Think about it: you are prepped up, all charged to watch your favorites in the match, and just a day before things get a big blow. Now, you are left with nothing but to accept the changes with no certainty left. Frustrating, right? That’s pretty much what has gotten the Wrestling fans to get all pissed with the last-minute changes that the NCAA made before the final leg of its tournament.

The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships is set to begin in Philadelphia, showcasing the nation’s top college wrestlers in an intense fight for glory. With 330 athletes competing, ten national titles are up for grabs, each match would be pushing them closer to victory. But beyond individual triumphs, the ultimate prize—the NCAA team championship—will also be decided by the weekend’s end. And now that the euphoria is building up, the NCAA announced sudden changes and an eligibility setback in the ‘174-pound bracket’ and turned the tables for Penn State’s Levi Haines. His opponent gets changed a day ahead of the match. Haines shall now face Maryland’s Branson John.

What’s more? Tyler Brennan, the ‘original no.29’ seed, has been removed from the 174 bracket and is now out of NCAA Championship eligibility. However, it’s worth noting that Tyler Brennan was earlier certified and was eligible to compete on two separate occasions as of the current academic year. His eligibility was marked into question less than a week ago.

The Wrestling Room, adding significant insights to it, stated on X, “Less than 24 hours before the start of the NCAA tournament, the 174 lb bracket is expected to change. The 29 seed Tyler Brennan (Little Rock), who recently won a Pac12 title, has been ruled ineligible after confusion surrounding his covid year/medshirt.”

“Rider’s Michael Wilson (alternate) will slide in as the 33 seed. The guys currently seeded 30-33 will all shift down one. This was a very complex situation where Brennan was allegedly not only “cleared” by his school and conference compliance dpt (somehow?) but was proactivly asked to come back a final year after being told he’s good to go. In the end, the NCAA ruled he wasn’t. I feel for all parties involved. But the show goes on… Expect legal battles to ensue- but the bracket will be updated and he’s out this weekend.”

Once his ineligibility was called into question a week ago, the wrestler had sought to have his eligibility reinstated by raising an appeal to the NCAA and its committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement. But much to his dismay, his appeal was denied. As per the information given by the head coach, the wrestler and his family have made the conscious decision to not take the legal route, instead, they chose to prioritize the focus on his teammates and the wrestler who would be competing in the tournament.

The head coach added, “We are hurting for Tyler and we will continue to offer him our unwavering support. Integrity, commitment, and hard work are the pillars of our program, and Tyler embodies these values. There has never been any malicious intent in our decision to allow a stand-up wrestler to return to our program.”

This is definitely saddening. Tyler is getting all the support from the fans, and while that is happening, we can smell the fury taking over on the internet.

Fans call out the changes and hail Tyler as ‘world-class’

Tyler’s dedication, and devotion to the sport have been undeniable. A force to reckon with. A fan writes, “Tyler is a world-class BJJ artist and will have an awesome MMA career just like his Dad, sucks that got postponed because of an oversight but that kid will succeed despite this messy situation!”

Being the son of Chris “The Westside Strangler” Brennan is no small feat, given that he is a former mixed martial artist and BJJ competitor. Further, he has competed in organizations like the UFC, Pride, and Cage Rage while also being the former King of the Cage Middleweight Champion and Middleweight Superfight Champion. And having a father who has achieved so much in life has surely rubbed off on little Brennan.

Currently, a wrestler for Little Rock, he’s also a two-time state champion in high school, a Jiu-Jitsu world champion, and a folkstyle national champion. And if we look at his redshirt junior year, then he managed to win 8 out of his 13 duals and capped off the year with a record of 13-7 while being placed fourth at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships. So, it is safe to say that sooner or later, he might accomplish more and the recent setback is only temporary.

Another added, “A lot of us were wondering how this happened, but after getting more detailed information- this is not on Tyler Brennan and it’s really unfortunate that he was asked to come back, enrolled at school, wrestled the whole season and won conference to FINALLY qualify for big show, then this… LR & PAC12 both cleared him to wrestle- which is a gross oversight! This situation will never happen again, all goes back to the Covid year…”

Back in the first week of March, we saw how Brennan managed to win by a major decision in the Pac-12 finals over Oregan State’s Murphy Menke. What a moment it must’ve been for the wrestler but it was so short-lived, as it was around the same time that his eligibility was called into question. Further, he didn’t compete during the shortened 2021 season, which was considered a free year for all the NCAA athletes. Once the issue was raised, the NCAA deemed him ineligible after he poured his hard work out on the mat for the entire season.

Addressing the same, the head coach Neil Erisman said, “Tyler was certified as eligible to compete on two separate occasions during the current academic year, with both certifications ratified by the Pac-12 Conference. His eligibility was only called into question less than a week ago, after he had competed throughout the entire season..”

Another fan wrote, “It use to be that all rosters of all sports have to be cleared by each schools compliance department prior to the season and submitted to NCAA. I guess good ol NCAA is too busy defending lawsuits to oversee athletics anymore. Ridiculous that it got to this point. Sad for Tyler.”

The fan’s concern is genuine as previously, the school would look to clear their roster of different sports from the NCAA. And once they got the approval from the NCAA, a final list of the tournaments was released, seeding wrestlers based on rankings and past performances. But lately, it seems that the NCAA is too preoccupied with legal battles to oversee athletics properly.

However, the call overshadows Tyler’s hard work here. A fan states, “Not that I wish bad for Brennan, because he put I  th e work.” Another added, “This is total BS and ridiculous.  Brennan is a high character kid who will accomplish a lot more in life that the petty losers trying to bring him down.”

Well, indeed, Tyler has showcased his worth and has proven time and again that he is deserving. But this kind of sabotage remains a big blow for Tyler and his fans. It’s now to see how things unfold in the following days!