Huskers Host Utah Valley to Open 2024-25 Season

Lincoln - The No. 3 Nebraska wrestling team will open the 2024-25 season on Friday, Nov. 8 at the Devaney Center as the Huskers host Utah Valley. The dual will begin at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus, and tickets for the dual can be purchased at huskers.com/tickets. Takedown foam fingers will be given away to the first 750 fans in attendance. The team will also participate in a tunnel walk approximately ten minutes before the dual begins.

Friday’s dual will mark the Huskers’ first competition since junior Brock Hardy (141) led Nebraska with a third-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships, and NU scored 60.5 points to claim ninth overall. Five Huskers competed in the NCAA medal round, highlighted by Hardy’s upset victory and alum Peyton Robb’s win to conclude his Husker career with his fourth all-american honor.

Four of last season’s All-Americans return including 24 letterwinners and eight NCAA qualifiers, as the Huskers look to continue last season’s momentum.

History 
Nebraska is undefeated in the all-time series with the Wolverines, defeating UVU in three neutral site duals. Most recently, NU topped Utah Valley in January 2011, 22-12, in Texas at the Lone Star Duals.

Up Next
NU will travel east to face Campbell and No. 24 North Carolina on November 15. The Huskers will wrestle the Camels at 3:30 p.m. (CT) in Buies Creek and the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill at 6:30 p.m. (CT).

Top Matchups to Watch 
141: No. 4 Hardy (NEB) vs. No. 32 Haiden Drury (UVU); First career collegiate matchup between the wrestlers and one of only two ranked matches between the teams  
165: No. 19 Bubba Wilson (NEB) vs. No. 7 Terrell Barraclough (UVU); Dual’s lone projected Top 25 matchup

No. 3 Nebraska’s Projected Lineup
125 - No. 3 Caleb Smith or Alan Koehler
133 - No. 13 Jacob Van Dee  
141 - No. 4 Brock Hardy or Blake Cushing
149 - No. 5 Ridge Lovett or Scott Robertson 
157 - No. 4 Antrell Taylor
165 - No. 20 Bubba Wilson or Christopher Minto
174 - No. 7 Lenny Pinto
184 - No. 7 Silas Allred
197 - No. 33 Camden McDanel
HWT - No. 28 Harley Andrews 

Utah Valley’s Projected Lineup
125 – Bridger Ricks or Talen Eck
133 – Kase Mauger or Jacob Myers
141 – No. 27 Haiden Drury
149 – Tanner Frothinger or Q’Veli Quintanilla
157 – Ryker Fullmer or Alex Emmer
165 – No. 6 Terrell Barraclough
174 – Mark Takara or Trevor Frank
184 – Caleb Uhlenhopp or Mahonri Rushton
197 – Kael Bennie or Christian Slack
285 – Jack Forbes

Scouting Utah Valley
Utah Valley is 1-1 on the season as the Wolverines topped then-ranked No. 23 CSU Bakersfield 25-15, but fell to top 25 Stanford, 25-15. UVU has two ranked wrestlers, Drury and Barraclough, as they are both 2-0 on the season.

Friday’s dual will be one of nine non-conference duals for Utah Valley, before the Wolverines begin Big 12 competition in January.

Back Points
Freshmen Success 
Projected 197-pound starter McDanel is one of only three Huskers on the current roster to start his freshman season, joined by junior Hardy and senior Lovett. In 2019-20, Lovett wrestled to a seventh-place Big Ten finish and an NCAA appearance, while Hardy finished the 2020-21 season with a 3-3 dual record. James Green was the most recent Husker wrestler to earn All-America honors as a freshman, finishing seventh at the 2012 NCAA Championships.

Lovett Looks to Earn Fourth All-American Award 
A 149-pound senior from Post Falls, Idaho, Lovett returns looking to become the sixth four-time Nebraska All-American. Lovett is currently one of 16 three-time All-Americans in the history of Nebraska wrestling. Last season, he claimed the Big Ten Championship title and his sixth-place finish at NCAAs cemented his All-American status. Lovett enters his senior season with a career record of 76-19. 

Four All-Americans Return to Lead NU 
Nebraska will be guided by a strong group of veteran returners in 2024-25. NU loses only two senior starters, but returns eight starters as they get set for this year’s campaign. Hardy, Lovett, Smith and Taylor all return as all-americans, as well as Wilson, Pinto and Allred who look to capitalize on last year’s success. Nine total Huskers qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2023-24 and eight were seeded in the top 20 of their weight classes.