Wrestling Season Preview: 174-285 lbs

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue Wrestling will begin its 106th season this week with its first trip to California in nine years.

Head coach Tony Ersland enters his 12th season at the helm with a familiar face joining his coaching staff — Purdue’s two-time All-American Matt Ramos. Coming off his fourth-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Championships, one of the school’s best wrestlers of all time returns to help mold the next generation of Boilermakers.

The team returns a wealth of talent at multiple weights, opening the season with seven nationally-ranked wrestlers for the first time since 2021.

This release is a preview for the heavier weights on the squad, ranging from 174 lbs to 285 lbs. The preview for 125-141 is available here. The preview for 149-165 is available here.

174 LBS

Redshirt junior Brody Baumann is a two-time NCAA qualifier who begins with a career-high mark of No. 23 this season. He’s made a big splash as an underclassman and now comes back for his fourth year with another remaining season of eligibility afterwards. Baumann (pronounced BO-men) improved to go 19-13 last year as Purdue’s second-leading scorer behind Matt Ramos, racking up 281 points. He is one of five Indiana natives to qualify for NCAAs each of the past two years, and the only one to do so as an underclassman.

1⃣ of 5⃣ wrestlers from Indiana to qualify for NCAAs in 2024 and 2025.

1⃣ of 2⃣ to do it as an underclassman.@brodybaumann1 is just getting started. pic.twitter.com/sQDW1DM9LW

— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) May 23, 2025

Ethan Popp is next in line behind Baumann in terms of seniority at 174. Still just a redshirt freshman this year, Popp is the only wrestler on the team from West Lafayette. He was a three-time Indiana state qualifier and the 2024 regional champion from Harrison High School. Popp went 5-10 in unattached tournament competition last season.

Freshman Aidan Costello joins the Boilers from Hobart, Ind. The No. 201 overall recruit in the class of 2025 ranked as high as No. 9 at 165 by FloWrestling in his high school class. He had one of the most surprising performances at Wrestle Offs, taking Baumann to a nail-biting 17-14 decision in which he ultimately lost, but not before planting Baumann and securing back points

184 LBS

James Rowley returns to assume his starting role after leaving the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational early last December with a season-ending knee injury. The redshirt junior from Corvallis, Ore., had a speedy recovery in the offseason. He opens at No. 23 in the country, a personal high, and had one of the most impressive showings of anyone at Wrestle Offs. Rowley beat Quinn Herbert in an 18-3 technical fall (6:01), making a statement that he is back and ready to go.

Herbert, a redshirt freshman from Chicago, did not see varsity action last year but compiled a 4-9 record across four unattached tournaments. He picked up his first college win in an 11-5 decision over Northern Illinois’ Austin Stewart at the Kent State Open, and placed eighth at the Greyhound Open for his first podium finish. Herbert was the 2024 Illinois state runner-up (190) his senior year before coming to Purdue.

RJ Powers, a mechanical engineering technology major from Anchorage, Alaska, enters his redshirt freshman season. He used his true freshman year to build strength and adapt to the rigors of college wrestling, but has not yet competed in a collegiate tournament. He was a two-year team captain at South Anchorage High School where he led the team to back-to-back state titles in 2022 and 2023.

197 LBS

No. 26 Ben Vanadia returns from his best season so far. He went 19-12 (10-6 in duals) as Purdue’s starting 197-pounder, and narrowly missed qualification for the 2025 NCAA Championships in what many would consider a snub. He was one of five Boilermakers to start all 16 duals. Vanadia went 3-3 at the Big Ten Championships and logged 12 bonus point wins, second-most on the team. The mustached menace from Brecksville, Ohio, enters his last season of eligibility with the goal of breaking through to the 2026 NCAA tournament in his home state — taking place in Rocket Arena, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Freshman Noah Weaver was the highest-ranked member of Purdue’s No. 22-ranked class of 2025, checking in at No. 70 overall on the MatScouts Big Board and No. 52 by FloWrestling. The back-to-back Indiana state champion from Rossville didn’t have to go far to make his new home in West Lafayette. He was named the 2024-25 Journal & Courier Male Athlete of the Year. Additionally, he developed Soltrade, a free to use cryptocurrency trading program, and aided in the creation of Raptoreum, a cryptocurrency mining program.

285 LBS

No. 32 Hayden Filipovich — Mr. Reliable. “Big Fil” was asked to bulk up over 50 pounds last offseason, making the jump from 184 to compete as a heavyweight. Most would have expected Filipovich to struggle to adapt to grappling with opponents who are naturally much bigger. But he came into his own late in the season, and the fruits of his labor started to show when he upset No. 21 Harley Andrews 9-4 on Senior Day. He beat Andrews again in a dominant 16-3 major decision at the Big Ten Championships to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships, just 13 months after competing under 184.

Filipovich was the only Indianapolis native to qualify for NCAAs this past season, and he’s also a three-time NWCA Scholar All-American and Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

Teammates Joey Blaze and Hayden Filipovich linked up to grab some food and talk goals for this upcoming @PurdueWrestling season 🙌 pic.twitter.com/MhGdMwnDtd

— Big Ten Wrestling (@B1GWrestling) October 1, 2025

Redshirt sophomore Dominic Burgett is the next-oldest heavyweight on the team. From Fishers, Ind., Burgett picked up his first three collegiate wins last year, competing in seven tournament matches. He represented Purdue at both the Michigan State Open and Cleveland State Open. In high school, Burgett earned a fourth-place finish in the 2023 state championships representing Hamilton Southeastern.

Keagan Martin enters his second season after redshirting a year ago. He wrestled in eight matches at the Kent State Open, Midland Championships and Greyhound Open, picking up one pin and one major decision. His pin at the Greyhound Open was the fastest of any Boilermaker all season, sticking TJ Olutayo (Indiana State Club) in just 30 seconds.

Freshman Tyson Russell was the last signing in the class of 2025, coming to us from Cleveland, Tenn. He was the No. 158 overall recruit and the No. 19 heavyweight in the country. Russell is a back-to-back Tennessee state champ in 2024 and 2025, as well as the 2023 runner-up. He went undefeated his last two years of high school as the top-ranked heavyweight in the Volunteer State.