Maryland Terrapins at Big Ten Championships
March 8-9, 2025
Welsh Ryan Arena Evanston, IL
All-Day
BTN & B1G+
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- The Terps head into the 2025 Big Ten Championships with five guys seeded in the top-nine and hopes of their first Big Ten finalist and champion since joining the conference.
Ethen Miller earned the No. 1 seed at 157 pounds, the first Maryland wrestler to do so since joining the Big Ten.
Braxton Brown is No. 3 at 133 and
Jaxon Smith is No. 5 at 184.
In last year's Big Ten Championships in College Park, MD, Maryland finished in 10th place with 39 points, marking the highest finish both in terms of place and in total points since joining the conference. The Terps had four placers (
Jaxon Smith,
Ethen Miller,
Braxton Brown and
Seth Nevills), which was the most Maryland has had at the Big Ten Championships in program history.
Maryland Pre-Seeds | 2025 Big Ten Championships
125 #14
Tyler Garvin
133 #3
Braxton Brown
141 #12
Dario Lemus
149 #8
Kal Miller
157 #1
Ethen Miller
165 #12
Alex Uryniak
174 #12
Branson John
184 #5
Jaxon Smith
197 #12
Chase Mielnik
285 #9
Seth Nevills
Historic Big Ten Output
- 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.
No. 1 seed Ethen miller stands at 20-0
- Ethen Miller has been incredibly successful this season after bumping up to 157 pounds. He is 20-0 with wins over eight ranked opponents. Miller won the Tiger Style Invite at 157 pounds, picking up ranked wins over Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) and Joey Blaze (Purdue). He also has won all seven conference matchups including wins over Chase Saldate (Michigan), Jason Kraisser (Illinois), Conor Harer (Rutgers) and Tyler Kasak (Penn State).
- He is off to the best start of any Maryland wrestler since Jimmy Sheptock started the 2013-14 season 32-0 before falling in the NCAA finals.
- Miller, a redshirt junior, is 84-24 on for his career.
Ethen Miller picked up two ranked wins en route to a Tiger Style Invite Championship at 157 pounds.
Braxton brown climbs the charts
- Braxton Brown got his signature win of the season on Friday, Feb. 9, defeating then-No. 9 Dylan Shawver by way of a 6-3 decision, using a reversal and late takedown to secure the victory. The win propelled Brown from No. 11 to No. 6 in the InterMat ranking poll, the third-best mark among Big Ten 133-pounders. He is the third-seed at 133 in the Championships.
- In addition to his first top-10 win of the season, Brown also holds ranked wins over Kurt Phipps (Bucknell), Vinnie Santianello (Pittsburgh), Derrick Cardinal (SDSU), Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) and Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin). Brown is 20-2 on the season with his only two losses coming to Zeth Romney and Lucas Byrd, who both currently sit in the top-five rankings. Brown, a redshirt junior, is 75-27 in his career.
Brown's defeated Dylan Shawver, the 2024 Big Ten Champion and a 2024 All-American, on Friday Feb. 9.
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.
- 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.
