When it comes to coaches, Cael Sanderson is as level-headed as they come.

Whether he’s addressing the media or sitting mat-side watching one of his wrestlers compete, it is rare to see him stray from his stoic demeanor. But after the pre-seeds were released for this weekend’s Big Ten Wrestling Tournament, Sanderson didn’t hold back his thoughts.  

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Sanderson told the media on Monday.   

This reaction comes particularly after learning that unbeaten Levi Haines is seeded second behind Nebraska’s Christopher Minto, despite his 8-6 win over Minto in Penn State’s January dual meet against the Cornhuskers.  

This wasn’t the only weight class that raised eyebrows. At 133 pounds, true freshman Marcus Blaze earned the top seed ahead of defending national champion Lucas Byrd of Illinois. Both wrestlers are undefeated and have yet to meet this season.  

With much of the early conversation surrounding the Big Ten Wrestling Championships focused on the controversial pre-seeds, Sanderson, along with many wrestling fans, is left wondering what exactly went wrong with the algorithm.  

“In the past, our coaches spent a lot of time seeding the tournament and the bracket, so we thought if a third party could do a good job, but obviously, what happened isn’t going to work,” Sanderson said.  

For the first time, the Big Ten Conference turned away from its traditional pre-seeding system, in which conference coaches voted to set the bracket. Instead, the conference used WrestleStat’sTournament Seeder Program, a 100-point algorithm designed to rank all 14 starters at each weight. According to WrestleStat AI, the formula distributes points as follows:  

Head-to-head results: 25 points  

Record against common opponents: 25 points  

Conference dual record: 20 points  

Quality matches: 10 points 

Ratings Percentage Index (RPI): 10 points  

Coaches’ Rankings: 5 points  

Conference Allocations: 5 points  

This system was designed to eliminate any potential bias that may have existed under the previous format. But with the change comes a new appeal process. The day before the tournament, coaches can challenge a seeding if a wrestler is within 15 points of the next closest seed.  

Even so, Sanderson isn’t convinced the system will ensure his wrestlers will receive the seeds they have earned. 

“I mean, how do you know if it’s going to be within 15 points? Based on the way things came out, they could be anywhere. We haven’t seen a number,” Sanderson said. “You are relying on a system, I think the coaches all thought would be a little bit better than what they came up with, unfortunately.”  

For fans and coaches, the frustration doesn’t stop at the rankings themselves. With the Big Ten widely regarded as the nation’s toughest wrestling conference, these seeding inconsistencies could force some marquee matchups into earlier rounds.  

Matchups like No. 4-ranked PJ Duke and No. 1-ranked Brandon Cannon of Ohio State could come as early as the second round. A similar situation may unfold at 184 pounds, where No. 1 Rocco Welsh could face No. 2 Angelo Ferrari of Iowa in the second round as well. Typically, these matches would be reserved for the semifinals or finals.  

“There needs to be a common-sense application, so we need to figure that out. Stuff just doesn’t make sense,” Sanderson said.  

Despite the frustrations, Penn State still has six wrestlers who earned top seeds for this weekend’s tournament. Looking ahead, Sanderson knows that no matter what the final brackets look like, his team will be ready to compete.  

“I am not too worried about it. We will figure it out,” Sanderson said. “We just need to do the best that we can to make sure these guys get the seeds they earned throughout the season.”