The Hodge Trophy is an honor that recognizes the best of the best in college wrestling. And this year, the prestigious award went to… not five-time NCAA title holder Carter Starocci, but to Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson! Now this has inadvertently put former Penn State wrestling legend and 2019 Hodge Trophy winner Bo Nickal in some, not hot, but let’s say…tepid water? Because naturally, Nickal had some strong opinions on the whole situation.

A little earlier this season, Nickal declared on his podcast that if Carter Starocci didn’t win the Hodge Trophy this year, he would riot and give his own trophy back. Nickal didn’t mince words: “If it’s not Carter, bro, I’m throwing a fit. I’ll give my Hodge back. If Carter doesn’t get the Hodge, I’m throwing a fit. It’s disgusting, if he doesn’t get the award, the Hodge means nothing. The legitimacy goes away.” It was instant clickbait and classic Bo Nickal behavior, judging by the building character of his podcast.

But fast forward to the announcement of the 2025 Hodge Trophy winner yesterday, and it’s Hendrickson, not Starocci! This, naturally, raised a follow-up question from OSU fan page, the Urban Cowboy, who couldn’t resist holding Nickal to his word, asking, “When are you going to give your Hodge Trophy back??”

And though Bo Nickal didn’t exactly double down on his initial proclamation, he responded with a bit more levelheadedness: “I think I’ll give it to Carter. He deserves it. I think Wyatt might deserve one too but Carter was the best wrestler this year. All respect.”

And just like that, Bo Nickal subtly shifted the narrative. He’d previously suggested in his podcast that he didn’t trust the voting process for the award, saying, “They gave it a couple of years ago to a heavyweight that I don’t think deserved it, and Carter deserved it, and it’s like, man, you just give the award to who you like the best?” Nickal’s clapback changed the real question to: What exactly is the voting process? And how do the judges ascertain the most deserving candidates?

As Bo Nickal questioned, why did Carter Starocci miss out yet again, for the 2nd year in a row?

For the record, Carter Starocci also missed out on the prize in 2024 despite being an undefeated four-time NCAA champion at the time. The award went to Aaron Brooks instead, who amassed a near-unbeatable resume with 48 out of 59 first-place votes. And, Starocci, despite his dominance, only snagged two! So, how does all that work?

The criteria for the Hodge are famously record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition, and sportsmanship. But with most of these things being easy to gauge on paper, ‘sportsmanship’ still remains a little unclear.

Before fighting for his 5th NCAA title, Starocci was asked what his views were on the potential win and playing down the weight of titles. Starocci replied, “I was talking with Coach Cael (Sanderson) about it … it’s never about winning a national title or anything like that,” he said. “For me, I just, I really enjoy competition, and I’m very competitive. So, for me, just one thing I want to make sure is before I go is that I kill all these guys.”

There was some backlash over this, with social media going into a bit of a frenzy and Cael Sanderson having to dial down the comments in a consequent interview, so it is always up for debate whether or not Starocci’s perceived arrogance in the build-up to the prestigious prize could have some effect on his ‘sportsmanship’ points. Additionally, there was that time earlier in the season where Starocci was docked for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct.’ The five-time champ was playing against Lehigh’s Jack Wilt and pushed his head into the net, docking Penn State of a team point. Sanderson seemed to agree with the ruling, saying, “It should have been a point. There’s no excuse for that.”

Because though it’s true that when you stack up Starocci’s year against Hendrickson’s, the arguments for both wrestlers are solid. Carter Starocci is the first and possibly last wrestler to ever win 5 NCAA titles, but Hendrickson has not received similar calls or docks this season for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct.’ There’s also the fact that Hendrickson’s NCAA finals victory against Olympic champion Gable Steveson was a history making affair as well, with perhaps more mainstream appeal.

Regardless, it’s clear where Bo Nickal seems to stand. But ultimately, words are only words, and whether or not Nickal really sticks to his and gives his Hodge to Starocci, it makes little difference; Carter Starocci’s showcase is already filled up!