The 2025 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament will take place on May 16-17 in Louisville, Kentucky. The winner of every bracket will qualify for Final X to compete for a world team spot on June 14. You can watch the World Team Trials Challenge tournament only on FloWrestling and check out a full preview with predictions for the men’s freestyle division in the article below.

65 Kilograms

• Nick Lee
• Jesse Mendez
• Seth Gross
• Marcus Blaze
• Bo Bassett
• Aden Valencia
• Real Woods
• Beau Bartlett
• Brock Hardy
• Carter Young

65 kg is one of the deepest weights at the World Team Trials and has a ton of parity. As the 2023 world team member, Nick Lee will likely be the #1 seed and is a slight favorite on paper. Lee has significant wins in his senior-level career over Joey McKenna, Yianni Diakomihalis, Matt Kolodzik, Islam Dudaev, Austin Gomez, Andrew Alirez, and several other notable wrestlers over the past few years. Lee hasn’t wrestled since the Olympic Trials over a year ago, but if he’s wrestling his best in Louisville, he’s the pick to win this deep bracket.

Lee’s wins over Yianni at Final X 2023:

Two-time NCAA champ Jesse Mendez is coming off a runner-up finish at the US Open and also finished fourth at the 2024 Olympic Trials. Mendez won a U20 world silver medal in 2023 and should be considered most likely to win this bracket after Nick Lee. 

Jesse Mendez’s win over Beau Bartlett at the 2025 US Open:

Bo Bassett, Seth Gross, and Marcus Blaze are all wrestlers I consider “wild cards” at 65 kg. Iowa commit Bassett is still just a junior in high school, but he’s had incredible success that suggests he could make a deep run in this bracket. Bassett won a U20 world bronze medal and notably went 4-0 last year against Aden Valencia (who finished third at the US Open). At the very least, it will be fascinating to see how Bassett wrestles against accomplished college wrestlers in this field. 

Bassett’s run at the U20 Worlds:

Blaze and Gross are wild cards primarily because they are coming up from 61 kg. Gross just finished second at the 2025 US Open while defeating Blaze in the semis. Blaze, an incoming freshman at Penn State, is a U17 world champion and won a bronze medal at the U20 world championships last year. Beyond that, he’s had domestic success, placing third at the 2024 Olympic Trials (at 57 kg), second at the 2024 World Team Trials (at 61 kg), and third at the 2025 US Open (at 61 kg). In all of those events, Blaze has accumulated victories over Daton Fix, Nahshon Garrett, Seth Gross, Luke Lilledahl, Nathan Tomasello, and Nico Megaludis. If Gross and Blaze can translate the success they’ve had to 65 kg, they’ll absolutely be factors at the World Team Trials. 

Aden Valencia, Real Woods, and Beau Bartlett finished 3-5, respectively at the US Open and showcase the depth of this bracket. Valencia, a true freshman at Stanford, had a breakout tournament in Vegas with two wins over Woods and a razor-thin loss to Joey McKenna. Though Woods lost to Valencia, he went on to defeat Bartlett. Beyond that, Woods won a bronze medal in February at the Ranking Series tournament in Albania against top-level competition. 

Aden Valencia’s win over Seth Gross:

Then there’s Beau Bartlett, who lost close matches to both Jesse Mendez and Real Woods in Vegas. Despite those losses, Bartlett shouldn’t be underestimated at the Trials and should be considered a contender as much as anyone else in the bracket.

Finally, Brock Hardy is the only wrestler in the field we didn’t see in Vegas. Hardy won a U23 world bronze medal in 2023 and is coming off a great college season where he finished as the NCAA runner-up at 141 pounds. He’s a bit of a dark horse because he hasn’t competed on the freestyle scene recently, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a deep run in this bracket.

65 kg WTT Predictions

1. Nick Lee
2. Jesse Mendez
3. Marcus Blaze
4. Bo Bassett

70 Kilograms

• James Green
• PJ Duke
• Ian Parker
• Will Lewan
• Bryce Andonian 
• Ridge Lovett
• Antrell Taylor
• Caleb Henson
• Brayton Lee
• Jackson Arrington

Like 65 kg, the bracket at 70 kg is incredibly deep with some interesting contenders. At the top, James Green should be considered the favorite to win this bracket based on his dominance at the weight class over the past 10 years. Every year Green has tried to make the world team at 70 kg; he has succeeded. Beyond that, Green is a two-time world medalist, placing bronze in 2015 and silver in 2017. However, Green is 32 years old and even briefly retired two years ago. The World Team Trials will be a test unlike Green has faced in a significant time domestically and will tell us if Green is still wrestling at or close to his peak.

After Green, high schooler and Penn State commit PJ Duke should be considered the next top contender at 70 kg. I broke down why PJ Duke can win the WTT here, but it’s also worth briefly highlighting Duke in this preview. Duke won a bronze medal at the U20 world championships last year and then went on to have incredible success at the senior level. In late September, Duke placed third at the World Team Trials while defeating Will Lewan, Jarrett Jacques, and Yahya Thomas. A few months later, Duke won the Bill Farrell after pinning Bryce Andonian and defeating Will Lewan (10-4). Duke is the real deal, and won’t be underestimated by anyone in Louisville. 

PJ Duke US Open Follow-Along:

NCAA champion Antrell Taylor, Ridge Lovett, and Caleb Henson are all interesting additions to the field as wrestlers who didn’t compete at the US Open. We haven’t seen any of these wrestlers compete in freestyle much over the past few years, but all of the pedigrees prove they’ll be a factor in this bracket. I wouldn’t be surprised if any wrestler from this group of three makes a run to the finals.

Then there’s the group of wrestlers we saw at the Open – Ian Parker, Will Lewan, Bryce Andonian, Brayton Lee, and Jackson Arrington. This group displays the depth of the weight, but should all be considered underdogs to win or even make the finals. 

70 kg WTT Predictions

1. James Green
2. PJ Duke
3. Ridge Lovett
4. Caleb Henson

74 Kilograms

• David Carr
• Quincy Monday
• Jarrett Jacques
• Michael Caliendo
• Terrell Barraclough
• Peyton Hall
• Joseph Blaze
• Edward Scott
• Elroy Perkin

We saw most of these wrestlers at the US Open, and that makes it fairly easy to predict how things will go in Louisville. David Carr is the clear favorite after finishing as the US Open runner-up while only losing to Mitchell Mesenbrink in the finals. Before that finals loss, Carr had notable wins over Jarrett Jacques (11-0) and Ed Scott (11-0). Carr also has folkstyle wins over Quincy Monday, who will likely be the #2 seed and the favorite to meet Carr in the finals. 

David Carr breaks down his win against Olympic Silver medalist Daichi Takatani:

Despite the folkstyle losses to Carr, Monday has been solid on the freestyle scene over this year with a third-place finish at the US Open, gold at the Dan Kolov in Bulgaria (January), and silver at the Henri Deglane (January). If there’s any wrestler in the field who can challenge Carr, Monday should be considered the man to do it. 

After Monday, Michael Caliendo is also an interesting contender and didn’t compete at the US Open last month. Caliendo hasn’t been active in freestyle over the past few years, but his close losses to Mitchell Mesenbrink this season suggest he’s a worthy challenger to both Monday and Carr. Caliendo has an outstanding neutral offense, and he’s one of the wrestlers I’m most looking forward to watching in Louisville.

74 kg WTT Predictions

1. David Carr
2. Quincy Monday
3. Michael Caliendo
4. Jarrett Jacques

79 Kilograms

• Dean Hamiti Jr
• Levi Haines
• Simon Ruiz
• Carson Kharchla
• Muhamed McBryde
• Kennedy Monday
• Ethan Riddle

The 79 kg bracket at the WTT is essentially a smaller version of the 79 kg bracket from the US Open. In Vegas, DJ Hamiti finished as the runner-up with a tech fall over Kennedy Monday while losing to Evan Wick in the finals 9-1. Simon Ruiz finished in third place at the US Open, also only losing to Evan Wick (9-5) but defeating Carson Kharchla (twice, 3-2 and 7-7) and Muhamed McBryde (6-4). From these results, Hamiti should be considered a slight favorite, but Ruiz and Kharchla are interesting challengers capable of making a run to the finals.

Levi Haines is the only wrestler in this bracket who didn’t wrestle at the US Open. While Haines lost to Hamiti at the NCAA Tournament, Haines is capable of winning this bracket in Louisville. Haines hasn’t competed much in freestyle, but he notably finished 4th at the 2024 World Team Trials at 79 kg. There, Haines lost to Jordan Burroughs and David Carr but defeated US Open winner Evan Wick (by pin) and Keegan O’Toole (6-0). Haines’ wrestling translates well to freestyle, and he has incredible potential to win in Louisville and at Final X.

79 kg WTT Predictions

1. Levi Haines
2. DJ Hamiti
3. Simon Ruiz
4. Kennedy Monday

86 Kilograms

• Kyle Dake
• Chance Marsteller
• Carter Starocci
• Parker Keckeisen
• Marcus Coleman

86 kg might be the smallest bracket at the Trials, but it’s packed with high-level talent. Kyle Dake should be considered the favorite and will likely have a rematch with Parker Keckeisen in the semis. At the US Open, Dake won a controlling 8-1 decision over Keckeisen and will be a big favorite to reach the finals at the World Team Trials. 

Dake vs Keckeisen:

On the other side of the bracket, Chance Marsteller vs Carter Starocci might be the most anticipated semi-final match of the tournament. Marsteller and Starocci have wrestled three times in the past with Starocci winning the first two matches (4-2 in 2020 and 7-0 in 2021) and Marsteller winning the most recent match (5-4 in 2022). This is a true toss-up match and will be incredibly close from start to finish.

Marsteller’s win over Starocci from the 2022 WTT:

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The potential finals match between Dake and Marstller/Starocci is also incredibly compelling. Dake should be considered the favorite regardless of who he’s wrestling, but I expect either Marsteller or Starocci to challenge Dake. If it’s Starocci, there’s the familiarity factor with both training at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Beyond that, both wrestlers have similar styles with elite defense, positioning, and pressure. Now that Starocci is focused solely on freestyle, it will be interesting to see where he stacks up against the best in the world.

The potential Marsteller-Dake matchup is also a fascinating one. Marsteller is a master game-planner, as displayed by his Final X wins over Jordan Burroughs. Also, Marsteller was teched by Valencia at the Kolov in January but then lost a competitive match (4-2) against Valencia at the US Open. I expect Marsteller to be prepared to beat Dake, and if they wrestle in Louisville, it should be a battle. 

86 kg WTT Predictions

1. Kyle Dake
2. Carter Starocci
3. Chance Marsteller
4. Parker Keckeisen

92 Kilograms

• Josh Barr
• Jacob Cardenas
• Aeoden Sinclair
• Michael Macchiavello
• Dustin Plott
• Patrick Brophy

Josh Barr and Jacob Cardenas didn’t wrestle at the US Open but have the freestyle credentials that make them serious contenders to win the Trials. Barr, coming off a runner-up performance at the NCAA Tournament and notably defeated Jacob Cardenas in the semis. Beyond that, Barr had a breakout freestyle season last summer after making the U20 team at 86 kg. Barr made incredible progress last year after losing to Sinclair in the US Open finals (10-0) and then defeating Sinclair in a three-match series at the U20 World Team Trials. After that, Barr went on to win a silver medal at the U20 World Championships. Barr dealt with a hamstring injury in the postseason at NCAAs, but I expect him to be fully healthy at the Trials, and he’s my favorite to win the 92 kg bracket.

Barr’s win over Sinclair to make the U20 World Team:

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As a three-time U23 world medalist, Jacob Cardenas has the best freestyle credentials of any wrestler in the field. Cardenas also has high-level international wins over Miriani Maisuradze (2024 92 kg world silver), Alan Bagaev (2019 U20 World Champ), and Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov (2024 U20 World Champ and 2024 U23 world bronze). Because of those results, Cardenas is currently ranked #15 in the world at 92 kg and would be a serious medal threat if he wrestled at Worlds this year. 

Then there’s Aeoden Sinclair, who finished as a runner-up at the US Open last month and notably defeated Mike Macchiavello (1-1) before losing to Trent Hidlay (7-1). Along with that performance, Sinclair defeated Josh Barr twice last summer and should be right in the mix with Cardenas and Barr to win this bracket. My biggest concern with picking Sinclair is that he might be a bit undersized for 92 kg – especially against a wrestler like Jacob Cardenas. 

Sinclair’s win over Macchiavello:

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Though he lost to Sinclair, Macchivello should still be considered a legitimate threat in Louisville and is capable of defeating any wrestler in this field. Macchiavello notably made Final X in 2023 and finished third at the World Team Trials last year. 

92 kg WTT Predictions

1. Josh Barr
2. Jacob Cardenas
3. Michael Macchiavello
4. Aeoden Sinclair

97 Kilograms

• Jay Aiello
• Justin Rademacher
• Eric Schultz
• Gavin Hoffman
• Christian Knop
• Ethan Laird

97 kg has added intrigue at the World Team Trials with the uncertain future of world and Olympic champion Kyle Snyder. If Snyder doesn’t wrestle at Final X, then the winner of the World Team Trials would likely be the world team representative at 97 kg. 

With only 6 wrestlers entered, there are currently three major contenders – Jay Aiello, Eric Schultz, and Justin Rademacher. Aiello should be considered the favorite after finishing in second at the US Open. Aiello also is U23 World Bronze medalist (2021) and has a recent win over 2023 92 kg world champion Rizabek Aitmukhan. Along with those international results, Aiello defeated Justin Rademacher at the 2024 Bill Farrell and has four straight wins over Eric Schultz.

Aiello’s win over Rademacher:

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Despite suffering the loss to Aiello at the Farrell, Justin Rademacher has made incredible progress over the past year highlighted by a U20 world bronze medal last year and most recently a senior Pan-Am gold medal last week. Rademacher wrestlers better every time out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Rademacher comes out on top in Louisville. 

Eric Schultz is the final wrestler I consider a serious contender in this bracket, and he made a late move up to 97 kg after wrestling 92 kg at the US Open. Though Schultz has lost the last four matches to Aiello, Schultz has three senior-level freestyle wins over Aiello. Schultz is a slight underdog in this bracket, but he’s absolutely capable of finishing on the top of the podium.

97 kg WTT Predictions

1. Jay Aiello
2. Justin Rademacher
3. Eric Schultz
4. Gavin Hoffman

125 Kilograms

• Demetrius Thomas
• Hayden Zillmer
• Trent Hillger
• Christian Lance
• Jordan Wood
• Lucas Stoddard

All of the wrestlers entered at the World Team Trials also wrestled at the US Open last month. In Vegas, Demetrius Thomas was the surprise of the tournament, finishing as the runner-up to Wyatt Hendrickson. On his way to the finals, Thomas pulled off upset wins over Hayden Zillmer (6-6) and Jordan Wood (6-1). Because of that performance, Thomas should be the #1 seed and won’t be underestimated by anyone at 125 kg in Louisville.

Thomas’ win over Zillmer:

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Though he lost to Thomas at the Open, Hayden Zillmer will be considered the favorite by many to win the 125 kg bracket at the World Team Trials. Zillmer forfeited in the third-place match at the Open to Christian Lance, but defeated Trent Hillger (6-5). On top of that, Zillmer made the world team at 125 kg in 2022 and also holds a win over Wyatt Hendrickson from that year. Hillger, Lance, Wood, and Stoddard are all worthy contenders, but Zillmer’s my pick to win this bracket at the Trials.

125 kg WTT Predictions

1. Hayden Zillmer
2. Demetrius Thomas
3. Trent Hillger
4. Jordan Wood