Maryland wrestling’s season was highlighted by a top-10 road win, a program record for Big Ten victories and its first All-American since 2019.
Maryland (9-10, 3-5 Big Ten) continued its upward climb through the Big Ten, a process that’s been slow but steady under six years of coach Alex Clemsen. The Terps finished with three conference wins, a top-eight finish at the Big Ten championships and a top-25 finish at the NCAA championships — all program bests in the last decade.
“I said it would take four years to be competitive and six years to be good,” Clemsen said on March 22. “We’re a good team. We’re not a great team, we’re not a dominant team — we’re a good team.”
The first three conference duals were the highlight of Maryland’s regular season. The Terps beat then-No. 10 Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin, resulting in their first ever 3-0 start in Big Ten play.
[Maryland wrestling’s Jaxon Smith becomes program’s first All-American since 2019]
Redshirt juniors Braxton Brown and Ethen Miller’s emergences were key to Maryland’s regular season success. The two were both ranked last season, but were never able to reach the top 10. This year, they both ranked as high as No. 5 late in the season.
Brown and Miller, along with redshirt junior Jaxon Smith, were the only Terps to hold top-10 rankings during the season. The three earned a combined 49-6 dual record and 198 total dual points. Junior Kal Miller and graduate student Seth Nevills also posted win rates of .500 or higher in conference duals.
Six Terps reached the podium at the Big Ten Championships — Smith, Brown, Kal Miller, Ethen Miller, Nevills and Branson John. John, a true freshman, won three matches as the 12-seed to finish sixth and qualify for the NCAA championships.
Four Terps picked up wins there. Ethen Miller and Brown each took a match, and Nevills won two. But the main story was Smith, who won four matches — two by fall — to finish sixth at 184 pounds and earn All-American honors. It was Smith’s first All-American selection and the first for any Maryland wrestler in the Clemsen era.
“[It feels like] a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Smith said. “This is something I’ve been waiting for since I came on to the University of Maryland.”
[Maryland wrestling star Ethen Miller transfers to Virginia Tech]
As of now, four of Maryland’s six qualifiers are set to return to the program. Nevills, a former Penn State transfer who gave the Terps two strong years at a much-needed weight, is out of eligibility. Ethen Miller announced that he’s transferring to Virginia Tech.
Both have in-house replacements. Maryland currently rosters four wrestlers set to return at 157-pounds and three at heavyweight, including two freshmen.
The Terps are in position to have one of the younger lineups in the conference again next season. Their younger wrestlers struggled this season, especially in Big Ten duals, but Clemsen feels the experience they picked up competing against veteran wrestlers will benefit them going forward.
“There’s some teams in our league that had seven COVID seniors — that’s gonna change here, the playing field is gonna really level out,” Clemsen said. “Being a young program for a couple years here while everybody’s been able to load up with these super seniors, I’m excited for that to be done and for our kids to be on a level playing field.”
