Previewing the 2024-25 Sun Devil Wrestling Season

Tempe, Ariz. – Let the countdown begin.

The Sun Devils are officially one week out from the start of their highly anticipated 2024-25 season, their first in the vaunted Big 12 Conference and the 11th of the Zeke Jones era. Defending national champion Richard Figueroa returns, seeking to become just the fourth in team history to win a second NCAA title, and Cohlton Schultz is aiming for a program-best fifth All-American honor.

All roads lead to Philadelphia, where the Sun Devils will end their season at the 2025 NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center. Under Jones, the Sun Devils have established themselves as one of the nation’s premier programs, having finished within the top-seven at the national tournament in each of the last four seasons.

Five of the team’s eight NCAA qualifiers from last season are back in the room in addition to eight talented newcomers. The 2024-25 season will be nothing short of electric, beginning on Friday, Nov. 1 with the team’s annual Maroon and Gold scrimmage at Desert Financial Arena (7 p.m. AZT).

Sun Devil Wrestling Postseason Finishes /// Sun Devil All-Americans by Year /// Record book /// Sun Devils Announce 2024-25 Season Schedule

Schedule at a Glance (bold denotes home match)
November 1 | Maroon and Gold Intrasquad | Tempe, AZ
November 9 | Journeymen Duals (Long Island/Illinois) | Manheim, PA
November 10 | Journeymen Wranglemania | Manheim, PA
November 17 | Daktronics Open | Brookings, SD
November 22 | Embry-Riddle/Arizona Christian | Tempe, AZ
November 24 | Oklahoma State | Stillwater, OK

December 6-7 | Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational | Las Vegas, NV

January 10 | Cal-Baptist | Riverside, CA
January 17 | Northern Iowa | Tempe, AZ
January 19 | Stanford | Stanford, CA
January 22 | Missouri | Columbia, MO

February 2 | Northern Colorado | Tempe, AZ
February 7 | Iowa State | Ames, IA
February 15 | Cornell | Tempe, AZ
February 16 | Oklahoma | Tempe, AZ
February 21 | Lehigh | Bethlehem, PA
February 23 | West Virginia | Morgantown, WV

March 8-9 | Big 12 Championships | Tulsa, OK
March 20-22 | NCAA Championships | Philadelphia, PA

Eight Newcomers in ‘24-25
Caleb Camp, Fr. (149)
Pierson Manville, Fr. (149)
Javani Majoor, Fr. (165)
Joseph Manfredi, Fr. (165)
Nick Hutchins, Fr. (285)
Austin Scott, Jr. (157/Oregon State)
Azizbek Fayzullaev, Jr. (184/Northwest College)

Returning NCAA qualifiers
Richard Figueroa, 125 (defending national champion)
Julian Chlebove, 133
Jesse Vasquez, 149
Cael Valencia, 174
Cohlton Schultz, HWT (4x All-American)

Sun Devils in the Postseason Under Head Coach Zeke Jones
Year | Conference | NCAAs
2023-24 | 1st | 6th
2022-23 | 4th | 7th
2021-22 | 1st | 4th
2020-21 | 1st | 4th
2019-20 | 1st | N/A (Ranked #4 in last poll)
2018-19 | 2nd | 12th
2017-18 | 1st | 10th
2016-17 | 1st | 14th
2015-16 | 2nd | 33rd
2014-15 | 2nd | 29th

Sun Devil Wrestling Individual National Champions (13 titles won by 10 individuals)
Richard Figueroa, 125 (2024)
Zahid Valencia, 174 (2019)
Zahid Valencia, 174 (2018)
Anthony Robles, 125 (2011)
Bubba Jenkins, 157 (2011)
Eric Larkin, 149 (2003)
Markus Mollica, 167 (1995)
Markus Mollica, 158 (1993)
Ray Miller, 167 (1993)
Dan St. John, 167 (1990)
Dan St. John, 158 (1989)
Eddie Urbano, 150 (1985)
Curley Culp, HWT (1967)

Sun Devil Wrestling Team National Champions (1)
1988

Most Single-Season All-Americans in Sun Devil Team History
8 | 1990
7 | 1988
5 | 1979, 1985, 1989, 1993, 2021, 2022
4 | 1980, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2006, 2023, 2024

Hungry for More
Reigning national champion Richard Figueroa was recently named one of 10 Division I wrestlers to be a preseason frontrunner for the 2025 Dan Hodge Trophy by WIN Magazine. The Hodge Trophy, named after the late Dan Hodge who was a the three-time NCAA champion at Oklahoma and never allowed a takedown in his career, is given annually to the nation's most dominant wrestler.

Figueroa is vying to become just the second Sun Devil to earn the award, as it was first won by Eric Larkin in 2003.

WIN Magazine's 10 Hodge Trophy Preseason Frontrunners

Figueroa was also tabbed alongside fellow All-American Cohlton Schultz as two of the NCAA Wrestling's top-25 wrestlers in the country heading into the new campaign.

The 25 most accomplished DI men's wrestlers to watch this 2024-25 season

Made for March
The Sun Devils routinely make their living in the postseason. After a hot finish to their regular season in the spring, they stormed into the Gill Coliseum and captured yet another Pac-12 Championship title at the conference’s final championships. It marked the 24th conference title in team history, the sixth under Jones' guidance and the fourth in the past five seasons.

With eight qualifiers competing at the NCAA Championships, the Sun Devils saw four individuals reach the podium. Figueroa etched his name in Sun Devil history with a finals win against Iowa's Drake Ayala, slamming the door on an unbelievable run in Kansas City in which he went 5-0 and dethroned two top-three seeds.

The 2023-24 season marked the team's fourth consecutive top-seven finish at the national tournament, while also earning four All-Americans for the fourth straight year.

Follow Along
Don't miss any of the action throughout the season! Follow the team on X (formerly Twitter) @ASUWrestling and on Instagram @sundevilwrestling1962.