New College of Florida Wrestling will open its inaugural season at Eagle Madness, hosted by Life University, before competing in the Patriot Open on Saturday.
The Mighty Banyans will face RV Truett McConnell at 1 p.m. and No. 3 Life at 2:15 p.m. in the first official competition in program history. Saturday's Patriot Open, hosted by the University of the Cumberlands, will take place at Corbin Arena in Corbin, Kentucky.
DUAL AND TOURNAMENT NOTES
A HISTORIC DEBUT: Head coach Koby Reyes will lead New College into its first season with a 22-wrestler roster featuring athletes across all 10 collegiate weight classes. The Mighty Banyans prepared for their inaugural campaign with Blue and Gold duals last Friday at the Sudakoff Center.
THE OPENING DUALS: New College will begin against RV Truett McConnell before taking on No. 3 Life. The matchup against Life will also mark the Mighty Banyans' first Southern States Athletic Conference dual.
THE TOURNAMENT FIELD: Following its opening duals, New College will travel to Kentucky for the Patriot Open. The Mighty Banyans will compete alongside wrestlers from more than a dozen teams in individual brackets organized by weight class.
WRESTLERS TO WATCH: Sophomore Talon Maple and freshman Michael Kersey were named New College's Southern States Athletic Conference Wrestlers to Watch ahead of the inaugural season. Maple will compete at 157 pounds, while Kersey is listed at 149 pounds.
MAPLE BRINGS CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE: Maple joins the Mighty Banyans after transferring from Campbell University. The Zephyrhills, Florida, native was a four-time FHSAA state placer and captured a state championship during his high school career at Zephyrhills Christian Academy.
KERSEY ADDS TO THE LINEUP: Kersey arrives at New College following a stop at Clarion University. A Naples, Florida, native, he captured the 2024 FHSAA Class 1A state championship at 144 pounds as a junior at First Baptist Academy. Kersey also finished as the state runner-up at 145 pounds as a sophomore and placed fourth at 120 pounds as a freshman. He was a recipient of the Colby Singletary Scholarship Award.
EXPERIENCED ARRIVALS: New College's inaugural roster includes graduate student Justin Grant at 184 pounds and junior transfers Antonio Daquep at 141, TJ Rodier and Grady Woodard at 133, Andres Sanchez at 157, Julian Smith at 165, Caden Smith at 125 and Reagan McCullough at heavyweight. Sophomore transfers Aiden Hutchins at 165 and Maple at 157 provide additional collegiate experience.
LOCAL CONNECTIONS: Several wrestlers will represent the Sarasota-Bradenton area during the program's first season. Sophomore Jacob Fuentes competed at Braden River High School, sophomore Alex Malaj attended Sarasota High School and junior Julian Smith wrestled at Manatee High School.
UP NEXT: New College of Florida will travel to RV St. Thomas on Nov. 12 for a Southern States Athletic Conference dual at 6 p.m.
