Like any team sending a full lineup to the NCAA Championships, Iowa came away with a mixed bag from a draw standpoint. There’s some good, some not so good and some in between. The Hawkeyes have seven wrestlers who are seeded in the top eight at their respective weight classes, but it will likely take at least that many All-Americans, including several who exceed their seeds, for Iowa to be in the mix to win its second straight national title. 

Here’s a look at the bracket path for each of the Hawkeyes, along with the projected number of team points they would score if they wrestle to their seed. 

125 pounds: #13 Drew Ayala (16-6) — projected 1.5 points 

Ayala opens the tournament against returning NCAA qualifier Fabian Gutierrez of Chattanooga. They were in the same bracket at the Southern Scuffle, where Gutierrez lost in the consolation semifinals against Missouri’s Noah Surtin, who lost to Ayala for third. A win against Gutierrez would likely set Ayala up against returning national finalist Brandon Courtney of Arizona State. 

133 pounds: #5 Austin DeSanto (15-3) — projected 10 points 

DeSanto has been ranked third all season. He dropped to the #5 seed, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. His path through the bracket is filled with familiar opponents. He’ll start the tournament with Air Force’s Sidney Flores. A victory there would set him up against Pitt’s Micky Phillippi or Appalachian State’s Codi Russell, both of whom DeSanto has scored bonus points against in previous trips to the national tournament. There’s a potential quarterfinal with Virginia Tech’s Korbin Myers. DeSanto beat him 10-6 last year for third. If he can navigate the top side of the bracket, DeSanto could run into returning national champ Roman Bravo-Young yet again in the semis. The Penn State star has won six straight in the series against DeSanto, but most of those have been razor-thin decisions. 

141 pounds: #2 Jaydin Eierman (16-1) — projected 16 points 

It’s been a gradual progression up the medal podium for Eierman during his career, going from fifth as a freshman to second as a sophomore to third as a junior to second last season. His bid to climb to the top step this time around begins with a first-round bout against Franklin & Marshall’s Wilfredo Gil. A win there would set him up with an ACC opponent in the second round — either North Carolina’s Kizhan Clarke or North Carolina State’s Ryan Jack, who took Eierman to the wire in December before dropping a 7-6 decision. Eierman’s path through the bottom side of the bracket could feature a quarterfinal bout against South Dakota State’s #7 seed Clay Carlson of South Dakota State or Minnesota’s #10 Jake Bergeland, who took third at the Big Ten Championships. If the bracket plays out the way it’s seeded, Eierman would run into undefeated Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers, the #3 seed, in the semifinals. 

149 pounds: #8 Max Murin (12-3) — projected 5.5 points 

Murin has reached the quarterfinals in each of his previous two trips to the NCAA Championships and he’s seeded to get back there again this time around. He opens the tournament against Central Michigan’s Corbyn Munson, who Murin notched a 14-5 major decision against earlier in the season. A win there would set him up against Oklahoma State’s Kaden Gfeller, the #9 seed, or #24 P.J. Ogunsanya of Army. Murin defeated Gfeller 5-2 last month. If he can get back to the quarters, Murin would likely run into two-time NCAA champ Yianni Diakomihalis. 

157 pounds: #9 Kaleb Young (17-7) — projected 2 points 

Young’s two previous trips to the national tournament have netted a pair of podium finishes. After dropping five of seven matches at one point earlier in the season, he righted himself and closed the regular season with eight consecutive wins, which, coupled with a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, put him in a position to claim the #9 seed. His tournament in Detroit begins against #24 seed Doug Zapf of Penn. A win there would set him up against Missouri’s #25 seed Jarrett Jacques or #8 seed Will Lewan of Michigan. Young and Lewan have only met once in college. Young won a 7-3 decision two years ago in Iowa’s dual win against Michigan. If he can get to the quarters, Young would likely run into returning national champ David Carr of Iowa State. Carr has posted 6-1 and 6-2 victories in their two previous meetings. 

165 pounds: #3 Alex Marinelli (20-1) — projected 13.5 points

Fresh off his fourth Big Ten title, Marinelli is trying to cap his career with his first NCAA crown. He was the tournament’s #1 seed three times, losing an opportunity in 2020 to the cancellation of the NCAA Championships and getting knocked off in the quarterfinals in 2019 and 2021 by the eventual tournament champion. His tournament path begins against #30 seed Evan Barczak of Drexel. A win there sets him up in the second round against Columbia’s #14 Josh Ogunsanya or #19 Justin McCoy of Virginia. Marinelli has no prior college history against any of his first two opponents. That could change in the quarterfinals, where Marinelli could run into the #6 seed, Cam Amine of Michigan. Marinelli defeated Amine in close matches at the Big Ten Championships each of the past two seasons, including a win in last weekend’s conference title bout. Looking down the line, there’s a possible semifinal looming against undefeated Keegan O’Toole, the #2 seed from Missouri.  

174 pounds: #5 Michael Kemerer (9-2) — projected 10 points 

Kemerer’s lengthy and brilliant career with the Hawkeyes is down to one final tournament. He’s placed third, fourth and second in three previous trips to the NCAA Championships. This time around, he’s the #5 seed. He opens the tournament against Army’s Ben Pasiuk. A win there sends him to the second round, where he’d face South Dakota State’s #12 seed Cade DeVos or Minnesota’s #21 Bailee O’Reilly, who Kemerer defeated 9-2 earlier in the season. There’s a potential quarterfinal looming against fellow Pennsylvania native Hayden Hidlay of North Carolina State. If he can navigate his way to the semis, Kemerer could run into #1 seed Carter Starocci of Penn State. Kemerer defeated Starocci in the Big Ten finals last year before Starocci notched overtime wins in the NCAA finals last year and in January’s dual meet. 

184 pounds: #18 Abe Assad (13-8) — projected .5 point 

Assad has been battle-tested by Iowa’s schedule and Big Ten’s deep 184-pound weight class and he won’t catch any breathers on the front side of the bracket in Detroit. He opens with #15 seed Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech, last year’s #5 seed at the national tournament. If Assad can get past Bolen, he’ll likely have returning national champion Aaron Brooks of Penn State in the second round. Brooks has won 7-3 and 8-3 decisions in two previous meetings with Assad. 

197 pounds: #6 Jacob Warner (17-5) — projected 9 points 

Nothing came easy for Warner last year on his way to a fourth-place finish. He had to rally back in the first round to beat #28 seed Nick Reenan of North Carolina State in overtime. He won three more matches by three-point margins and another by a point. This year, he’ll open with Northern Colorado’s Alan Clothier. A win there would set Warner up with a second-round bout against Purdue’s #11 seed Thomas Penola or #22 Owen Pentz of North Dakota State. Warner has won all three previous meetings against Penola, pulling out 9-4, 4-0 and 3-0 victories. If he gets to the quarters, Warner could run into another Big Ten rival, Eric Schultz of Nebraska. They’ve wrestled five times in college with Schultz holding a 3-2 advantage in the series. 

285 pounds — #3 Tony Cassioppi (15-2) — projected 13.5 points 

Cassioppi has been remarkably consistent during his three seasons with the Hawkeyes. He takes a 48-8 career record into the tournament. Five of those eight losses have come against returning national champ Gable Steveson, who’s on the top side of the bracket. Cassioppi’s path through the bottom side begins against #30 seed Josh Heindselman of Oklahoma. A win there sends Cassioppi to the second round, where he’d face #14 Luke Luffman of Illinois or Oklahoma State’s #19 Luke Surber. Cassioppi pinned Luffman in January and notched a 9-1 major decision against Surber in February. He could potentially run into Lehigh’s Jordan Wood, the #6 seed, in the quarterfinals. Cassioppi defeated Wood 3-2 in December. If he can get to the semis, Cassioppi could have a familiar foe waiting. Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz is the #2 seed, but Michigan’s Mason Parris, the returning NCAA finalist, is also on the bottom side as the #7 seed. Cassioppi beat Schultz twice in last year’s tournament, winning 4-1 and 5-0 decisions, but he’s 0-2 against Parris and has lost twice by fall.