They've got some good pieces but many of them are a bit unproven. They'll be looking for some of their young guys to make a jump.

The pressure for a trophy is going to be real as this has a chance to be a special team. With that being said, I think most of the predicted finishes for VT guys are a tad on the low side. While nothing is guaranteed, I think many will see our guys having higher finishes than what they predicted. JD had: Eddie 7th, obviously can miss the podium but I think many will have him higher, including me Seidel 3rd, seems about right but many of us see him as a finalist depending on seed Bo 2nd, expectations are high but he certainly could win it, especially in folk Caleb 4th, this is where Hokie nation was most surprised, I know I believe he can win it or be a finalist Gaj originally had him R12, now 8th, tough weight but I think he has a great chance at another podium Nininger R16, I like him to surprise many this year that don't know how good he is, the weight will be the question Burton R16, I think again, this seems to be a floor not ceiling prediction, he is podium capable Desiante R12, seems about right but he has skills to produce even more Sasso R12, I like him to bounce back from last year's tournament, he has seen it now and can be more prepared Jimmy R16, this class lost some guys but gained some good ones too, I like him to move forward but probably about right JD's picks were definitely on the lower side for VT IMO. I'm not suggesting we will out perform all of his predictions but I like several of them to be more floor than ceiling.

But we definitely have more opportunities to add points than lose them imo.

Final predictions had 6 AA which is pretty incredible. I am very high on Nininger and Burton this year. Nininger looked fantastic at 74 kg at U-23 - with another fall semester to pack on mass, I can see him definitely big enough to still pull a typical cut to wrestle at 165 this year. His style already plays well with the mid-upper weights with his underhook game. Gaj's weight class at 157 is going to be really challenging and as good as he is, I think he is a natural 149. The 157 weight class is absolutely stacked. Making the podium is hard, really hard. I think our order of likely AA is: 133/141/149 - 95-100% 125 - 75% [EV is definitely top 8 if he can just bring his offense against high caliber opponents] 157/165/174/197 - 50% 184/285 - 30% [Jimmy really is a prototypical R12/R16 guy - beats up on lesser competition but really struggles to even keep matches close against top 10 guys] We've only had 6 AA once back in 2016. With this being the last hurrah for EV and Caleb, I think anything less than 6 will be a dissapointment looking at this roster.

In the NCAAs over the last several years. Turns out wrestling 5-6 years in college wears a lot of guys out. It’s a grind and many peak earlier in their college career. I’m confident Caleb can get it done though but given the results since Covid it isn’t too hard to pick some younger guys to break through.

year where he wrestled an entire folkstyle season. If anything he should come back refreshed.

As if he needed more motivation.

He’s spending lotsa time with Ty.

To me, he looks like he has trimmed down some vs the previous bulk job. If that’s what is happening, I think the more nimble and athletic version of JM is the best option especially with a full dose of Walz training.

at 149 is it Valencia, Van Ness, and Vega? If that's the case you'd have to put either Bo or Seidel at 1 (whoever doesn't have Jax). I also think Caleb is better than Valencia and Van Ness - Vega we'll see but not going to claim anything about him after his performance against Mendez.

Valencia 2nd, Van Ness 3rd. They had Jax staying at 33, and Stanich winning 41. They are borderline calling Vega having a 4X Cael career. Some of it might be TIC but I'll say it. I watched Bo beat him (FS) and had several close matches last year. I think Ech pushed him to rideouts, close with Hardy, close with Nasir twice, close with Jack. I'll say it and it will probably age very poorly but I think Vega will not win 149. The guys that have careers like they are suggesting are much more dominate with bonus rate. I would be surprised if he was at 50%.... I do know he is darn near impossible to take down, but I like the chances of the other 3 to get a TD, especially our guy with his attack rate. Also SVN might give up some, but he will get a TD on Vega. ** Edited by VTwinsdad at 7/28/2026, 10:55:38 AM ** Edited by VTwinsdad at 7/28/2026, 10:57:36 AM

Haines shot on BA, then BA sat the corner and got funky and pinned him. The pin didn’t get called but that was a pin! I digress. Haines survived but still shot again, but next time he lifted BA off the mat negating his funk. The Vega run last year was insane but he will not be that successful at 149 with a year for coaches to prepare for him. Another undefeated season without giving up a TD all season will not happen again. Hats off to him if he does it again and I’ll own that statement in March if he does. BA pinned Haines, and that’s the last time I’ll say it, at least for tonight. Go Hokies

But I expect he'll be more dominant this year than last. He made a huge jump already compared to how he wrestled in high school, and now he gets a whole year training with Jax and the Raney bros and Landon. I like Henson to win and think media is wrongly worried that's he's lost a step, while in reality I think he's jumped levels a bit. I think Aden and Vega are just going to get better and better though, and could change that prediction depending on what they show.

I don't think you can pick against Jax, he's the type of guy who may end up with a career like that. I also like Bo over Stanich but I'm biased and Stanich does have the last win. If Bo beats Real Woods I think he should get the nod as the favorite (although we'll find out very early in the season if both guys go in the dual meet)

A year ago I think you pick Jax after he made the world team, but I think Bo has caught up and is about to do the same. I think familiarity plays a role and that Bo is one of the few guys that can scramble with Jax, and his size and pace give him an edge.

I really think Bo has the smaller frame. He just has never really cut weight like Jax. In fact, I could be wrong, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see Bo stay at 141 after this coming year and Seidel jump to 149

And might eventually be bigger. But I think Bo has a strength edge that would be hard to close in less than a year. It'll be really interesting to see what we do with weights next year. I think we get the most talent in the lineup by having everyone suck their weight down. Seidel at 133, Bo 141, Gaj 149, Miller 157, Noah 165. Could Garcia or Campbell drop down to 125? Some of those cuts are probably not realistic though, and you probably get them performing better by bumping a few guys, and pushing a guy or 2 out of the lineup.

regarding the lineup I'd like to see Garcia or Campbell drop to 125 and the other take 133, I don't think Seidel holds 133 again. I don't see a path where one potential AA isn't on the bench which is a good problem to have.

I don't see any way Campbell gets down to 125. He was a big 133. I'm hoping the coaches get Rozas in a position to take that 125 spot in '27-28. He had very little competition in Louisiana and still did well at national tournaments. Will be interesting to see how much he can improve with that much talent in the room. ** Edited by Hokie2000x at 7/30/2026, 8:13:30 AM

his injury is a thing of the past?? TIA

The way the injury seemed to be referenced last season, it seemed that he would be out at least part of this year. I have no further knowledge of his status. I thought the recent photo of the entire team in the weight room included him so hopefully he is at least training/working out with the team over the summer.