Arizona State sends three wrestlers to NCAA Tournament

(Photo By: Sun Devil Athletics)

PHOENIX – After a severely disappointing 2024-2025 regular season in which Arizona State went 4-11 and 1-7 in the Big 12, three wrestlers head to the NCAA national championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Removed from a third-place finish in the Big 12 tournament, junior 125-pounder Richard Figueroa heads to the City of Brotherly Love, attempting to become the fourth Sun Devil wrestler to win multiple national championships. Joining Figueroa are senior heavyweight Cohlton Schultz and sophomore 165-pounder Nicco Ruiz.

Figueroa, who won a national championship a season ago, can also become the third Sun Devil to win consecutive championships, joining Dan St. John (89-90) and Zahid Valencia (18-19).

Entering Thursday’s opening round, No. 5 ranked Figueroa takes on Cal Poly’s No. 28 ranked redshirt sophomore Koda Holeman, presumably making for a soft landing to start the tournament.

However, after being upset in the Big 12 tournament opening round by North Dakota State senior Tristan Daugherty, Figueroa shouldn’t take any lower opponent lightly.

On the heavyweight side, Schultz enters play Thursday off a strong Big 12 tournament.

No. 2 ranked Schultz reached the championship final in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but ultimately fell to Oklahoma state No. 1 senior Wyatt Hendrickson 8-5 by decision. Nonetheless, Schultz was still the highest-placing Sun Devil for a team that finished 11th overall in the tournament.

Entering Thursday’s NCAA tournament action, Schultz aims to become the second heavyweight in program history to win a national title, joining Curley Culp (1967). A top-eight finish also guarantees Schultz a fifth All-American designation, a program first.

No. 9 ranked Schultz takes on North Carolina’s No. 24 redshirt freshman Nolan Neves in opening-round play.

Figueroa and Schultz return to the National Championships, while Ruiz makes his first such appearance at the Wells Fargo Center.

After missing most of the regular season, the No. 15 ranked Ruiz embarked on his first NCAA tournament on the tail of two victories in last week’s tournament. Unfortunately, he medically forfeited his final two duels, passing up the chance for a third-place finish in his first collegiate postseason action.

Ruiz takes on Northwestern’s No. 18 senior Maxx Mayfield to begin his first NCAA tournament action.

The trio of Sun Devils must win a duel to advance in the tournament. However, a single loss does not spell disaster, as the tournament is a double elimination.

An opening-round loss sends a wrestler to the consolation bracket. From there, a victory propels a wrestler back into All-American consideration.

A consolation loss eliminates a wrestler from the tournament and All-American honors.

Despite ASU sending three wrestlers to the National Championships, the Sun Devils have failed to place a champion in their conference tournament for the first time since 2014, and in ASU head coach Zeke Jones’ tenure. ASU could not place in the top eight for the first time in program history, ending 15 years of top-five finishes in conference tournament play.

While the 2024-2025 regular season was a disappointment in Tempe, one of the worst in recent program history, a National Champion will redeem the program from such a lackluster campaign.