The 2025 NWCA All-Star Classic presented by Nike Wrestling will take place on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at 7:00 pm (ET) in Jersey Mike's Arena on the campus of Rutgers University.

This event can be viewed only on FloWrestling and will feature 10 highly ranked Division 1 folkstyle matchups, along with four cross-divisional women’s freestyle matches and one D2 vs D3 men’s match.

The 197-pound match will take place between returning All-Americans #3 Joey Novak out of Wyoming and Little Rock Sophomore Stephen Little. This will be the third meeting between Novak and Little, with each wrestler holding one win in the rivalry. Check out the article below for a full preview and prediction of 

Joey Novak, Wyoming

Novak’s College Stats:

• Pre-Season Rank: #3
• 50-20 College Record
• 2025 NCAA All-American (5th Place)

Stephen Little, Little Rock

Little's College Stats:

• Pre-Season Rank: #4
• 48-10 College Record
• Two-Time NCAA All-American (7th in 2024 & 6th in 2025)

Breaking Down The Rivalry

• 2025 NCAA Tournament - Joey Novak over Stephen Little, 8-0
• 2024 NCAA Tournament - Stephen Little over Joey Novak, 13-5

Highlights of Novak's win over Little:

Stephen Little and Joey Novak have only met twice in their college careers, with both of these matches taking place at the last two NCAA Tournaments. Little and Novak have traded major decision wins in each of these two matches, but breaking down how these matches played out shows they’re two evenly matched competitors.

In their first match, Little took an early lead over Novak with a first period takedown off a reattack. Novak used escapes in the first and second periods to close the lead to 3-2 entering the third period. Little chose neutral in the third period and again scored off a reattack with just a minute left in the match to extend his lead. Novak wrestled recklessly in the final minute and surrendered three takedowns to give Litle the major decision victory.

Their second match played out much differently, with Novak striking first by winning a scramble off of Little’s shot. Novak then rode for the remainder of the period to take one minute and seventeen seconds of riding time into the second period. Little again chose neutral in the second period, but Novak again countered Little’s shot to extend his lead to 6-0. Then, Novak rode Little out and accumulated over two minutes of riding time heading into the third period. Novak chose bottom and escaped to build his lead to 7-0. Little was unable to secure a takedown, and Novak added another point off riding time to earn the 8-0 major decision victory. 

So, who has the edge at the All-Star Classic? The two vastly different outcomes make this match incredibly challenging to predict, and I’d be surprised if we see another major decision. I expect this match to be much closer and decided by a takedown or less. The case for Little is that he’s consistently shown he can get to Novak’s legs. If he’s able to tighten up his finishing, Little could walk away with the victory at the All-Star. 

While I expect it to be close, I give the edge to Little in this match. He’s made significant improvements since his loss to Novak, and I think this style matchup favors Novak. Novak has a proven edge both in scramble positions and on top. Little hasn’t proven he can generate offense in this matchup outside of counterattacks, and he’s never earned an escape in the matchup (other than being let up by Novak). To me, this shows Little has more ways to win, and if he doesn’t force any attacks, I expect him to win at the All-Star Classic. 

Prediction: Joey Novak over Stephen Little, 5-3

2025 NWCA All-Star Classic Bout Order

Women’s Matches

138 lbs - #1 Zaynah McBryde, Life vs  #1 Katie Lange, Grand Valley

145 lbs -  #1 Esther Kolawole, William Penn vs  #2 Reese Larramendy, Iowa

160 lbs -  #1 Latifah McBryde, Life  vs  #1 (145) Bella Mir, North Central

117 lbs -  #2 Salyna Shotwell vs  #1 Sage Mortimer, Grand Valley

D2 vs D3 Match

141lbs - #1 Mark Samuel, Roanoke vs #1 Khyvon Grace, West Liberty

NCAA D1 Men’s Matches

149lbs - #5 Casey Swiderski, Oklahoma State vs #3 Lachlan McNeil, Michigan

174lbs - #3 Simon Ruiz, Cornell vs #8 Lenny Pinto, Rutgers

197lbs - #3 Joey Novak, Wyoming vs #4 Stephen Little, Little Rock

125lbs - #4 Eddie Ventresca, VA Tech vs #5 Sheldon Seymour, Lehigh

157lbs - #5 Ty Watters, West Virginia  vs #4  Daniel Cardenas,  Stanford

165lbs - #4 Hunter Garvin,  Stanford vs #7 Max Brignola, Lehigh

184lbs - #4 Jaxon Smith, Maryland vs #7 Zack Ryder, Oklahoma State

285lbs - #3  Yonger Bastida , Iowa  State vs #4 Taye Ghadiali , Michigan

133lbs - #1 Lucas Byrd, Illinois vs #7 Dylan Shawver, Rutgers

141lbs - #7 Anthony Echemendia , Iowa State vs #1 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State