The 2025 NWCA All-Star Classic presented by Nike Wrestling will take place on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at 7:00 pm (ET) in Jersey Mike's Arena on the campus of Rutgers University.
This event can be viewed only on FloWrestling and will feature 10 highly ranked Division 1 folkstyle matchups, along with four cross-divisional women's freestyle matches and one D2 vs D3 men's match.
Nov 1, 5:00 PM CDT
The 184-pound match will take place between returning All-American #4 Jaxon Smith out of Maryland and Oklahoma State freshman Zack Ryder. This match will give us an immediate gauge of how Zack Ryder stacks up against one of the best wrestlers in the country at 184 pounds. Check out the article below for a full preview and prediction of this bout.
Jax Smith, Maryland
Smith's College Stats
- Pre-Season Rank: #4
- 65-25 Career College Record
- 6th Place At The 2025 NCAA Tournament
Zack Ryder, OK State
Ryder's Stats:
- Pre-Season Rank: #7
- 8-0 Redshirt Record
- 2024 U20 World silver medalist, 2022 & 2023 U17 World bronze medalist
Breaking Down The Matchup
Ryder and Smith have never wrestled, so predicting the outcome of this match will take a bit of guesswork. From Zack Ryder's 8 college matches, there are only 2 common opponents between him and Smith - DeAnthony Parker and Shane Cartagena-Walsh. Smith beat Parker 4-2 and Cartagena-Walsh 14-4 while Ryder defeated Parker 9-2 and Cartagena-Walsh 4-1 (SV-3). Those results don't reveal much about who has the upper hand in this matchup but do help show that Ryder and Smith are on similar levels.Â
Smith obviously has the advantage in experience. On top of being a returning All-American, Smith has career victories over All-Americans Silas Allred, Edmond Ruth, Chris Foca, John Poznanski, Tanner Sloan, Mac Stout, Isaac Trumble, and Jacob Warner. It's also worth noting that Smith will likely have the size advantage as a former 197-pounder coming to 184 pounds. On top of that, Smith is a complete wrestler in every position and has huge point-scoring potential. Smith will undoubtedly be Ryder's biggest test of his young college career.
Just because Ryder only has 8 college matches under his belt, it doesn't mean he's inexperienced. Ryder was the #5 overall recruit in the class of 2024, and his 3 age-level world medals prove he's accustomed to winning at a high level. On the freestyle side of things, Ryder has notable victories over Simon Ruiz, Gabe Arnold, Will Henckel, Aeoden Sinclair, and several other ranked college wrestlers. Beyond the accolades and match results, Ryder is incredibly stingy defensively and didn't allow more than 2 points in any of his 8 matches last season. Ryder's a winner, and his match against Smith could tell us if he's ready to challenge for a national title this season.
So, who wins this match? Will Smith's offense and size prove too much for Ryder to handle or will Ryder be able to frustrate Smith with his defense? I think this match is a one-takedown bout, and I'd be surprised to see a lot of points scored in this one. While it may be surprising to some, I'm picking Zack Ryder to defeat Jaxon Smith. Last season, Smith dropped matches to Chris Foca, Max McEnelly, Carter Starocci, Edmond Ruth, Gabe Arnold, Will Ebert, and Isaac Dean. The common thread is that Smith struggles against defensive wrestlers, and Ryder fits that mold perfectly. Regardless of how the match plays out, this will be a great test for both wrestlers and should be incredible to watch on Saturday night.
Prediction: Zack Ryder over Jaxon Smith, 4-1
2025 NWCA All-Star Classic Bout Order
Women's Matches
138 lbs - #1 Zaynah McBryde, Life vs  #1 Katie Lange, Grand Valley
145 lbs -  #1 Esther Kolawole, William Penn vs  #2 Reese Larramendy, Iowa
160 lbs -  #1 Latifah McBryde, Life  vs  #1 (145) Bella Mir, North Central
117 lbs -  #2 Salyna Shotwell vs  #1 Sage Mortimer, Grand Valley
D2 vs D3 Match
141lbs - #1 Mark Samuel, Roanoke vs #1 Khyvon Grace, West Liberty
NCAA D1 Men's Matches
149lbs - #5 Casey Swiderski, Oklahoma State vs #3 Lachlan McNeil, Michigan
174lbs - #3 Simon Ruiz, Cornell vs #8 Lenny Pinto, Rutgers
197lbs - #3 Joey Novak, Wyoming vs #4 Stephen Little, Little Rock
125lbs - #4 Eddie Ventresca, VA Tech vs #5 Sheldon Seymour, Lehigh
157lbs - #5 Ty Watters, West Virginia  vs #4  Daniel Cardenas,  Stanford
165lbs - #4 Hunter Garvin, Â Stanford vs #7 Max Brignola, Lehigh
184lbs - #4 Jaxon Smith, Maryland vs #7 Zack Ryder, Oklahoma State
285lbs - #3  Yonger Bastida , Iowa  State vs #4 Taye Ghadiali , Michigan
133lbs - #1 Lucas Byrd, Illinois vs #7 Dylan Shawver, Rutgers
141lbs - #7 Anthony Echemendia , Iowa State vs #1 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State
Â
