Moneyball: ZAC BRAUNAGEL AT NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC

 



WHAT:   NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC

WHO:   ZAC BRAUNAGEL vs. STEPHEN LITTLE

WHEN:  Saturday, November 16 at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

WHERE: Rec Hall, University Park, Campus of Penn State University

TV/STREAMING:  FloWrestling

TICKETS:  $25 to $40



BACKGROUND

Zac Braunagel will take on Little Rock's Stephen Little at the prestigious NWCA All-Star Classic in a nice kick-off to the wrestling season. According to Wrestlestat.com and FloWrestling, the Trojan from UA Little Rock is ranked #5, while the Brawlnagel comes in at #9. Both are returning All Americans with Little winning 7th last season, while Zac got his AA during the Covid year. Of course, the ILLINI has been a Greco Senior World Team Member. 


WHY WE HATE ARKANSAS LITTLE ROCK

Okay, do we really care enough to do this? Guess we better. It's kind of customary now. Well, here's something, under the subheading of "Student Life" in its Wikipedia article you find this: "The student life at UA Little Rock is typical of public universities in the United States."

Oh my. That's like a guy's dating site biography when the guy is a total creep, and he knows it. "I'm just a typical guy. I like doing normal things, at normal times, while wearing normal human clothing. Just don't look in the freezer. The freezer is off limits."




 

THE HISTORY

The ILLINI have a rich tradition at the NWCA All Star Classic. There was no Classic for four straight years due to Covid, but when it ratcheted back up in 2022, there was Lucas Byrd beating Michael McGee. Zane Richards, Jesse Delgado, Jordan Blanton, B.J. Futrell, Zac Brunson, Adam Tirapelle, Mark Jayne, Jimmy Kennedy, Jon Llewellyn, Steve Marianetti, Eric Siebert, Matt Lackey, John Lockhart, Alex Tirapelle, Pete Friedl, Mike Poeta and others have represented. 

The ILLINI have had years in which two wrestlers have won at the same time. The O&B has had three wrestlers on the mat for at least one Classic. On the other hand, Purdue had their first ever winner in 2023. True story: Slippery Rock and Kentucky each have more wins at the All Star Classic than the Boilermakers. 

From its inception in the 1960s to 2009, ILLINI wrestlers made 13 appearances and came away with a 10-3 record. There have been multiple U of I wrestlers who have made more than one appearance in this prestigious exhibition.

 


From FloWrestling


THE MATCHUP

As you can see, FloWrestling is showing a #5 ranking for Little and a #9 for Big Brawny. According to Wrestlestat.com, the tough guy in the O&B singlet is 5-4 against common opponents, while Little has a 3-5 record against the same wrestlers. Yet, the algorithm supposedly calls for a two-point Trojan win. 

That will have to be proven on the mat. 

Little was the #161 wrestler coming out of high school as a three-time state champ in Kentucky. He also won two Preseason National Championships and earned AA honors at Ironman. He wrestled in the two of three finals of the 2023 U20 World Team Trials in Freestyle, losing two to one to Jack Darrah at 92kg. 

He earned an AA at 197 last season with a 7th-place finish. 

The Little Rock wrestler favors the collar tie, and he likes to keep some distance with the head tap. He will consistently look for an ankle pick and a strong slide-by. He also has go-behinds, knee picks and singles in his arsenal. 

With longish arms and frame for the weight, of course he'll want to go for the ankle picks. He'll keep the distance with the head taps, and his collar ties are usually not that tight. Zac might want to bring it in close for the short offense, but he'll need to be mindful of the slide by. 

As y'all know, Zac Braunagel is coming off his Olympic red shirt season in which he wrestled at the Olympic Trials, winning a couple of matches. He was also the Final X winner and World Team Member in the prior year. He has basically earned a doctorate in hand fighting. That's bad news for his opponents, as he already wrestled with a willingness to throw a bucket of guts on the mat. 

Little is listed as 6-3 on the school's roster, but he looks pretty slim for the weight. This will be a fun match, and the ILLINI Wrestling Blog & Forum & Beyond Plus pick is ... Zac Braunagel by decision in three. 

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