Following the Grand Prix Zagreb Open last weekend in Croatia, four Americans have received top-20 spots in United World Wrestling’s latest rankings. Overall, 14 United States athletes are ranked in their respective weight categories.
2024 Olympian/three-time World Team member Joe Rau (TMWC) comes in at #9, which is currently the highest placement for the US. The Illinois native did not compete in Zagreb; as such, Rau’s points yield is tethered to his performances from ’24.
The same is true for several others from Team USA — including Rau’s fellow Olympians Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP), Payton Jacobson (NYAC/NTS), and Adam Coon (NYAC/Cliff Keen WC). Bey sits in the 19th slot at 77 kg, Jacobson is 28th at 87, and Coon occupies #19 at heavyweight. Like Rau, neither Bey, Jacobson, or Coon competed in Zagreb, meaning that all of their ranking points are retroactive to last year. This is also the case for ’24 World rep Benji Peak (72 kg, Combat WC). Peak did appear in the Zagreb “Ranking Series” tournament and went 0-1 after a loss to recent Olympic/World champ Mohammadreza Geraei of Iran. But — Peak had accumulated ranking points by virtue of having wrestled in the Worlds this past October in Albania — where he finished 1-1, with his lone triumph coming at Geraei’s expense.
The second-highest-ranked American thus far in ’25 is Brady Koontz (TMWC/Dubuque RTC). Koontz, who was also on the ’24 non-Olympic World roster along with Peak, earned bronze in Zagreb thanks in large part to his drubbing of European champ Artium Deleanu (MDA) and now holds 12,200 points, good for #11 at 55 kg.
’12 Olympian/four-time World Teamer Ellis Coleman‘s (Army/WCAP) debut in his new weight class was a successful one. Coleman entered Zagreb in the 63 kg division and came away with bronze, and both of his wins were recorded against high-profile opponents (Moldovan Vitalie Eriomenco and Azer Ziya Babbashov, respectively). Coleman now owns 8,200 points, which puts him at #16 in the 63 kg World rankings.
Additional Ranking Notes
Although the Zagreb Grand Prix perhaps did not provide the duo with highlights to augment their resumes, brothers Max Black (60 kg, NMU/NTS) and U20 World silver Otto Black (63 kg, CTT/Hawkeye WC) are both ranked for the first time by UWW. Max is ranked 29th at 60 kilograms while Otto is #27 at 63.
UWW ranking points are distributed to athletes based upon the type of tournament (i.e., World Championships/Olympics, “Ranking Series” events, and continental championships), a wrestler’s placing in said tournaments, and the number of participants per bracket.
The full list of United States Greco-Roman athletes ranked by UWW can be viewed below.
UWW World Rankings | Team USA
February 2025
55 kg: Brady Koontz (TMWC/Dubuque RTC) — #11 (12,200 pts)
60 kg: Dalton Roberts (Army/WCAP) — #28 (3,075 pts)
60 kg: Max Black (NMU/NTS) — #29 (3,050 pts)
63 kg: Ellis Coleman (Army/WCAP) — #16 (8,200 pts)
63 kg: Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP) — #25 (3,800 pts)
63 kg: Otto Black (CTT/Hawkeye WC) — #27 (3,075 pts)
67 kg: Alex Sancho (Army/WCAP) — #26 (3,100 pts)
72 kg: Benji Peak (Combat WC) — #13 (10,450 pts)
77 kg: Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP) — #19 (7,000 pts)
82 kg: Jesse Porter (NYAC) — #23 (3,800 pts)
87 kg: Payton Jacobson (NYAC/NTS) — #28 (3,400 pts)
97 kg: Joe Rau (TMWC) — #9 (13,500 pts)
130 kg: Adam Coon (NYAC/Cliff Keen) — #19 (6,200 pts)
130 kg: Courtney Denzel Freeman (Marines) — #26 (3,800 pts)
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