MANHEIM, Penn. – The University of Indianapolis wrestling team has already made history this season before hitting the mat as they open the year ranked No. 3 in the preseason of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division II Coaches Rankings, released Friday afternoon. This ranking is the highest the Greyhounds have ever held, besting the previous high of No. 4 set in just ahead of the 2014 NCAA DII Championships.

This comes after a historic season which saw the Greyhounds finish sixth at the NCAA DII Championships last winter, led runner-up finishes by returner Derek Blubaugh (197) and the now-graduated Andrew Sams (174). Blubaugh returns this season with the highest ranking of the team, as the 2022 All-American and national finalist in the 197-pound weight class enters the season at No. 2.

Redshirt-junior Dawson Combest comes in at the second-highest individual ranking on the team, arriving at No. 3 in the country at the 157. He earned his third All-American honor last season with a seventh-place finish at Nationals, becoming one of only five UIndy wrestlers in program history to be a three-time All-American.

At 149, Logan Bailey earned the No. 4 ranking in the preseason poll. The sophomore out of Fishers, Ind., went 36-4 last season, with 18 of his wins coming by the pin.

Both Breyden Bailey (133) and Jack Eiteljorge (165) enter the season at No. 6 in their respective classes. Bailey qualified for the NCAA Championships last year after a quality third-place finish at the NCAA Super Region 4 tournament. For Eiteljorge, he made yet another trip to the nationals after his second career Super Region championship with 20-8 record in his redshirt-junior season.  

Rounding out the individual rankings is heavyweight Cale Gray. He comes off his first trip to the NCAA Championships after a 20-10 season.

The Hounds open their season on the road at the Kauffman Brand Open on Nov. 5 in St. Louis.