Cornell, who won the conference tournament last March. Lehigh finished as runner-up in 2023, though they have recently reeled off a four-peat as champions from 2018-2021. 

By The Numbers

Returning NCAA Qualifiers: 7 (Connor McGonagle, Malyke Hines, Max Brignola, Jake Logan, Luca Frinzi, Michael Beard, Nathan Taylor)

Returning NCAA All-Americans: 1 (Michael Beard)

Departing Starters: 2 (Josh Humphreys, Tate Samuelson)

2022-23 Dual Wins: 9 Oregon State, Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, Cal Poly, Binghamton, Navy, Army, Bucknell, Princeton

2022-23 Losses: 9 Oklahoma State, Pitt, Penn State, NC State, Ohio State, Penn, Columbia, Arizona State

2023 EIWA finish: 2nd, 112.5 points

2023 NCAA finish: 20th, 28 points

Early Lineup Look

While no lineup is ever set in stone, through careful research and consultation we can present our best-educated guesses for Lehigh's starting ten this fall, along with the challengers and back-ups, where applicable. 

125 Pounds

Projected Starter: Sheldon Seymour, Sophomore 

Potential Backup: Luke Stanich, True Freshman

Seymour is expected to return to the lineup after redshirting in 2023. The year prior, the Troy, PA native started at 125, going 15-11 and just missing out on an NCAA invite. 

The Lehigh coaches like what they've seen from 2023 single-class New Jersey NJ state champ Luke Stanich, who will likely redshirt this season, but also could be called upon to start up to five times while maintaining his redshirt status.

133 Pounds

Projected Starter: #6 Connor McGonagle, Junior

Potential Backup: Ryan Crookham, Redshirt Freshman; Carter Bailey, Sophomore; Luke Stanich

This very well could be McGonagle's breakout season, as the New England native enters his fifth year on campus and fourth as a starter, though he still has one more year of eligibility thanks to 2021 not counting per the NCAA. McGonagle qualified for the 2021 and 2022 NCAA Championships. He entered EIWAs last season but injuries forced him to default out of the tournament. 

The projected backup with the highest upside potential would be Crookham, who was ranked #11 on the High School Class of 2023 Big Board. Crookham had to overcome injuries during his high school career but has the talent to compete at the highest level. Don't be surprised to see him in the lineup at either 133 or 141. 

Carter Bailey is another potential starter, as Lehigh is very deep in the lower weights. Bailey has wins over national qualifiers Gage Curry and Braxton Brown from the 2021-22 season and a win over Joey Prata in the 2022-23 season.

141 Pounds

Projected Starter: #12 Malyke Hines, Junior 

Potential Backup: Kimo Leia, Redshirt Freshman; Kelvin Griffith, Redshirt Freshman; Connor McGonagle - Ryan Crookham

Hines fell one match short of All-American status last season as the #22 seed, beating Ryan Jack, Matthew Kazimir and Shannon Hanna before falling to Lachlan McNeil in the bloodround. Hines also dropped a first-round bout to #11 seed Clay Carlson. That was Hines' third time qualifying for the NCAAs.

Potentially backing up the Floridian Malyke Hines are Californian Kimo Leia and Mainer Kelvin Griffith. Either McGonagle or Crookham could slide up to 141 as well. 

149 Pounds

Projected Starter: Owen Reinsel, Redshirt Freshman 

Potential Backup: Drew Munch, Junior; Matt Repos, True Freshman, Kimo Leia; Kelvin Griffith; Malyke Hines

Attempting to hold down 149 for the Mountain Hawks is Reinsel, who went 6-6 in limited action last season as a true freshman. However, the Lehigh coaching staff likes what they see from the Brookville High School grad and three-time PIAA placer from Pennsylvania. 

Challenging Reinsel for the starting job will be a trio of wrestlers that may also see time at 141 as well as redshirt junior Drew Munch, who hails from the prep school powerhouse Wyoming Seminary in Eastern PA, and four-time PA placer Matt Repos from Central Dauphin High School. Lehigh is very team at this weight. 

157 Pounds

Projected Starter: Max Brignola, True Junior

Potential Backup: Richie Grungo, True Freshman; Luca Frinzi, Junior

Trying to plug the hole left by departing All-American Josh Humphreys (more on him in a bit) is 2022 national qualifier Brignola, who is bumping up from 149 where he started the last two seasons. 

The Mountain Hawk faithful could also see Frinzi in the lineup, who qualified for the 2021 NCAAs at 157 and would be bumping down from 165 where he wrestled all of last season to a 10-9 record. 

Grungo, a state champ from St. Augustine Prep in New Jersey, could also see time as a spot starter while retaining his redshirt. 

165 Pounds

Projected Starter: Jake Logan, Junior

Potential Backup: Hunter Mays, Sophomore; Connor Herceg, Junior; Luca Frinzi

Logan will attempt to return to the NCAA championships, a tournament he hasn't reached since his freshman season in 2021. This would be the New Rochelle, NY native's fourth time in the Mountain Hawk lineup as a starter.

Hunter Mays will challenge for the spot after joining the program in the offseason from Rider University where he went 14-16 as a true freshman for the Broncs. Mays also has a redshirt he could utilize.

Last year's starter from Nazareth, PA, Connor Herceg, will also contend for the 165-pound spot. 

174 Pounds

Projected Starter: Thayne Lawrence, Sophomore 

Potential Backup: Jared Schoppe, True Freshman; Jake Logan; Connor Herceg

Lawrence was #42 on the Class of 2020 Big Board but has yet to find the starting lineup. However, Lawrence may be poised to assume that roll this year. The four-time PIAA placer from Frazier High School will be in his fourth year on campus, though he still has two more years of eligibility after this season. 

Besides Logan and Herceg who may bump up from 165, New Jerseyan true freshman Jared Schoppe may also spot-start at this weight. 

184 Pounds

Projected Starter: Caden Rogers, Sophomore

Potential Backup: JT Davis, Sophomore; Jared Schoppe

Caden Rogers will be the first up to try and fill the shoes left by departing five-time NCAA qualifier Tate Samuelson, a grad transfer from Wyoming University.

Rogers will be challenged by 2022 starter at 197, JT Davis. This is a battle that may not be decided until the Brown & White wrestle-off on October 25, and could very well continue throughout the season

Rogers and or Davis may also get a breather from Schoppe, who could move up from 174, depending on how much bulk he puts on in the notoriously affective Lehigh weight room. 

197 Pounds

Projected Starter: #10 Michael Beard, Junior

The easiest weight class at which to predict a Lehigh starter is 197, where stalwart Michael Beard is expected to take the mat for the Mountain Hawks. Beard was an All-American for Penn State during the 2021 season, placing 7th at 197. Prior to that, Beard redshirted and took a gap year. The Malvern Prep grad and Pennsylvanian native was the #11 recruit in the class of 2018. 

Beard didn't start for the Nittany Lions in 2022 as then NCAA finalist and future NCAA champ Max Dean transferred to State College from Cornell. Beard transferred schools to Lehigh over the next summer, making it to the 2023 NCAA round of 12 in his first season in a Mountain Hawk singlet, falling to Bernie Truax of Cal Poly (who transferred to Penn State over this last summer) in the bloodround. 

Redshirt freshman Dantae Hoose is the only other 197-pounder listed on the Lehigh roster but don't count out a 184-pounder builing up to fill in when needed. 

285 Pounds

Projected Starter: #20 Nathan Taylor, Sophomore

Like 197, heavyweight for the Mountain Hawks is a weight class with a clear frontrunner. Nathan Taylor proved his mettle as a redshirt freshman last season, going 16-12, finishing as a runner-up at the EIWAs, and going 1-2 at NCAAs. 

The 2021 Pennsylvania state champ from Brookville High School has two other 285-pounders on the roster (TJ Moore and Karam Chakif) that will both challenge him for the starting job and help him contend for All-American honors. 

The Josh Humphreys Question

While there is no shortage of stories about student-athletes who were negatively impacted by covid-19, everyone's least favorite novel coronavirus, Josh Humphreys' predicament certainly stands out as one of the worst among wrestlers whose careers spanned the 2021 season. 

Humphreys made the round of 12 as a true freshman in 2019. He was the #7 seed in the canceled 2020 tournament as a true sophomore. Humphreys had surgery and missed every competition of the 2021 season. 

The 2021 season was later deemed a "free" year by the NCAA and did not count against any student-athlete's eligibility. Humphreys again reached out the round of 12 as a junior in 2022, then finally broke through and placed third as a senior in 2023. 

Had Humphreys wrestled in 2021 and then taken a medical redshirt in 2022, he'd still have a year of eligibility to use. Based on that reasoning, and the fact that the NCAA has been making up new rules due to covid-19 as they go and have all the power in the world to grant another year of eligibility in this special case, Humphreys has both entered the transfer portal and petitioned the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility. 

So far there has been no official word on Humphreys either committing to another university or being granted another year of eligibility. 

Season Outlook

Lehigh's schedule has already been released, you can find it here.

For a private school in a non-Power 5 conference, the Mountain Hawks have consistently sought out one of the toughest schedules in Division 1 every year. That trend continues in the 2023-24 season, as Lehigh will have out-of-conference dual meets with NCAA royalty Penn State and Oklahoma State. 

Lehigh will also face EIWA rival Cornell, Pennsylvania rival Pittsburgh, and finish the year with an out-of-conference dual against perennial power Arizona State. 

The Mountain Hawks are not attending either the CKLV, Midlands or Southern Scuffle, but they will wrestle in the Princeton Open in the first week of the season. They'll also participate in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and host a newly minted tournament called the Sheridan Invitational in late December.

With a team that's extremely deep on NCAA qualifier caliber wrestlers but with only one returning All-American and two wrestlers in the preseason top 10, Lehigh will be a stronger dual meet than tournament team. But with so many arrows in the quiver ready to be launched at the opposition, there's a greater chance someone develops into an All-American caliber wrestler by the end of the season, which gives Lehigh a very robust "floor" with the potential to outperform expectations. 

One Last Thing

It never ceases to impress that Lehigh adds the major of all their wrestlers on their roster page. 

Lehigh's mascot used to be known as the Engineers, on account of the vast number of actual engineers in each graduating class. That tradition is still going strong on the wrestling team, which is replete with science and engineering majors (and not a few finance majors as well). 

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