Penn State Wrestling head coach Cael Sanderson is not impressed with the latest seedings for the upcoming Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Champion wrestler Levi Haines has been allegedly ranked lower than his stature in the 174 lbs. category. Haines has been a three-time Big Ten champion for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He also won an individual bronze medal at the 2025 NCAA Championships, even as his team clinched the overall title.
Penn State Wrestling Coach Cael Sanderson Calls Out Big Ten Authorities For Alleged Bias Against Levi Haines
Sanderson recently conversed with the media after the pre-tournament seedings for the Big Ten Championships were released. According to the seedings, Levi Haines was ranked below fourth-ranked Christopher Minto in the men’s 174 lbs. category, who represents the Nebraska Cornhuskers in collegiate wrestling. Sanderson called out the authorities for this bizarre decision, as he mentioned:
“I can’t explain it. I mean I was there and I voted. We. In the past, our coaches spent a lot of time seating the tournament and the bracket, so we thought if third party could do a good job and, but obviously, what happened isn’t, isn’t going to work, right? There needs to be like a common sense application, and so, we got to figure that out. I mean I don’t if it’s too late to reseed it as coaches, but maybe we should.”
Interestingly, Haines is not the only Penn State wrestler to be denied a top seed at the Big Ten Championships. The following wrestlers from Penn State Wrestling have been denied a top seeding:
- Braeden Davis [Men’s 141 lbs.]
- PJ Duke [Men’s 157 lbs.]
- Cole Mirasola [Men’s 285 lbs.]
However, the difference between the aforementioned wrestlers and Haines is that Haines has outperformed most of his peers, if not all of them, both regionally and internationally in wrestling. The 21-year-old wrestler won the gold medal at the U23 World Championships and a silver medal at the men’s Senior World Wrestling Championships held last year.
Apart from the above, Haines has won three consecutive gold medals at the Big Ten Conference Championships between 2023 and 2025. He also won three consecutive medals in the same time frame at the NCAA Championships, including a gold medal in the men’s 157 lbs. category in the 2024 edition, held in Kansas City, Missouri.
Despite the controversial decision, Haines will be aiming to make it four in a row for the Penn State Nittany Lions, as the Big Ten Wrestling Championships commence from March 7 at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania.
