Pitt’s eighth season under head coach Keith Gavin should be an interesting one, as the lineup will be younger than it was last year, the coaching staff is more experienced and the schedule – at least in terms of dual meets – isn’t quite as challenging. The expectations – which most Pitt fans would say should include at least one All-American and a top-20 finish each season – remain high at a time when the wrestling landscape is changing quickly with name, image, likeness (NIL) money and a proposed 30-man cap on rosters.

Here are five questions to consider as the season begins.

How will Pitt’s lineup look?

When the Panthers take the mat for the first time for their 2 p.m. dual meet with Navy on Saturday at Fitzgerald Field House, they’ll have a much different look than they have the past few seasons.

Gone are Cole Matthews, Holden Heller and Colton Camacho. Each was a fixture in the Pitt lineup for the past few seasons.

Nick Babin, a graduate transfer student from Columbia, will take over the 125-pound spot in the short term, although Navy transfer Evan Tallmadge will also be in the mix when healthy.

Redshirt freshman Anthony Santaniello has claimed the 141-pound spot – one weight class up from his older brother, Vinnie.

Kade Brown, a true freshman from Ohio, looked very good in the Blue-Gold Match, beating returning NCAA qualifier Finn Solomon at 149.

“We’re really excited about Kade,” Gavin said, noting that there is a possibility that Brown will redshirt this season. “I think he has a really bright future if he keeps going like this.”

Redshirt freshman Dylan Evans takes over at 157 pounds while redshirt sophomore Kelin Laffey beat Jared Keslar at 165, where Grant MacKay could also be a factor once he returns from a knee injury.

The upper weights will be the same as last season, with redshirt junior Luca Augustine (174), graduate Reece Heller (184) and redshirt sophomores Mac Stout (197) and Dayton Pitzer (285).

What should we expect from the 2024-25 season?

Intermat and FloWrestling have released their preseason rankings, and they aren’t pretty where Pitt is concerned.

The Panthers are not included in Intermat’s top 30 dual or tournament teams and check in at No. 35 in Flo’s tournament rankings. More concerning is that no Panther is expected to make the podium in Philadelphia come March.

Pitzer comes closest to the top eight, as he’s No. 12 (Intermat) and No. 14 (Flo). Stout is No. 14/16. Heller is No. 18 and Augustine is 19 in each set of rankings. Intermat has Babin at No. 28 and Vinnie Santaniello at No. 29.

The lack of respect for Pitt’s wrestlers doesn’t surprise Gavin.

“It’s understandable. We have a lot of unproven kids on the team,” he said. “I think we’ve got some guys that can do a lot better than people expect, and we expect a lot out of them.”

Last season, Pitt went 10-8 – including a victory over No. 5 Ohio State – with a very difficult dual meet schedule. Despite sending seven NCAA qualifiers to Kansas City, the Panthers did not have an All-American and finished 26th in the team standings.

This season’s schedule includes a return to the Midlands and less emphasis on dual meets.

“Dual meets are great – I think it’s how you grow a fan base, and it makes you feel good when you win – but those are feedback to try to continue to make improvements for the national tournament,” Gavin said.

“I think that’s the way that we’re looking at last year. We had a lot of qualifiers last year but it didn’t go well. This year we have to put multiple people on the stand.”

How much of an impact will Lou Roselli have?

With all due respect to Pitt’s recent crop of recruits and transfers, the biggest offseason signing was assistant coach Lou Roselli. An Olympian in 1996, Roselli was one of the sport’s top assistants during his time at Ohio State, where he coached lightweights Logan Stieber (four NCAA titles) and J Jaggers (two NCAA titles). His Buckeyes won the 2015 NCAA team title, and he has helped coach three Olympic gold medalists.

Roselli’s tenure as Oklahoma’s head coach didn’t go as smoothly, but he still went 56-49 in duals and produced 40 NCAA qualifiers.

Roselli should be able to help improve technique in the room – particularly in the lightweights – and on the recruiting trail. His ties to western Pennsylvania – he was a two-time All-American at Edinboro – and Ohio should help in that area.

Which weight class is key for the Panthers?

Last season, Pitt scored more dual meet points than it gave up in seven of the 10 weight classes. The good news is that two of the wrestlers who produced the most points – Heller and Stout – return. Stout helped Pitt score 54 points at 197 while giving up just 19 for a plus-35 differential. Heller’s 184-pound class scored 53 and gave up 24 for a plus-29.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Pitt was minus-24 at 157 and minus-17 at 133. A more experienced Vinnie Santaniello should produce better results at 133 this season while an untested Evans could still face an uphill battle at 157.

The weight class that should see the biggest upside is 285 pounds, where the Panthers were outscored 42-34 in the 2023-24 season. The majority of those points conceded came after Pitzer suffered a shoulder injury against Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz. Counting the six Pitzer gave up in an injury default, the Panthers were outscored 33-0 at heavyweight in their final seven dual meets.

A healthy Pitzer should reverse that trend.

When will Pitt wrestling move into Victory Heights?

The wrestling team is expecting to move into its new $240 million home, Victory Heights, in September 2025. The wrestling room and offices should be finished by then.

The Panthers likely will still be holding dual meets at Fitzgerald Field House through 2025 but hope to host their first meet at Victory Heights in February 2026.

“We’re picking out all the graphics right now. It’s nice to see it up and ready to put the walls on it,” Gavin said.

While it certainly won’t hurt recruiting, Gavin said the facility might not have as much of an impact as it would have prior to the introduction of NIL money.

“A couple years ago, that would be an even bigger recruiting thing,” he said. “Now it’s about ‘How much money and am I getting?’ Things have changed rapidly. This is a new kind of thing to figure out.”