Penn State’s Carter Starocci is already one of only seven wrestlers to have won four Division I titles. As collegiate athletes only have 4 years of eligibility, being a four-time national champion was the pinnacle of college wrestling greatness. As the NCAA granted all athletes an extra year of eligibility following the COVID pandemic, Starocci has the opportunity to do something no wrestler has done before and win an NCAA title a 5th time.
It goes without saying that Carter Starocci is already a collegiate wrestling legend.
In Starocci’s Freshman season, he was not supposed to be a national champion. He was seeded third and lost to the one seed, Iowa’s Michael Kemerer, a couple of weeks prior in the B1G championship. He avenged this loss with an overtime victory in the national final over Kemerer.
In Carter’s Sophomore season, he was the number one seed in the NCAA tournament. He was undefeated entering the tournament. He had no problems with anyone in route to the national final. In that national final, he faced another former champ in Mehki Lewis. This match saw Starocci get taken down first and had to fight back to take a second NCAA title match to overtime. This match went to all 3 overtimes. Starocci won on ride time to become a two time NCAA champion.
Starocci’s most dominant season came in his Junior year. Once again undefeated entering the tournament and the overall one seed, everyone was expecting the Penn State Junior to take gold. He did in dominant fashion with a first period pin fall in the championship. This being Starocci’s fourth year in college and him flirting with the idea of retiring from college wrestling to do MMA, we didn’t know if he’d be back.
But he did come back, with lots of controversy on his hunt for a fourth title. He suffered a bad knee injury midseason and his status for the NCAA tournament was left in the air. He was forced to injury default out of the B1G tournament which gave him his first two losses he suffered since his freshman season. This led to Starocci receiving the ninth seed at the NCAA tournament. Yes, three-time national champion as the ninth seed. That was crazy then and even crazier now.
This tournament for Starocci was not all dominant as the knee injury was bothering him but he still got the job done. He narrowly beat 2 former champions in Mehki Lewis and Shane Griffith on his way to the finals, in which he won 2-0 over freshman Rocco Welsh. It won’t always look pretty but Starocci will get it done. It doesn’t matter how razor thin the margin is, he will find a way to win.
After four consecutive titles at 174 pounds, Starocci has decided to move up a weight class to 184 pounds. Starocci has had no problem adjusting to the new weight as he is once again undefeated heading into the national tournament. He won the B1G tournament for the third time in his career, beating freshman Max McEnelly in the final with an overtime takedown, in classic Starocci fashion.
This has scored him the 1 seed in the NCAA tournament; however it is not a forgone conclusion that he takes home gold this weekend. To do so, he must go through reigning 184 champion, Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen.
Parker Keckeisen is the two-seed at this year’s NCAA tournament despite being the returning champion at his weight class. Last year he was arguably the most dominant champion. He finished the season 31-0. In the national tournament, he won each match by either a major decision or a technical fall. This led him to be voted second for the Dan Hodge Trophy (awarded to the most outstanding wrestler at the NCAA tournament).
Keckeisen is undefeated with a 24-0 record this year and is the Big 12 champion. This was his fifth Big 12 title. In the final, he faced off against Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott, a rematch of the 2024 national final, and won 8-1. Keckeisen has a career 6-0 record vs Plott, the fourth seed in the NCAA tournament this year. Keckeisen is one of the most dominant wrestlers in college at the moment.
The potential NCAA National Final between #1 Carter Starocci and #2 Parker Keckeisen is shaping up to be a historic blockbuster showdown. These two elite wrestlers have dominated the 184-pound weight class and faced earlier this season at the NCWA All-Star Classic, where Starocci edged out Keckeisen with a classic Starocci overtime takedown. That highly contested bout only added fuel to the anticipation for their potential rematch on the biggest stage of college wrestling.
With Starocci chasing an unprecedented fifth NCAA title and Keckeisen determined to avenge his loss, this matchup has all the ingredients of an instant classic—two elite wrestlers, a national championship on the line, and the chance to leave an even greater legacy. Fans are eagerly waiting to see if Starocci can reach a height no one has and likely never will again or if Keckeisen will pull off the upset of the year.
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If I had to choose a winner in this weight class, I would take Starocci to beat Keckeisen in overtime, as he did the first time. These men are grizzled competitors and will deliver a great match on Saturday night. Expect Keckeisen to be attacking and get very deep on his shots but Carter to find a way out as he always does. If Keckeisen can finish on these shots, it will flip the switch and force Carter to attack but, he’s been there before against Mehki Lewis, and still came out on top. It is a classic clash of styles between offensive and defense between two college wrestling greats. No matter who wins, a great match will happen.
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