The Iowa men’s wrestling team will make a run for their first NCAA title since 2021 this week at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Iowa joins Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Virginia Tech as the only schools in the nation to have all 10 wrestlers competing in the 2023 NCAA Championships. 

All 10 Hawkeyes placed eighth or higher at the 2023 Big Ten Championships, earning them each automatic berths to the national tournament. Iowa finished second in the conference team race with 134.5 points, trailing Penn State’s 147. 

Iowa head coach Tom Brands said he’s been telling his squad to take it one match at a time. But he also wants his team to have fun and remember to have fun and embrace the opportunity that the month of March brings.

“We know what we have to do,”  Brands said at a media availability on Monday. “We know we’re going to have to win a lot of tough matches, and that’s regardless if you’re the one seed or the 23 seed or whatever you are.”

The three-day tournament begins Thursday with Session I and II starting at 11 a.m. and  6 p.m., respectively. The quarterfinals and consolation round begin Friday at 11 a.m, with the semifinals starting at 7 p.m. The medal round starts Saturday at 10 a.m., and the championship finals will kick off at 6 p.m. Day sessions will be televised live on ESPNU, while the evening sessions will be on ESPN. 

Iowa’s top-seeded 125-pounder Spencer Lee, who won his third Big Ten title on March 5, is looking to make history as he will compete for his fourth individual NCAA title, which no Hawkeye has ever achieved. He also has the chance to join former Iowa wrestler and 174-pounder Michael Kemerer as a five-time All-American.

RELATED: Iowa men’s wrestler Spencer Lee dominates en route to third Big Ten title 

Cornell’s 149-pound Yianni Diakomihalis is also going for a fourth national title. Lee and Diakomihalis have known each other since they were 9 years old through wrestling tournaments. The pair would be just the fifth and sixth collegiate grapplers all-time to claim four individual NCAA titles. No two wrestlers have been crowned four-time NCAA champions in the same season. 

“We’re worried about our guy, but the opportunity is there because of what [Lee and Diakomihalis] have been able to do, for themselves and by overcoming,” Brands said. “That’s how you make opportunities for yourself, you have to overcome a lot. Any path to greatness is sometimes bumpy in places. You get a lump on your head and you move on. And Spencer’s been able to do that with the best of them.”

Lee is 11-0 against other wrestlers in the 125-pound bracket and 15-0 all-time at the NCAA Championships with three pins, four technical falls, and four major decisions. He will face the winner of South Dakota State’s 32-seed Tanner Jordan and Air Force’s 33-seed Tucker Owens in the first round Thursday.

“Like I’ve said in the past, [winning a fourth NCAA title] would be the first goal I’ve ever accomplished in my life. So, it would mean a lot to me. But the thing is, I haven’t done it yet,” Lee said on Monday. “One match at a time. It’s a tough tournament, I have to be ready to go.”

Real Woods was the only other Iowa wrestler to receive a No. 1 seed. The 141-pounder took home his first Big Ten title a couple weeks ago with a 2-1 victory over Nebraska’s Brock Hardy, who received a No. 4 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. 

RELATED: Iowa men’s wrestler Real Woods wins Big Ten individual title in tournament debut 

Woods is 5-5 all-time at the NCAA Championships, falling 3-2 to Penn State’s top-seeded Nick Lee in the semifinals last season before going on to finish sixth. He is 10-0 against this year’s 141-pound NCAA field. Woods will face the victor of Bloomsburg’s 33-seed Josh Mason and Maryland’s 32-seed Kal Miller. 

Iowa’s 157-pound Cobe Siebrecht and 165-pound Patrick Kennedy will make their NCAA Tournament debuts. Siebrecht placed seventh at the 2023 Big Ten Championships while Kennedy lost in the title match to Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti, 9-6. 

Siebrecht received a No. 14 seed and is 8-4 against the other 157-pounders. He will face Wisconsin’s No. 19 seed Garrett Model, who Siebrecht defeated, 3-2, in this season’s dual meet in Madison. 

Kennedy earned a No. 6 seed and is 8-3 against the 165-pound field. He will meet Appalachian State’s No. 27 seed Will Formato in the first round. 

Hawkeye 197-pound Jacob Warner is also hoping to join Kemerer in the five-time All-American club. Warner received a No. 14 seed after placing fifth at the Big Ten Tournament. He will take on Michigan State’s No. 19 seed Cameron Caffey in the first round. Warner was supposed to face him at the conference tournament in the fifth-place match, but Caffey medically forfeited. 

He is 6-6 against the NCAA field this season and 13-5 all-time at the tournament — his five losses have been by a combined seven points. Warner lost in the NCAA finals last year, 3-2, to Penn State’s Max Dean. Since the NCAA implemented the weight classes in 1999, no Iowa 197-pounder has won a national title.

Heavyweight Tony Cassioppi placed third at the Big Ten Tournament and earned a No. 4 seed at nationals. He is 8-3 against the NCAA field with his only losses coming to Michigan’s top-seeded Mason Parris and Penn State’s third-seeded Greg Kerkvliet, who he lost to in this year’s Big Ten semifinals. Cassioppi will battle Maryland’s 29-seed Jaron Smith in the first round.