The top three team finishers from the 2017 NCAA Division I wrestling tournament will be represented at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Southern Scuffle.
The list is headed by Penn State, which returns to the tournament after a one-year hiatus. Ohio State and Oklahoma State, which finished second and third behind Penn State, also will have wrestlers competing in the Jan. 1-2 tournament at McKenzie Arena.
Oklahoma State set a tournament scoring record to win last year's Scuffle with 198 points.
While Cornell and Missouri, regular visitors at past tournaments, will be among those missing this season's competition, the field is still loaded with the likes of Michigan, Lehigh, Virginia, North Carolina State, Northern Iowa and Stanford, each of which finished in the top 25 at the NCAA tournament.
Others in the Scuffle field include Air Force, Appalachian State, Cal State-Bakersfield, The Citadel, Cleveland State, Drexel, Duke, Gardner-Webb, George Mason, Hofstra, Lock Haven, Navy, Northern Colorado and Utah Valley.
There is the possibility of seven champions, 21 All-Americans and 70 qualifiers from last year's NCAA event being among the field.
"We're excited about the field, the quality of competition we're bringing to Chattanooga," UTC coach Heath Eslinger said. "This is going to be another great year for the Scuffle."
UTC finished 11th in last year's 23-team field, which included 10 of the country's top 25 teams.
"It was a great tournament and another outstanding showcase for collegiate wrestling," Eslinger said.
While the Mocs graduated a couple of starters (heavyweight Jared Johnson, 174-pound Sean Mappes), they have two standouts coming off redshirt seasons who already have been welcomed back. Scottie Boykin will be back at 197 pounds and Michael Pongracz should be at 141 or 149. Other key returners are Alonzo Allen (125), Chris DeBien (133), Zach Shareef (149), Dominic Lampe (165), Bryce Carr (174) and Justin Lampe (174/184).
Among UTC freshman is Sammy Evans, a four-time high school All-American who finished his prep career at Alcoa with a 177-5 career record.
The Mocs' coaching staff also got a boost with the return of former head coach Ethan Reeve, whose teams won five Southern Conference championships during his time at UTC (1985-90). Reeve was a two-time NCAA All-American and a four-time Southeastern Conference champion at Tennessee.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him on Twitter @wardgossett.