BALTIMORE, Md. (March 12, 2025) — The road to Kansas City just got a little more dramatic for Morgan State's Xavier Doolin. Following the NCAA's announcement of the 46 at-large selections for the 2025 Division I Wrestling Championships, Doolin's name surfaced as an alternate in the highly competitive 285-pound weight class.
While not guaranteed a spot on the championship mat just yet, this selection represents a significant achievement for the redshirt junior, showcasing his talent and dedication throughout the season. He now stands ready to seize any opportunity that may arise, prepared to step in and represent Morgan should a wrestler ahead of him be unable to compete. This alternate designation serves as a testament to Doolin's hard work and positions him one step closer to wrestling on the national stage.
With the announcement, the Eastern Intercolleagiete Wrestling Conference (EIWA) will send 28 athletes to the NCAA Division I Championships in Philadelphia on Thursday – Saturday (March 20-22).
Doolin will join EIWA Champions Sheldon Seymour (125), Logan Rozynski (157), Michael Beard (197) and Owen Trephan (285) on the biggest stage the sport has to offer in two weeks at the Wells Fargo Center. Diego Sotelo (125) also earned an alternate spot.
Doolin's has been a steady force in just his first season at Morgan. His dominance was on full display recently as he steamrolled through the EIWA consolation semifinals at 285. His match against LIU's Christopher Powell was a mere formality, lasting a mere 12 seconds before Doolin secured the fall, propelling him into the third-place match. His victory set the stage for a high-stakes showdown against No. 2 seeded Brady Colbert from Army West Point, however Doolin fell short and capped the tournament with a fourth place finish.
"I'm very proud of Xavier overcoming his injury and putting together a strong performance at the EIWA's," said Morgan Head Coach Kenny Monday, highlighting a key individual achievement.
Monday's pride extended to the entire team's performance, adding, "For our first appearance in the conference, the Bears showed incredible fight and resilience achieving three Top 8 finishes, all placing above their seeds."
'With Doolin being named an alternate for the NCAA tournament, if one of the wrestlers in the 33 man bracket are unable to compete, Doolin will fill that spot in the bracket,' signaling that the season may not yet be over for this determined wrestler.
The at-large selections join the 284 student-athletes that qualified through their conference tournament finishes over the weekend. The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, ratings percentage index, coaches ranking and conference tournament finish.
Seeding and brackets for this year's event will be revealed tomorrow, March 12, during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Selection Show on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET.
Visit http://ncaa.com/wrestling for more information about this year's championship.
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
