Tom Brands was looking forward — figuratively and literally — Sunday when he met with the media after the Big Ten Championships. 

His Iowa wrestling team had just finished third at the conference tournament, wrapping up the tournament with a 4-4 performance in the placement round that included three title bout defeats. 

But eight Hawkeyes earned automatic qualifying spots to the NCAA Championships and a ninth got added to the field with an at-large ticket on Tuesday, so there wasn’t much looking in the rearview from the Iowa perspective. 

“I think you have to be looking forward,” Brands said. “You evaluate, you look forward, you get better. You have to really look forward to the competition, not just because the date is on the calendar, but because you are excited to compete at the national championships.” 

Now the Hawkeyes know their bracket assignments for the NCAA Championships. 

2025 NCAA Wrestling Championship Brackets

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Here’s a look at Iowa’s bracket paths in Philadelphia: 

125 — #29 seed Joey Cruz 

Cruz was one of four at-large selections added to the field Tuesday after he fell short of an automatic qualifying spot with a 10th-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, where he was the #5 seed. His 16-12 record this season includes wins over #11 seed Nicolar Rivera, #19 Cooper Flynn and #20 Brendan McCrone, but Cruz’s three losses at the conference tournament heightened his degree of difficulty in Philly. 

The sophomore from Fresno opens the tournament against fourth-seeded Vincent Robinson, a North Carolina State freshman who hadn’t lost a contested match until Feb. 21. However, Robinson has lost two of his last three bouts — both defeats came against Virginia Tech’s Eddie Ventresca. 

Cruz’s second match in the tournament will come against either #13 seed Marc-Anthony McGowan of Princeton or McCrone, who beat Cruz 8-1 in the ninth-place match at the Big Ten Championships. 

133 — #2 seed Drake Ayala 

Iowa has had a finalist in every NCAA tournament since 1989. Ayala kept that streak intact last year when he navigated his way through the bottom side of the 125-pound bracket to reach the finals. He’ll try to do the same this year as the #2 seed at 133. 

The junior’s third trip to the NCAA Championships begins with an opening-round assignment against Missouri’s Kade Moore, who has proven to be dangerous during his career with the Tigers. Moore took two-time NCAA champ Vito Arujau to the wire last year and scored a 20-6 major decision win against #1 seed Evan Frost of Iowa State at the Big 12 Championships. Moore ultimately placed fourth at the conference tournament, dropping a major decision to Kyle Burwick and a decision against Julian Farber. 

If Ayala handles his opening-round business, he’ll have a Thursday night bout with Farber or Lock Haven’s Anthony Noto, a two-time All-American at 125 who moved up to 133 this season. It’s the beginning of a bracket path through a bottom side loaded with All-Americans. In addition to Ayala and Noto, the bottom side also features four other All-Americans — Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver, NC State’s Kai Orine, Frost and Little Rock’s Nasir Bailey, the #3 seed. 

149 — #5 seed Kyle Parco 

Parco is chasing his fifth NCAA podium finish with his third different school. He’s 20-3 with the Hawkeyes. He’s beaten three of the top seven seeds —  #2 Ridge Lovett of Nebraska, #6 Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina and #7 Kannon Webster of Illinois. 

Parco has been gritty in finding ways to win close matches this season, but he’s given up bonus points in all three of his defeats — two against Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness and another against Lovett in the Big Ten semifinals. 

The good news for Parco: Lovett and Van Ness are on the opposite side of the bracket in Philadelphia. 

Parco opens the tournament against #28 seed Dylan Gilcher of Michigan. They did not cross paths this season in the Big Ten. An opening-round victory would set Parco up with a Thursday night bout against either #12 seed Ethan Stiles of Oregon State or #21 Willie McDougald of Oklahoma. 

There’s potential for a Cy-Hawk quarterfinal Friday morning with Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson as the #4 seed. Johnson wrestled at 157 pounds when the Cyclones wrestled the Hawkeyes in November.  

157 — #18 seed Jacori Teemer 

Teemer was ranked #1 nationally when February began, but he’s since plummeted to a #18 seed and it’s hard to tell which version will take the mat in Philadelphia — the explosive title contender or the guy who’s been derailed by injuries during his abbreviated season with the Hawkeyes. 

Teemer was a three-time All-American and NCAA finalist for Arizona State before transferring to Iowa, but he’s been limited to 12 matches with the Hawkeyes this season. He suffered a hamstring injury in November against Iowa State and didn’t compete again until Jan. 25 and wore a shoulder harness late in the season.  

Since returning to the Iowa lineup in January, Teemer is 6-3 with a loss to #1 seed Tyler Kasak of Penn State and overtime defeats against Minnesota’s Tommy Askey and Maryland’s Ethen Miller. 

Teemer opens the tournament against #15 seed Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan. A win there could set him up for a second-round match against Cornell’s second-seeded Meyer Shapiro in one of the most compelling Thursday night bouts. 

165 pounds — #3 seed Michael Caliendo 

Caliendo has ascended to another level this season after podium finishes each of the past two years at the NCAA Championships. He hasn’t cracked the code yet against Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink, but he’s undefeated against everyone else this season with 16 bonus-point victories.

And he’s coming off his closest match yet against the top-seeded Nittany Lion — a 4-1 defeat in the Big Ten finals. 

To set up a rematch with Mesenbrink in the NCAA finals, Caliendo will need to navigate through the bottom side of the bracket in Philadelphia. Perhaps nobody in the field faces a more familiar path to the quarterfinals than the Iowa 165-pounder. Caliendo opens the tournament against former teammate Aiden Riggins of Iowa State. A win there could set Caliendo up with a second-round bout against former teammate Drake Rhodes of South Dakota State. 

There’s a possibility for a Big Ten quarterfinal bout against either sixth-seeded Beau Mantanona of Michigan or #11 seed Braeden Scoles of Illinois. Caliendo notched a technical fall win against Scoles in the Big Ten quarterfinals. 

The bottom side of the bracket also includes two other All-Americans: Stanford’s Hunter Garvin and West Virginia’s Peyton Hall. Garvin raced out to a big lead early against Caliendo in November before the Hawkeye rallied back for a 17-12 victory. Hall, the #2 seed, is 30-1 this season and coming off a Big 12 title. 

174 — #11 seed Patrick Kennedy

Kennedy’s third trip to the NCAA Championships begins with an opening-round bout against Penn’s Nick Incontrera, an opponent who owns a major decision win against him. That’s not an ideal first-round assignment, but that loss occurred early last season when Kennedy was coming off a knee surgery and building into the 174-pound weight class. 

Kennedy’s been a full-time 174-pounder this season. He’s 13-5 with two losses to NCAA champ Levi Haines of Penn State, two defeats against All-American Carson Kharchla of Ohio State and another defeat against Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto in a 29-point battle. 

If Kennedy can get past Incontrera, a second-round bout with #6 seed Brevin Cassella could await Thursday night. 

184 — #11 seed Gabe Arnold 

Arnold is stingy on his feet and difficult to ride, and those two characteristics will make him a tough out in Philly. But the freshman will likely need to score more takedowns to make a deep run on the championship side of the bracket. 

Arnold is 17-5 this season with four overtime losses and another via medical forfeit. He opens the tournament against Indiana’s Donnell Washington. They were slated to meet in the Big Ten consolation quarterfinals, but Arnold won by injury default. A win there could set Arnold up with a second-round bout against Cornell’s sixth-seeded Chris Foca, who’s 19-1 this season. Foca’s lone loss was a 14-7 defeat against Maryland’s Jaxon Smith, who split a pair of matches this season with Arnold. 

If Arnold can reach the quarterfinals, there’s a potential rematch looming with Minnesota’s Max McEnelly, the #3 seed. McEnelly scored an overtime takedown to beat Arnold 4-1 in February. 

197 — #2 seed Stephen Buchanan 

There’s never been a wrestler who’s placed for three different schools at the Division I level. That could change in Philadelphia with a pair of Hawkeyes — Buchanan and Parco — looking to accomplish the feat. 

Buchanan placed eighth and third in two trips to the national tournament at Wyoming and placed third last year for Oklahoma. He’s 21-1 this season with the Hawkeyes. 

Buchanan’s bid for a title begins with an opening-round match against Michigan State’s Remy Cotton. 

After that, Buchanan’s path could be littered with rematches. Wyoming’s #15 seed Joey Novak could be waiting in the second round. Buchanan notched a pair of wins against Novak last year when they were battling in the Big 12. 

There’s another Big 12 opponent potentially looming in the quarterfinals. Northern Iowa’s Wyatt Voelker, the #7 seed and Big 12 champ, and #10 seed Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota are lined up as possible quarterfinal opponents. Buchanan defeated Salazar 4-1 in February. 

If he can make it to the semis, there’s a chance former Big 12 rival A.J. Ferrari could be waiting on the other side. Ferrari, a 2021 NCAA champ for Oklahoma State, defeated Buchanan twice during their days as Cowboys. 

285 — #5 seed Ben Kueter 

Kueter hasn’t fully unlocked his offense yet, but the freshman is figuring out ways to win against opponents who aren’t named Gable Steveson, Wyatt Hendrickson or Greg Kerkvliet. Thanks to a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, he won’t encounter any of the three heavyweight giants until the NCAA semifinals at the earliest. 

Of course, Kueter needs to notch three wins to get there first, but he put himself in a good spot in the bracket with his performance at the conference tournament. He finished the regular season ranked 11th nationally, entered the Big Ten meet seeded seventh and then went 5-1 to take third, which boosted him to a #5 seed. 

Kueter opens the tournament against Iowa State true freshman Daniel Herrera, the #28 seed, who’s coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships. A win there could set Kueter up for his third bout of the season against All-American Nick Feldman of Ohio State. Kueter won the first two matches, claiming 5-4 and 2-0 wins. 

If Kueter can get to the quarterfinals, Lehigh’s Owen Trephan might be waiting as his opponent. Trephan is 21-0 this season after transferring from NC State.