Maryland Terrapins (8-5, 3-0 B1G) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (7-2, 2-2Â B1G)
January 24, 2025
XFINITY Center Pavilion, College Park, MD
7:00 p.m.
B1G+
Watch COLLEGE PARK, MD --Â The Terps (8-5, 3-0) will host their second of four straight home Big Ten matches as they welcome the Illinois Fighting Illini (7-2, 2-2) on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7 PM in the XFINITY Center Pavilion.
Friday's match will serve as Alumni Night. There will be a rally towel giveaway as the first 50 fans will receive one.Â
Probables
*Intermat Rankings
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Historic Big Ten start
- With a 24-13 victory over Wisconsin on Jan. 17, Maryland clinched its best Big Ten season since joining the conference. The Terps won seven of 10 bouts over the Badgers, including four by major decision to bring their Big Ten record to 3-0.
- Prior to that dual, Maryland had a historic weekend in the Mitten State to open its 2025 Big Ten slate. During the weekend, Maryland first knocked off No. 10 Michigan, 19-18 on criteria, to earn the program's first top-10 victory since 2009. The Terps followed that up with a dominant 27-11 victory over Michigan State, winning seven of 10 bouts.
- Against Michigan, Braxton Brown, who later proved to be the hero with the pivotal pin, got the Terps on the board with a huge pin and a clutch six points. After dropping a close one at 141, Kal and Ethen Miller took back-to-back decision victories over ranked opponents to make it 12-7 at intermission. Ethen's win, over top-20 opponent Chase Saldate, moved him to 13-0 on the season. True freshman Branson John secured the biggest win of his young career, getting a takedown in the final 40 seconds and riding out the rest of the period to secure a win and put the Terps ahead 15-10. Jaxon Smith followed the trend in the next bout, throwing his opponent to his back for the winning score at the buzzer. The final score was 18-18, but the Terps had the lone pin of the match, giving them the victory on criteria points, 19-18.
- Against the Spartans, Maryland won seven of 10 matches, including bonus point victories from Brown, Ethen Miller, Smith and Seth Nevills.
- Maryland has also seen success in two open tournaments. Most recently, Smith won the 184-title at the 2024 George Mason Patriot Open as 22 Terps competed overall. Smith picked up three wins overall and two over ranked opponents, including one over No. 9 Chris Foca (Cornell) in the championship.
- During the Tiger Style Invite in Kansas City, MO, Maryland was able to capture a pair of individual titles from Ethen Miller (157) and Nevills (285). 14 wrestlers competed overall with nine placing. Miller won his championship bout by way of a 10-9 decision over Purdue's No. 18 Joey Blaze. Nevills also went 3-0 on the day, highlighted by a sudden victory over Missouri's No. 23 Seth Nitzel in the championship bout. He picked up falls in both of his first two matches.
Five terps with Double-digit wins
- After bumping up weights a couple weeks into the season last year, Braxton Brown is back for a complete season at 133. An NCAA qualifier at both weights, Brown finished the 2023-24 season as the team leader in wins (21). The redshirt junior from Allen, TX is 14-1 this season and is currently riding a 10-match winning streak. His season is highlighted by ranked wins over No. 11 Kurt Phipps (Bucknell), two-time All-American No. 14 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven), No. 22 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU), No. 24 Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) and No. 32 Vinnie Santaniello (Pittsburgh). He holds a 70-26 career record.
- Both Miller brothers bumped up a weight class prior to the season, Kal to 149 and Ethen to 157. Kal is 14-4 on the season and is riding a five-match win streak, with three wins coming over ranked foes No. 31 Richard Fedalen (Columbia), No. 30 Lucas Kapusta (Lock Haven) and No. 28 Derek Gilcher (Michigan). He holds a 43-34 career record.
Ethen took home fourth place at the 2024 Big Ten Championships. This season, he's 15-0, highlighted by a Tiger Style Invite Championship where he picked up two ranked wins en route to the title. He also got a massive win, 4-2, over No. 16 Chase Saldate (Michigan) and is 79-24 for this career.
- Moving a down a weight class to 184 pounds this year, Jaxon Smith is 13-3 this season, highlighted by winning the George Mason Patriot Open over No. 9 Chris Foca (Cornell), and is 75-24 for his career. He picked up a big win over then-No.19 Jaden Bullock (Michigan) with a last-second score. Smith's career is highlighted by a 2023 Third Place finish at the Big Ten Championships and a 2023 bloodround appearance at NCAA Championships. Ranked as high as No. 3 last season, Smith also has made waves in freestyle wrestling, winning the 2022 U20 US Open and the Pan-American Championships, earning him a spot on the 2022 World Team.
- Seth Nevills is back for his second year in College Park and is looking to build off two wins at his first-ever NCAA Tournament. The former top-10 recruit and Penn State transfer is 13-1 this season, cruising in his first eight dual matches as well as winning three matches en route to a Tiger Style Invite title. He has three ranked victories this season, highlighted by a win over then-No. 13 Dayton Pitzer of Pittsburgh and is 47-18 for his career.
Ethen Miller picked up two ranked wins en route to a Tiger Style Invite Championship at 157 pounds.Â
About the terps
- The Terps return five 2024 NCAA Qualifiers (Braxton Brown, Kal Miller, Ethen Miller, Jaxon Smith and Seth Nevills) as well as 2022 Qualifier Dom Solis. Brown, both Millers and Smith are all two-time NCAA qualifiers, also qualifying in 2023.
- Maryland also brings in another talented freshmen class including five on the MatScouts' 2024 Senior Big Board in Oscar Williams (No. 100), Mekhi Neal (No. 141), Abram Cline (No. 165), Branson John (No. 182) and Sammy Gautreau (No. 236). Tyler Garvin, Presden Sanchez and Alex Uryniak round out the stellar class.
- Maryland made several staff changes during the offseason, first by promoting Nick Brascetta, who has been with Clemsen since he started in College Park, to Associate Head Coach. Additionally, with the departure of assistant coach Devin Mellon who left to pursue opportunities outside of wrestling, the Terps promoted Elijah Oliver and Ethan Laird to full-time assistant coaches. Finally, Pittsburgh alum Cole Matthews was brought in to replace Laird as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach.
2023-24 Season Recap
- The Terps are coming off a second straight strong Big Ten season under Clemsen, highlighted by the program's first-ever multi-win Big Ten season. First, the Terps dominated Northwestern on Jan. 14, marking the most points scored by the team in Big Ten competition since joining the league. Maryland added its second win by way of 28-15 victory over Michigan State on Feb. 11 with five total wins by bonus points.Â
- Maryland hosted the Big Ten Championships for the first time in program history. In front of over 10,000 people in each of the four sessions, the Terps set program-bests in points (39), place (10th) and placers (four: Jaxon Smith, Ethen Miller, Braxton Brown and Seth Nevills).
- For the second straight season, the Terps had five NCAA qualifiers. Before 2023, five qualifiers were the most since 2014. At the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City, MO, the hometown of Ethen and Kal Miller, Maryland finished with 8.5 team points, its most since 2019. Four of Maryland's five qualifiers picked up at least one victory, with Nevills leading the way with two.
- The Terps also saw success at open tournaments. Kal Miller became a two-time Tiger Style Invite Champion in early November in his hometown. Smith finished in second place at the illustrious Cliff Keen Invitational, picking up a semifinal victory over former NCAA Runner-Up Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State. Finally, Brown took home first place at the George Mason Patriot Open that same weekend, just a couple weeks after bumping up to 133 pounds.
Four Terps finished on the podium at the 2024 Big Ten Championships.
Jaxon Smith and
Ethen Miller have both placed at Big Tens in each of the past two seasons.Â
