With a full slate of matchups on the horizon for the Binghamton wrestling team, the Bearcats return a historic lineup to the mats after a brief season at the start of 2021.

“We had a very limited season with what we were able to do with the [COVID-19] protocols and travel restrictions last year, so I think everyone’s just excited to be competing with a full, normal schedule this year,” said Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff. “A lot of these guys have been waiting many months to get out and compete for the program, and I think they’re really looking forward to it.”

BU began last season’s matches in January and only fought out four dual meets before jumping straight into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships. Binghamton had three of its scheduled meets canceled. Despite posting a 3-1 record overall and only finishing seventh at the EIWA meet, the Bearcats’ individual performances highlighted their success in 2021.

Headlining the Binghamton team again this season is two-time All-American redshirt senior Lou DePrez. In addition to his already growing list of accolades, including two EIWA titles and his two consecutive All-American honors, DePrez made a run deep into the 184-pound matchups at the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The Bearcat ultimately finished eighth overall, but Borshoff said DePrez is not satisfied with his placement.

“[DePrez]’s goal since he got here, and continues to be, is to become a national champion,” Borshoff said. “He’s already done something nobody else in the history of our program has ever done with being a two-time Division I All-American. He’s not content with that. He knows he has the ability to win a championship, and he’s been working really hard.”

DePrez, however, is joined by three other returning athletes who qualified for the NCAA tournament. Among them was junior Jacob Nolan, who captured an automatic bid to the tournament following a victory in the fifth-place EIWA matchup at 174 pounds.

“[Nolan] is also a returning national qualifier for us and was able to get a nice win at the NCAA championship and lost a close overtime match,” Borshoff said. “He’s got a lot of confidence knowing that he should be competing with everyone in the country.”

Alongside Nolan and DePrez at the national tournament was 285-pound redshirt senior Joe Doyle. His national run, however, was short-lived despite taking fourth overall at the competitive EIWA conference meet.

Barely missing out on an automatic bid to nationals was sophomore Micah Roes. Roes stood one win away from clinching a spot at the NCAA tournament but ultimately got an at-large bid due to his overall performance throughout the season. He became the third true freshman in BU’s Division I wrestling history to earn an NCAA Championship bid.

“[Roes], our 125-pounder, had a really impressive year,” Borshoff said. “He did something I think one of four people in the history of our program have ever done with being a true freshman national qualifier for us.”

Alongside the usual suspects of the EIWA, BU is slated to take on many strong teams in nonconference competition heading into the 2021-22 season.

“The EIWA is one of the top conferences in the country behind the Big 10,” Borshoff said. “We have a ton of great conference teams that we’ll be wrestling against … But we really went out of our way to schedule tough out-of-conference teams as well.”

Some of these nonconference teams include Stanford, West Virginia and Virginia Tech. BU is set to host Stanford in late November but will hit the road to take on the Mountaineers and the Hokies in January.

“For me as a coach, it’s not necessarily about the win-loss record that we have at our dual meets, but it’s about getting our guys prepared for the NCAA championship,” Borshoff said.

The Bearcats are scheduled to open their season with three consecutive matchups at the Rutgers Scarlet Knight Quad on Sunday, Nov. 7. The first event against Cleveland State is set for 10 a.m. in Piscataway, New Jersey.