Disclaimer
As with all years, high school wrestling can be a little volatile. It is a tough sport that requires great commitment from the athletes that participate in it. In addition, a number of football players wrestle in Alabama, which sometimes leads to unexpected attrition of top performers through injury or athlete choice as a result of football season.
Every year there are typically a few wrestlers who were being counted on by their teams that call it a career, or get injured. When the dust settles, we would expect the same from every pre-season group we complete analysis on. There is already a lot of chatter on both scenarios around teams on this list. We won’t give that any lip service here until we know for sure, but based on how close a lot of these teams are, this could ultimately have a big impact on final placement. Will that affect the Champion, honestly, we don’t think so. Expect Athens to come out on top in this group and everyone else to fight for second.
That being said, we only know what we know right now, and are going to base our assessments on those details. We are not including any knowledge of injured or not participating wrestlers for this article. Our in season State preview will take into account actual projected lineups and performance up to that point.
On a less serious note, this is a super early preview and is to provide information only to encourage interesting knowledgable discussion and engagement around this topic. Please do not take this too seriously.
Top 5 Returning Pre-season Predictions
- Athens
- Returning Points – 118.5
- Graduating Points – 27.5
- Last year finish – Champion
- This year prediction – Champion
Athens is returning a stunning 9 qualifiers, with 6 placers, including 2 Champions, Jaxon Unger and Austin Campbell, and 2 that narrowly missed, Lakin Poff and Carter Campbell, who finished as runner-ups, from their stacked Championship team last year. Brice Emery and Bryce Schwan also scored points, placing fifth and sixth last year. In addition, they have a ton of experience with the returning group made up of 6 Juniors and 3 Seniors. Hard to believe, but they only lost 1 Senior from last year’s Championship team, all be it a great one in Will Anderson…it won’t affect them much. If that wasn’t enough, it gets even worse for the challengers, 3 of their returning qualifiers, Camden Fielder, Halston Barker and Braylon Young, didn’t score points at state last year and should add to their total this year!!!
Hard to envision a scenario where Athens doesn’t go home with gold…again. With 6 Juniors returning for their Senior year, and a proven track record of filling the pipeline, Athens may be looking at a possible 3 peat opportunity in 2027!
| Count | Weight | Wrestler Name | School | 24-25 Record | 25-26 Grade | 24-25 Placement | 24-25 Points Scored |
| 1 | 113 | Brice Emery | Athens | 34-13 | 12 | Sixth | 6 |
| 2 | 120 | Lakin Poff | Athens | 21-11 | 11 | Second | 22 |
| 3 | 132 | Camden Fielder | Athens | 13-15 | 11 | Qualifier | 0 |
| 4 | 138 | Jaxon Unger | Athens | 35-2 | 12 | Champion | 28 |
| 5 | 150 | Carter Campbell | Athens | 33-8 | 12 | Second | 23.5 |
| 6 | 165 | Austin Campbell | Athens | 30-2 | 11 | Champion | 26.5 |
| 7 | 175 | Bryce Schwan | Athens | 25-12 | 11 | Fifth | 12.5 |
| 8 | 190 | Halston Barker | Athens | 45910 | 11 | Qualifier | 0 |
| 9 | 215 | Braylon Young | Athens | 18-15 | 11 | Qualifier | 0 |
- Gulf Shores
- Returning Points 75.5
- Graduating Points – 45
- Last year finish – Fourth
- This year prediction – Second
Gulf Shores isn’t too far behind with 7 qualifiers returning, but doesn’t have the proven firepower at the top of their lineup that Athens does. They have no returning Champions, and only one runner-up, Abel Brantley, from last year, Gulf Shores needs to get more out of its Qualifiers to pose a serious threat to Athens. In addition, they would need to finish above several Athens wrestlers in key weight classes. It doesn’t look like the matchups will stack up that way right now, but will be interesting to watch how both these lineups play out over the season. They do have two multiple time placers in Rhys Coulter and Landon Everett, who is a former 5A Champion, that both placed fourth, Incoming Freshmen Joaquin Salas who finished third and another multiple time placer, Hayden Cook, who placed Sixth, Any of these guys could easily go to the next level at this years State Championship and put them in competition for the top of the podium. Ethan Giangrosso and Rives Whiddon who scored 3 and 1 point(s) will also need to work their way up the podium to make this placement stick. All that said, with a stronger overall core, and proven track record of recent success, this feels like the right spot for a good Gulf Shores team.
Starting from here down, it really looks like a race for Second that will come down to who stays healthy and fills in their lineup the best.
| Count | Weight | Wrestler Name | 24-25 Record | 25-26 Grade | 24-25 Placement | 24-25 Points Scored |
| 1 | 106 | Abel Brantley | 46-9 | 11 | Second | 20.5 |
| 2 | 120 | Rhys Coulter | 47-10 | 11 | Fourth | 13 |
| 3 | 126 | Hayden Cook | 43-13 | 12 | Sixth | 8 |
| 4 | 144 | Ethan Giangrosso | 52-10 | 12 | Qualifier | 3 |
| 5 | 150 | Joaquin Salas | 57-8 | 9 | Third | 17 |
| 6 | 190 | Rives Whiddon | 42-19 | 11 | Qualifier | 1 |
| 7 | 215 | Landon Everett | 45-8 | 12 | Fourth | 13 |
- Mountain Brook
- Returning Points – 60
- Graduating Points – 69.5
- Last year finish – Third
- This year prediction – Third
Mountain Brook returns 5 qualifiers. With 1 Champion, Davis Smith, and 1 Runner-up, Bill Bradford, they still have a lot of points in the lineup. The three other qualifiers were Wyatt Chavez, David Newell and Gibbs Watson, who all scored points last year. As an older group, with 2 Seniors and 3 Juniors, we have to believe there is great leadership in the room, and with all the graduating talent, we also have to assume there is a good backlog waiting in the wings to carry on the tradition of excellence. This belief is supported by their State Duals Championship win over Athens last year where one of their qualifiers, Gibbs Watson, didn’t even wrestle.
With 5 graduating Seniors accounting for 69.5 out of 129.5 points, it will be all about who steps up for Mountain Brook this year. It’s important to note that Mountain Brook also graduated 5 Seniors from their dominant State Championship team in 2024, and still finished third last year. I am going to bet on the pipeline, and put Mountain Brook at third again this year. Finishing second will require several new qualifiers to have big years and their returning wrestlers to outperform Gulf Shores and the other teams listed in this top 5 group. Taking Athens down feels like it would require a magical run across the board.
One important note is that Mountain Brook may have been missing one or more important wrestlers at State last year. Stuart Andrews didn’t compete at State, but was a runner-up as Sophomore in 2024. From what we can tell, he was injured at sectionals and is listed on the roster for the 2025-2026 Season. He would provide a huge boost to this lineup. Would love to get an update from a reader on injured wrestlers returning to Mountain Brook this year we can factor into our analysis.
| Count | Weight | Wrestler Name | 24-25 Record | 25-26 Grade | 24-25 Placement | 24-25 Points Scored |
| 1 | 113 | Wyatt Chavez | 23-8 | 12 | Qualifier | 4 |
| 2 | 120 | David Newell | 31-10 | 11 | Qualifier | 7 |
| 3 | 132 | Davis Smith | 37-7 | 11 | Champion | 23 |
| 4 | 144 | Bill Bradford | 40-9 | 11 | Second | 20 |
| 5 | 150 | Gibbs Watson | 34-17 | 12 | Qualifier | 6 |
4. Southside Gadsen
- Returning Points – 79
- Graduating Points – 0
- Last year finish – Seventh
- This year prediction – Fourth
A school quietly returning a strong core of wrestlers this year is Southside Gadsden. With 1 Champion, Eli Carter, 2 thirds, Thomas Norris and Josh Peoples, and one fourth, Ephram Ormiston, Southside has a lot of points scorers in their lineup. With 5 of their 6 returners being Seniors, it looks like now is the time for them to capitalize on this group of wrestlers. With recent finishes in the 7-12 range, this will be the their best chance to break into the top 5, and maybe even go for an epic Senior fueled run.
On paper, they look like your second place team, and if 4 or 5 of their returners pull off dream runs, with the right Athens matchups, they could even make a run at a State title, but it really feels like they need some new pieces to step up in order to do that. Based on the age of the current qualifier group, and no graduating points scorers, we are not sure where those wrestlers would come from. We have them at fourth based on Gulf Shores and Mountain Brooks recent ability to reload with new qualifiers. Both of those teams are also losing some strong seniors, which tells us there is a higher likelihood of strong wrestlers in the pipeline behind them, as well as Southside Gadsen being a little more stagnant over recent years with a lack of new scorers showing up. This makes it seem like the calvary isn’t coming to get them to the next level.
The stage is set for this Senior class to do something big, but it will definitely take all the pieces falling into place. We are excited to see what they do!
| Count | Weight | Wrestler Name | 24-25 Record | 25-26 Grade | 24-25 Placement | 24-25 Points Scored |
| 1 | 106 | Eli Carter | 32-3 | 10 | Champion | 22 |
| 2 | 113 | Thomas Norris | 38-4 | 12 | Third | 18 |
| 3 | 120 | Hunter Graham | 18-11 | 12 | Qualifier | 0 |
| 4 | 126 | Cooper Lamberth | 26-15 | 12 | Qualifier | 0 |
| 5 | 132 | Ephram Ormiston | 29-7 | 12 | Fourth | 17.5 |
| 6 | 190 | Josh Peoples | 35-11 | 12 | Third | 21.5 |
- Brookwood Jr-Sr
- Returning Points – 62
- Graduating Points – 0
- Last year finish – Twelfth
- This year prediction – Fifth
Brookwood lands our final spot in the top 5 because they return four legit and experienced point scorers from last year. Justin Harbin finished Second, Noah Davis Third, and Jax Cooper and Ruben Gomez both finished fourth. Unfortunately, they had no other qualifiers, and only won two matches against Mountain Brook at the State Duals Championship, signifying a likely lack of depth. They have been dependent on the same guys for a couple years with not much introduction of new talent at the state tournament, and we don’t see where the help would come from. That being said, I will take a small group of proven points scorers over a slightly larger group that hasn’t scored points in a tournament like this. This feels like a best case scenario barring all returners working their way to at, or near, the top of the podium.
| Count | Weight | Wrestler Name | 24-25 Record | 25-26 Grade | 24-25 Placement | 24-25 Points Scored |
| 1 | 132 | Justin Harbin | 19-1 | 12 | Second | 18 |
| 2 | 144 | Noah Davis | 50-7 | 12 | Third | 18 |
| 3 | 165 | Tyler (jax Cooper | 51-8 | 11 | Fourth | 12 |
| 4 | 175 | Ruben Gomez | 40-11 | 10 | Fourth | 14 |
Knocking on the Door
- McAdory
- Returning Points – 35
- Graduating Points – 13
- Last year finish – Twelfth
This one caught us a little by surprise, but McAdory is also quietly returning 6 qualifiers, 3 juniors and 3 seniors. We think the reason it was surprising is because this group didn’t really score any points last year, 35 across 6 wrestlers, with only two of them placing, Cornelius Chaverst third and Edwin Penny sixth. Look for McAdory to be in the mix for top 5, but their returning group will need to take the next step, and possibly fill in with some new points scorers. Looking at their results, we feel like a few of these guys could do just that. That lands McAdory with a legit chance to return to the top five for the first time since their third place finish in 2022.
| Count | Weight | Wrestler Name | 24-25 Record | 25-26 Grade | 24-25 Placement | 24-25 Points Scored |
| 1 | 120 | Marion Wilkerson-sande | 47-27 | 11 | Qualifier | 0 |
| 2 | 132 | Nolan Hinkle | 63-23 | 12 | Qualifier | 0 |
| 3 | 138 | Braylon Hill | 52-32 | 11 | Qualifier | 3 |
| 4 | 150 | Edwin Penny | 49-16 | 12 | Sixth | 7.5 |
| 5 | 215 | Jourdan Godwin | 73-22 | 12 | Qualifier | 7 |
| 6 | 285 | Cornelius Chaverst | 67-9 | 11 | Third | 17.5 |
Big Losses with History
These are teams whose Coaches will walk into the room this year and say “What happened, where did my team go?” There was a ton of graduating talent for these schools. They appear to be in rebuild years unless the pipeline is stacked full of first year points scorers that couldn’t find their way in the lineup somehow over the last few years, unlikely in most cases.
Pike Road
- Returning Points – 33
- Graduating Points – 100
- Last year finish – 2
,After graduating 5 of their 7 qualifiers I would expect some reloading from this team, but almost impossible to predict where they fall with losing so many points form last years Second place team. They do return Champion Dylan Yarema and sixth place finisher Jack Posey, who together accounted for 33 of their 133 points last year. After a strong second placing showing, and good run over the last several years, this looks like a rebuilding year for Pike Road. Still expect them to threaten the top 10, but not sure they will be able to get to the top five this year.
Hartselle
- Returning Points – 16.5
- Graduating Points – 113
- Last year finish – 5
Another team graduating 5 of their 7 qualifiers that seems to be at the end of a strong run. Examining the history of this team over the last several years, which ended with a fifth place finish last year, it doesn’t look like the pipeline has been consistently refilling. Ocie House did place third and Ethan Thorne placed sixth, but they are all that returns and will be responsible with leading the charge for the next generation.
Homewood
- Returning Points – 16.5
- Graduating Points – 50.5
- Last year finish – 8
Our final school that appears to be at the end of a good run that lost 5 of 7 qualifiers is last year’s eighth place team. The two that remain are William Booker, who qualified, and Barden King who placed fourth. Looks like a tough road to get back to their recent high finishes, but these two will be the guys challenged to get that run started.
Gardendale
- Returning Points – 26
- Graduating Points – 83
- Last year finish – 6
Gardendale had even more qualifiers, 10, but lost more as well, 7, from last year. With so many graduates, and an extremely strong legacy, there is a much higher likelihood this team will restock with talent that has been waiting in the wings for their opportunity to crack the lineup. That makes it reasonable they could still have a pretty good showing this year. Regardless, Coach Brasseal will still feel like he has a brand new team when coaching from the corner this year. They do have returning Sophomore State Champion Coreu Powe who scored 25 points, but Isaac Jones and Parker Howell were only able to add 1 additional point last year. They will be looking for there back to back Champion Powe’s leadership to help them reload this year and lead an inexperienced group back to Gardendale glory.
Need Help
All of these teams return 3 or more qualifiers, and are losing some returning point scorers. They all look to be building toward the future and have the potential to finish in or around the top 10 this season.
- Wetumpka
- Returning Points – 24
- Graduating Points – 9
- Last year finish – 16
- Pell City
- Returning Points – 29
- Graduating Points – 20
- Last year finish – 11
- Fort Payne
- Returning Points – 22
- Graduating Points – 12
- Last year finish – 15
- Mortimer Jordan HS
- Returning Points – 14
- Graduating Points – 52.5
- Last year finish – 12