2023-24 College Preview - University of Michigan

PREVIOUS SEASON RECAP

After a remarkable 2021-22 season that crowned the Wolverines at Big Ten champs and saw them finish as runner-ups at the NCAA tournament, Michigan put together another solid campaign in 2022-23.

After going 11-4 in the dual season, Michigan finished 5th in the Big Ten tournament. Michigan improved on its Big Ten performance by finishing 6th in the NCAA tournament, led by 3 All Americans.

Mason Parris won the B1G tournament and NCAA tournament over Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) to cement himself as one of the all-time Wolverine greats. Additionally, Cam Amine made it three-for-three in reaching the podium at the NCAA tournament, highlighted by wins over #3 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) in the quarterfinals and former national champ (and now teammate) Shane Griffith in the consis. Lastly, Will Lewan put himself on the podium again with a win over #20 Cael Swenson (SDSU) in the blood round.

KEY DEPARTURES

While nothing hurts as much as losing national champ Mason Parris at heavyweight, Michigan will also miss three other NCAA qualifiers. Jack Medley was an anchor down low for the Wolverines, qualifying for the NCAA tournament twice in his career. Additionally, Matt Finesilver and Chance Lamer were Round of 12 at the NCAA tournament this past season. Michigan lost Parris, Medley, and Finesilver to graduation, while Lamer opted to enter the transfer portal following the season.

125 - Jack Medley (NCAA Qualifier)
149 - Chance Lamer (NCAA Qualifier)
184 - Matt Finesilver (NCAA Qualifier)
285 - Mason Parris (National Champ)

IMPACT NEWCOMERS

Michigan has one of the best, if not the best, hauls of the 2023 class. The Wolverines signed four impact grad transfers over the offseason, including NCAA champion Shane Griffith and multi-time All-Americans Michael DeAugustino, Chris Cannon and Lucas Davison. Griffith is joining the Wolverines by way of Stanford, while DeAugustino, Cannon, and Davison are all transferring in from Northwestern.

Additionally, Michigan had another top-10 recruiting class this year. Dylan Gilcher (Detroit CC) and Caden Horwath (Davison) are 4x MHSAA state champs that have promising futures with the Maize and Blue. Additionally, there are four other top-100 recruits coming to Ann Arbor this full.

Full Recruiting Class:
125 - #38 Caden Horwath (Davison) - 4x State Champ, Super 32 Champ
133 - #11 Sergio Lemley (Illinois) -  Super 32 Champ
149 - #16 Dylan Gilcher (Detroit CC) - 4x State Champ, Super 32 Champ
149 - #14 Joel Adams (Nebraska) - Fargo Champ, Cadet World Greco Champ
157 - #7 Beau Mantanona (California) - Super 32 Champ, Cadet World Team Member
197 - #51 Hayden Walters (Oregon) - Super 32 Champ

PROJECTED LINEUP

There are 7 All Americans in the Wolverine lineup, so we know 7 of the 10 starters from the start. Cannon and Ragusin will have to work it out between 133 and 141, while Cam Amine and Shane Griffith will have to do the same at 165/174. Additionally, Rylan Rogers will have to make a decision between 184 and 197. Other than that, the big question marks are at 149 and Rogers's counterpart at 184/197.

With Chance Lamer's exit to the transfer portal, 149 is up for grabs. Fidel Mayora has some experience in the starting lineup and is a very viable option. Additionally, Dylan Gilcher is a rare true freshman that can come in and be a podium threat straight out of high school.

Rylan Rogers earned some time in the starting lineup at 197lbs a season ago, and he did so without burning his redshirt. With 4 years of eligibility remaining, he has the ability to go 184 or 197 this season. Assuming he goes 184lbs, Yatooma or Bullock are both upperclassmen with plenty of experience and can go 197.

Projected Lineup
125 - #8 Michael DeAugustino, 2x AA
133 - #13 Chris Cannon, 2x AA
141 - #16 Dylan Ragusin, NQ
149 - Dylan Gilcher or Fidel Mayora
157 - #7 Will Lewan, 2x AA
165 - #3 Cam Amine, 3x AA
174 - #4 Shane Griffith, 3x AA and National Champ
184 - #21 Rylan Rogers
197 - Brendin Yatooma or Jaden Bullock
285 - #3 Lucas Davison, 2x AA

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