Who were top bonus-point scorers through January?

Photo: Minnesota’s Gable Steveson (left), the 2021 Hodge Trophy co-winner, and Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers have earned bonus points in all of their matches this season.

As the calendar turns to February, it’s time for the sport’s stars to start focusing on winning a national championship, March 19, in Detroit. It is also a good time to see what NCAA Division I wrestlers are still candidates to win the 2022 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy, presented by ASICS.

As January ended, there were 21 past All-Americans who were undefeated and considered candidates to win this year’s trophy that will be presented to the nation’s most dominant NCAA Division I wrestler a little over a week following the March 17-19 NCAA Championships in Detroit, Mich.

The Hodge Trophy was created by WIN founder Mike Chapman and named after Oklahoma’s late three-time NCAA champion Dan Hodge (1955-57). The criteria for winning the award, in priority order, will include: a wrestler’s record, number of pins, dominance, past credentials, quality of competition, sportsmanship/citizenship and heart.

Among these current wrestlers, two have scored bonus points in all of their victories. One is Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson, the co-winner of the 2021 Hodge Trophy (with Iowa’s Spencer Lee). The other is Rutgers’ Sebastian Rivera (141), who has recorded 11 technical falls. Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole (165) and Arizona State heavyweight Cohlton Schultz are leading candidates in most pins, which is extremely important as voters have always strongly considered the number of falls it being the second criteria. Each have pinned five opponents.

When it comes to choosing this year’s winner, as in the past, all former Hodge Trophy winners get a vote, as does a retired coach from each region and national media members. The official Fan Vote on WIN’s website will then add the final five first-place votes into overall total which designates the winner.

Updated Statistical Look at Notable 2022 Hodge Trophy Candidates

The following list shows wrestlers who have earned All-American status before and are currently undefeated as of February 1. The list also includes how many pins (P), technical falls (TF), major decisions (MD) and Forfeits/Defaults (F/Def) each wrestler has through Jan. 30. The final column shows the % of matches in which they’ve scored bonus points.

125 pounds

133 pounds

141 pounds

149 pounds

157 pounds

165 pounds

174 pounds

184 pounds

197 pounds

Heavyweight

Source: wrestlestat.com

All-Time Hodge Trophy Winners – Hodge Announcement Story/Season Stats