Pitt Wrestling's Mac Stout Wins Seventh Place at NCAAs

Pitt Panthesr wrestler Mac Stout won Seventh Place at NCAAs.

Dominic Campbell | Mar 22, 2025

Pitt Wrestling 197-Pounder Mac Stout / Courtesy of Pitt Athletic

PHILADELPHIA — PItt Panthers redshirt sophomore Mac Stout finished his time at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Wells Fargo Center, as an All-American and in seventh place at 197 pounds.

Stout earned All-American status the day prior, as he won his Blood Round match, but still had a seventh place match vs. No. 20 Nebraska freshman Caleb McDanel in the morning.

He showed his dominance throughout the bout, with three takedowns en rotue to a 12-3 major decision after riding time.

“Finishing with a win is huge," Stout said after the match. "I feel like that one I just kind of kept telling myself I was doing that one for myself. That one wasn’t for really anybody but kind of my self pride. Finishing with a W and yeah, just kind of on a positive note. It’s a good way to cap off the year. Finishing with the win is definitely important, especially with the win.”

Stout faced a difficult journey throughout the NCAA Championships. After winning a 12-0 major decision over No. 27 Cornell freshman Michael Dellagata in the First Roudn, he would face his brother, No. 11 Princeton senior Luke Stout in the Round of 16.

He would overcome his brother for a 4-2 decision, marking the first time brothers faced off in the NCAA Championships at the Division I level.

“Yeah, I’d say the peak of the emotion was definitely after I wrestled my brother, before, during and after and after that, it all kind of felt a bit easier," Stout said. "We talked about it and I think that we’ll be able to wrestle more freely now that’s out of the way. So yeah, getting that out of the way was the key and after that it was kind of like, “Okay, nothing else to worry about.” Not worried about wrestling my brother and it was kind of just wrestling from here, doing what I know.”

Stout then battled No. 3 Cal State Bakersfield redshirt sophomore AJ Ferrari in the Quarterfinals, losing 2-0 on riding time, which sent him into the Blood Round.

He would get his win,a 4-2 decision over No. 7 Northern Iowa redshirt sophomore Wyatt Voelker, which earned All-American status. He had a chance for a higher finish, but lost 4-1 in sudden victory vs. No. 12 Arkansas-Little Rock redshirt sophomore Stephen Little.

Stout wants more from himself, but still was proud of his effort and that he faced some great wrestlers along the way.

“Yeah, it feels good, feels like a long time coming," Stout said. "Lot of hard work definitely goes into that. It was a long journey, it felt like, but it paid off. Still climbing, definitely not satisfied, but overall, I’d say I was pretty happy with the way I competed. Bounced back from a few tough losses. It was a good bracket, tough competitors, so definitely not fully satisfied with my product, but pretty happy with my tournament.”

His expectations that he had for himself was winning a National Champion, but despite not finishing on top, he still believes it's a possibility for his final two seasons.

“I know that I’m capable of much more," Stout said. "I believe that I was capable to win it this year. I believe that. Didn’t go that way and that’s alright. Bounced back from that. Just building from here. It’s a process, trust in the process.”

This NCAA Championships was the first for Stout making to the third day, after losing in Session 3 last year in his first trip.

He sees this as even more experience for him heading into next season that he'll take and build upon.

“Oh yeah, it’s huge," Stout said. "Just like last year was for this year, it was just experience and it helped me grow for this year, helped me as a wrestler and as a person. So this year is more experience and got a few more wins under my belt like I was hoping to do. Obviously, like I said, not completely satisfied, but we’re building. We got some work to do, couple more years left, yeah.”

Stout almost had two of his Pitt teammates join him on the podium as an All-American, in No. 15 Luca Augustine at 174 pounds and No. 10 Dayton Pitzer at 285 pounds, but they lost their Blood Round matches and just missed out.

Despite their defeats, Stout has faith that his teammates will have an even better performance next season and that they'll improve as a team.

“Absolutely. It’s nothing but positive feedback. All of them had tough tournaments, great years tough and building from here. I believe that next year, we’ll have a few more guys on the podium and just keep moving from here. We have a good team, young and so I feel really good about where we are as a team.”

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Published Mar 22, 2025

DOMINIC CAMPBELL

Follow Dominic Campbell on Twitter.