The NCAA Wrestling Championships commence in Detroit on Thursday and the Bearcats have four wrestlers heading to the Motor City to compete for a national title.  

Leading the way for the Bearcats once again is reigning All-American, senior Lou DePrez. Coming off his third EIWA Conference Championship with a 26-3 record on the season, DePrez earned the 8th seed in the 197-pound bracket.  

In heavyweight senior Joe Doyle comes in as the 20th seed after finishing third in the conference tournament and going 19-7 on the season. He’s pinned 3 wrestlers in the NCAA field.  

Jacob Nolan will be representing the Bearcats in the 174-pound bracket as the 30th seed. This is the junior’s second straight NCAA Championship appearance. He went 19-13 on the year and took fourth at the EIWA Championships. 

And finally, sophomore Brevin Cassella qualified for his first NCAA Championships as the 25 seed in 165-pounds following a 20-13 season.  

Preparing to face-off with wrestlers from several traditional wrestling juggernauts, the Bearcats say it adds a bit of a chip to their shoulders coming in as lower seeds.  

“Definitely adds a little more motivation,” says Nolan. “I wasn’t seeded that high at the conference tournament either and still made a good run. It’s a good opportunity to make a name for yourself and knock off a big name right off the bat.” 

“A lot of these Big Ten schools are seeded the way they are just because they’re Big ten I feel,” says Doyle. “I can’t wait to show what I can do and represent Binghamton.” 

Fifth year head coach Kyle Borshoff says despite the seedings you must go into the tournament believing all your wrestlers could be national champions. He says sending four Bearcats to the NCAA Championships this season is another step towards putting Bearcats wrestling on the map.  

“I think people realize watching what we’re doing you can come to Binghamton, and you can win,” says Borshoff. “You can win a conference championship; you can be an All-American and you can be a National Champion. When you do it here at the end of the day it’s probably even more special. When you do it here it’s unique, you’re overcoming obstacles that a lot of these guys at schools like the University of Iowa or Penn State aren't overcoming.”  

The NCAA Wrestling Championships begin Thursday at noon and continue through Saturday.  A look at all the brackets can be found here.