Well, it’s that time of the year again. The 2023-2024 NCAA season is quickly approaching and multiple returning national champions will be back out on the mat in less than a month.
The Hodge Trophy is one of the most prestigious awards in the sport, and is awarded to the most dominant wrestler throughout the course of the year. Last season, Michigan’s Mason Parris claimed the award, making it three consecutive seasons where a heavyweight has taken home the honor (Steveson 2022, Steveson/Lee 2021).
Last year, six wrestlers went unbeaten throughout the year and each of them had a serious claim to win the Hodge Trophy. This year, it once again looks like it will be a very hard group of elite wrestlers to choose from.
Here is a breakdown of each contender for the Hodge Trophy and how they might be able to haul in the award:
Keegan O’Toole (MIZ):
In just his sophomore season, Keegan O’Toole claimed back-to-back national championships and was a Hodge Trophy finalist in 2022-2023.
165-pounds was a brutal weight class in the past season, which was a big reason why O’Toole was in the running with two losses. Not only that, but O’Toole finished his sophomore season with nearly a 60% bonus rate, and suffered little to no adversity through the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Now a junior, O’Toole returns as the man to beat at 165-pounds. With only three losses in his career, O’Toole will just continue to get better and push Missouri into contention for the team title in March.
Vito Arujau (COR):
Cornell’s Vito Arujau had one of the most impressive seasons out of any wrestler in the country last year, and continued to stay blistering hot following the NCAA season which led him to a gold medal at the World Championships in Serbia.
Now the reigning world champion at 61kg will set his focus towards folkstyle, and will most definitely be in the running for the Hodge Trophy. Arujau shines in the postseason, and proved that by beating both Roman Bravo-Young and Daton Fix on his way to his first national title. Although Fix returns, Arujau is the clear and dominant favorite at 133-pounds.
Carter Starocci (PSU):
On paper, Penn State’s Carter Starocci is the pound-for-pound best wrestler in the country.
Yet again, Starocci is coming off another national title (his third in a row) and headlines one of the best collegiate teams ever assembled. Penn State’s lineup is deep at every weight class, yet Starocci stands out as the best of them all.
Starocci has not lost a bout since 2021, which was the only year he’s suffered a defeat. However, Starocci would end up winning the national title that year as well.
Starocci is also chasing history, and could be the first wrestler in NCAA history to be a 5x National Champion.
Cornell’s Chris Foca seems to be his biggest threat at 174-pounds, but it is hard to see how anyone will give Starocci a run for his fourth consecutive national title and should be the clear favorite to win the Hodge Trophy this year.
Aaron Brooks (PSU):
Similar to Starocci, all Aaron Brooks has done is win matches.
Collecting his third consecutive NCAA title, Aaron Brooks will make the jump up to 197-pounds in search of his fourth gold medal.
In his career at 184-pounds, Brooks accumulated a 65-3 record and was dominant through each year of earning his national titles.
With Gary Truax filling in at 184-pounds for Penn State, Brooks will be freed of a weight cut and is the clear favorite to win the title again, but at 197-pounds.
Brooks will be able to make a claim for the Hodge Trophy due to 197-pounds being a really tough weight class. NC State’s Trent Hidlay, returning national finalist Tanner Sloan of South Dakota, Cornell’s Silas Allred, and Missouri’s Rocky Elam will all be in the mix, and makes it a really tough weight class to win.
If Brooks makes it look easy this year, a Hodge Trophy is very much in the conversation.
Honorable Mentions:
Wyatt Hendrickson (AF)
Real Woods (IOWA)
Levi Haines (PSU)
Parker Keckeisen (UNI)
