Brackets and Seeding Released for NCAA Wrestling Championships

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA released seeding and brackets for next week's 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and Utah Valley University's trio of grapplers that have earned a spot have all earned national seeds.

First-time national qualifier Haiden Drury leads the way for the Wolverines as he'll enter as the No. 17 seed at 133 pounds. Four-time NCAA qualifier and 2021 All-American Taylor LaMont is next as he's earned the No. 21 national seed at 125, while redshirt sophomore and first-time NCAA qualifier Evan Bockman will enter as the No. 24 seed at 197.

All three Wolverines earned automatic berths to the 2022 NCAA Championships by posting top-seven Big 12 Conference finishes last week at the 2022 Big 12 Championships. Drury and LaMont led the way by each placing fifth, while Bockman wrestled his way to a seventh-place finish to earn the conference's final spot in his weight class.

The second-year freshman Drury leads UVU on the season with a 19-6 record. LaMont will head to Detroit with a 10-4 season clip, while Bockman currently holds a 14-9 record.

Drury will open his first trip to nationals with an opening-round match against EIWA runner-up and No. 16 seed Josh Koderhandt (25-8) of Navy. LaMont, who reached the semifinals at last year's national tournament en route to earning his first All-American finish by placing fifth in his weight class, will open his 2022 NCAA Championship run against fellow four-time NCAA qualifier and 12-seed from Ohio State Malik Heinselman (19-5). Bockman will open his first national tournament appearance against four-time NCAA qualifier and No. 9 seed Cameron Caffey (26-7) of Michigan State.

The NCAA also released updated coaches panel rankings and RPI and Drury leads the way for UVU by being ranked 14th by the coaches and 20th on the RPI. LaMont is next by being ranked 18th by the coaches, while Bockman is ranked 24th in his weight class by the coaches and 27th on the latest RPI.

The 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held Thrusday to Saturday, March 17-19, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. All six sessions of this year's tournament will be televised live on the ESPN Family of Networks and each match will be streamed live on WatchESPN.com.

UUV's First-Round Matches
125: #21 Taylor LaMont, 10-4 (UVU) vs. #12 Malik Heinselman, 19-5 (Ohio St)
133: #17 Haiden Drury, 19-6 (UVU) vs. #16 Josh Koderhandt, 25-8 (Navy)
197: #24 Evan Bockman, 14-9 (UVU) vs. #9 Cameron Caffey (Michigan St)