CLEVELAND – Sun Devil Wrestling’s pair of All-Americans, redshirt sophomore Nicco Ruiz (165 pounds) and graduate student David Szuba (heavyweight), capped off the NCAA Championships as Ruiz placed fourth at 165 pounds and Szuba took seventh at heavyweight on Saturday at Rocket Arena.
Ruiz opened the day with a statement win in the consolation semifinals, knocking off reigning national runner-up and No. 2 seed Joey Blaze (Purdue) by a 2-1 decision. The victory marked Ruiz’s 13th ranked win of the season and advanced him to the bronze-medal match.
In the third-place bout, Ruiz fell to No. 12 Cesar Alvan (Columbia), 7-2. His fourth-place finish marks the second-best placement by a Sun Devil at 165 pounds in program history, trailing only Steve Blackford’s third-place finish in 2000.
As for Szuba, the graduate student closed out his career on a high note, earning All-American honors and finishing as the seventh-best heavyweight in the country after a 6-0 decision over No. 18 Christian Carroll (Wyoming).
Szuba’s performance extends Arizona State’s streak to seven consecutive seasons with an All-American at heavyweight and marks the ninth time in the past 10 seasons the program has produced an All-American in the weight class.
ASU finished 13th in the team standings with 36.5 points. The Sun Devils have now placed in the top 15 at the NCAA Championships nine times during head coach Zeke Jones’ tenure.
Sun Devils in the postseason under head coach Zeke Jones
Year | Conference | NCAAs
2025-26 | 3rd | 13th
2024-25 | 11th | T-18th
2023-24 | 1st | 6th
2022-23 | 4th | 7th
2021-22 | 1st | 4th
2020-21 | 1st | 4th
2019-20 | 1st | N/A (Ranked #4 in last poll)
2018-19 | 2nd | 12th
2017-18 | 1st | 10th
2016-17 | 1st | 14th
2015-16 | 2nd | 33rd
2014-15 | 2nd | 29th
All-Americans under Coach Jones (by year, weight, place)
Blake Stauffer, 2015 (184/4th)
Zahid Valencia, 2017 (174/3rd)
Tanner Hall, 2017 (HWT/3rd)
Zahid Valencia, 2018 (174/1st)
Josh Shields, 2018 (157/7th)
Jason Tsirtsis, 2018 (149/7th)
Zahid Valencia, 2019 (174/1st)
Josh Shields, 2019 (165/6th)
Christian Pagdilao, 2019 (157/7th)
Josh Shields, 2020* (165/First-Team)
Anthony Valencia, 2020* (174/First-Team)
Tanner Hall, 2020* (HWT/First-Team)
Brandon Courtney, 2020* (Second-Team)
Jacori Teemer, 2020* (Second-Team)
Kordell Norfleet, 2020* (Second-Team)
Brandon Courtney, 2021 (125/2nd)
Michael McGee, 2021 (133/6th)
Jacori Teemer, 2021 (157/4th)
Cohlton Schultz, 2021 (HWT/4th)
Anthony Valencia, 2021 (165/8th)
Brandon Courtney, 2022 (125/6th)
Michael McGee, 2022 (133/6th)
Kyle Parco, 2022 (149/8th)
Jacori Teemer, 2022 (157/6th)
Cohlton Schultz, 2022 (HWT/2nd)
Brandon Courtney, 2023 (125/3rd)
Michael McGee, 2023 (133/3rd)
Kyle Parco, 2023 (149/5th)
Cohlton Schultz, 2023 (HWT/7th)
Richard Figueroa, 2024 (125/1st)
Kyle Parco, 2024 (149/5th)
Jacori Teemer, 2024 (157/2nd)
Cohlton Schultz, 2024 (HWT/6th)
Cohlton Schultz, 2025 (HWT/3rd)
Nicco Ruiz, 2026 (165/4th)
David Szuba, 2026 (HWT/7th)
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