If you’re an avid college wrestling fan, this season, you must have heard Mitchell Mesenbrink’s name multiple times. The sophomore competes in the 165-pound weight class, and yes, you guessed it right, he is the favorite for the 2025 Dan Hodge Trophy, equivalent to college football’s Heisman Trophy.
Heading to X, @MatScouts1 shared their thoughts on this year’s award, stating, “Mesenbrink for Heisman.” While this is a college football reference, the fans exactly knew what the social media account claiming to be “America’s #1 source for objective news, commentary, and analysis in wrestling” pointed out in a wrestling context.
Awards are something that keeps the community debating about. Who deserves it the most? Well, only time speaks about them, and also the statistics that a player has garnered over a season. For wrestling, there are also many awards at the NCAA level, especially in Division 1. And one such particular trophy was recently compared to one of the most highly respected awards for NCAA football.
The 22-year-old is pursuing a major in psychology, and that might have been helping him out with reading the minds of his opponents on the mat. With a prolific redshirt season at Cal-Baptist in the 2022-23 season, he transferred to Penn State. And it didn’t take him long to make a mark.
Do you remember the 2024 Big Ten Championship that took place at Xfinity Center from March 9-10? That was something of a mesmerizing performance from Mitchell Mesenbrink. He won against defending champion Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti with a score of 13-11. It was a tough match on the mat, but he did overcome all odds to get his hands on those points, as it helped Penn State to get their grip on the overall team championship.
Mesenbrink for Heisman.
— SequenceSZN (@MatScouts1) February 15, 2025
Similarly, this year isn’t also looking a lot different for the Penn State sophomore. His latest stint came during the dual meet with Ohio State, where he secured the match with a 19-4 technical fall (4:39) over Brock Herman. With this victory, he has a 16-0 record, and he will also be a big asset to his college in the next two matches coming up against Illinois on Sunday and American University on February 21, 2025.
If his current trajectory persists, Mesenbrink is expected to compete in this year’s Big Ten Championship. Only time will tell his potential on the mat, as fans may witness the Penn State sophomore repeating history. All of the aforementioned factors do make him one of the favorites, and while many agreed with this, some had a different opinion online.
Not all wrestling fans consider the Penn State sophomore for the award
Differences in opinion are good, as they do result in a healthy discussion among the community. With the fans getting a prolific NCAA wrestling season, the debate on who will grab that Dan Hodge trophy is high, and many pointed it towards the 22-year-old, “2nd that motion.” Yes, they agreed to the social media post, and another similar reaction for the Penn State sophomore was, “The best of the best.” Another fan stated, “Better than Allar…”
Over the years, the Dan Hodge Trophy in wrestling has become synonymous with the Heisman Trophy for college football players. Every time there’s a favorite among the community, and this season, it’s the Penn State wrestler who has been on a roll. However, these are the fans that are speculating, and rarely ever do they get together with their opinions.
This particular wrestling fan have their own favorites, stating, “You misspelled McCrone.” Even if the statistics speak for Mitchell Mesenbrink, a question suggests, “Would you prefer Mesinbrink winning the Hodge over Gable for instance if he goes totally undefeated? Mesinbrink is getting bonus on everyone but HWT is undeniably deeper.”
Just like any other award, the Han Dodge Trophy will go to one wrestler. However, there’s time to decide who will actually get their hands on this illustrious award for their career, as the wrestling action won’t stop!
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