Photo credit John Sachs
Finding the best wrestling shoes can be a difficult task. Everyone has their own preferences and some shoes work better for certain styles. There are many variables: grip strength, location of grip, weight, flexibility, split-sole vs. single sole, tightness, price, and durability to name a few. Lots of websites publish lists of the best wrestling shoes but those only represent the opinion of one person, and that writer’s preferences may not align with yours. To remove subjectivity on our end, we’ve compiled a list of the shoes worn by every member of the 2025 US National Team. We recommend to find the wrestler(s) whose style most closely aligns with your own and see what they wear. Links are included for most shoes, but keep in mind that some models and colorways are only available on the second-hand market.
The table has been updated to include the 2025 National Team, but the shoes worn by the 2024 and 2023 National Teams are still included below. Scroll to the bottom to check out some analysis of the brand distribution and the reasons for some changes year-over-year.
2025 US National Team
Men’s Freestyle
| Weight | Name | Shoe |
| 57kg | Spencer Lee | Rudis Deadpool |
| Luke Lilledahl | Asics JB Elite V2.0 | |
| Liam Cronin | Adidas Combat Speed 4 | |
| 61kg | Jax Forrest | Spartan Combat Dake |
| Vito Arujau | Spartan Combat Yianni | |
| Seth Gross | Asics Dan Gable Evo 3 | |
| 65kg | Real Woods | Puma x Noah Wrestling Boot |
| Joey McKenna | Asics Prime Attack (EX-EO) | |
| Marcus Blaze | Rudis Samurai Speed | |
| 70kg | PJ Duke | Nike Inflict 3 |
| Yianni Diakomihalis | Spartan Combat Yianni | |
| Ian Parker | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| 74kg | David Carr | Nike Inflict 3 |
| Mitchell Mesenbrink | Asics Dan Gable Evo 3 | |
| Jarrett Jacques | Nike Freek | |
| 79kg | Levi Haines | Nike Freek |
| Evan Wick | Asics Combat Speed 4 | |
| DJ Hamiti | Nike Inflict 4 | |
| 86kg | Zahid Valencia | Nike Freek |
| Kyle Dake | Spartan Combat Dake | |
| Carter Starocci | Asics Dan Gable Evo 3 | |
| 92kg | Trent Hidlay | Asics Dan Gable Evo 3 |
| Josh Barr | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| Aeoden Sinclair | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| 97kg | Kyle Snyder | Rudis KS Infinity Edge |
| Hayden Zilmer | Adidas Combat Speed 4 | |
| Jay Aiello | Rudis JB1 | |
| 125kg | Wyatt Hendrickson | CH Gear America’s Heavyweight |
| Trent HIlger | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| Demetrius Thomas | Nike Inflict 3 |
Next are the wrestling shoes worn by the members of the Women’s Freestyle US National Team
Women’s Freestyle
| Weight | Name | Shoe |
| 50kg | Audrey Jimenez | Asics Matflex 7 |
| Erin Golston | Adidas Adizero | |
| Kendra Ryan | Rudis SF-Tbilisi | |
| 53kg | Felicity Taylor | Nike Inflict 3 |
| Brianna Gonzalez | Nike Inflict 4 | |
| Sydney Petzinger | Asics Aggressor 4 | |
| 55kg | Cistelle Rodriguez | Rudis International |
| Everest Leydecker | Adidas Combat Speed 4 | |
| Ronna Gross | Asics Prime Attack (EX-EO) | |
| 57kg | Helen Maroulis | Custom |
| Amanda Martinez | Rudis SF-Tbilisi | |
| 59kg | Jacarra Winchester | Nike Inflict 3 |
| Abigail Nette | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| Alexis Janiak | Nike Inflict 4 | |
| 62kg | Adaugo Nwachukwu | Rudis JB1 |
| Kayla Miracle | Rudis Samurai Speed | |
| Alara Boyd | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| 65kg | Macey Kilty | Asics Matflex 7 |
| Aine Drury | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| Jennifer Page | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| 68kg | Kennedy Blades | Rudis Colt 3.0 |
| Brooklyn Hays | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| Latifah McBryde | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| 72kg | Alexandria Glaude | Adidas Combat Speed 4 |
| Amit Elor | Nike Inflict 3 | |
| Kaylynn Albrecht | Adidas Adizero | |
| 76kg | Kylie Welker | Rudis Alpha 2.0 |
| Dymond Guilford | NIke Tawa | |
| Yelena Makoyed | Nike Freek |
Below are the wrestling shoes worn by the members of the 2024 Men’s Freestyle US National Team
2024 US National Team
Men’s Freestyle
| Weight | Name | Shoe |
| 57kg | Spencer Lee | Rudis JB1 Black |
| Thomas Gilman | Asics Matcontrol 3 White/Blue | |
| Marcus Blaze | Asics Matflex 7 Black | |
| 65kg | Zain Retherford | Rudis SF-Tbilisi Rocky |
| Nick Lee | Asics EX-EO Black/Gold | |
| Joey Mckenna | Asics EX-EO White/Black | |
| 74kg | Kyle Dake | Spartan Combat Dake Black |
| Jason Nolf | Scraplife Ascend One Empire Chrome | |
| Mitchell Mesenbrink | Asics Dan Gable EVO 3 | |
| 86kg | Aaron Brooks | Nike Inflict White/Black |
| David Taylor | Nike Freek White/Black | |
| Trent Hidlay | Asics EX-EO Black/Gold | |
| 97kg | Kyle Snyder | Rudis KS Infinity Edge Rio |
| Isaac Trumble | Adidas Combat Speed 5 Red | |
| Kollin Moore | Rudis SF-Tbilisi 2.0 Black | |
| 125kg | Mason Parris | Nike Inflict Black |
| Hayden Zillmer | Adidas Tech Fall 2.0 White/Black | |
| Nick Gwiazdowski | Asics Dan Gable EVO 3 |
Next are the wrestling shoes worn by the members of the 2024 Women’s Freestyle US National Team
Women’s Freestyle
| Weight | Name | Shoe |
| 50kg | Sarah Hildebrandt | Rudis SF-Tbilisi 2.0 Cali Waves |
| Audrey Jimenez | Nike Inflict White/Gold | |
| Sage Mortimer | Scraplife Ascend One Tiger Eye | |
| 53kg | Dominique Parrish | Nike Inflict White/Red/Black |
| Haley Augello | Rudis Samurai Speed Emptiness | |
| Areana Villaescusa | Adidas Combat Speed 5 Red | |
| 57kg | Helen Maroulis | Nike Inflict White/Gold |
| Jacarra Winchester | Nike Inflict White/Gold (Custom) | |
| Alex Hedrick | Asics Split Elite Black | |
| 62kg | Kayla Miracle | Rudis Samurai Speed The Way |
| Macey Kilty | Scraplife Endurance Overdrive | |
| Adaugo Nwachukwu | Nike Inflict Tokyo SE | |
| 68kg | Amit Elor | Rudis Ninety-5 Spur |
| Forrest Molinari | Nike Freek White/Gold | |
| Alexandria Glaude | Asics Split Elite Black (Custom) | |
| 76kg | Kennedy Blades | Rudis Ninety-5 Pink Sky |
| Adeline Gray | Asics Aggressor 4 Tokyo | |
| Yelena Makoyed | Nike Freek White/Red |
Below are the wrestling shoes worn by the members of the 2023 Men’s Freestyle US National Team
2023 US National Team
Men’s Freestyle
Next are the wrestling shoes worn by the members of the 2023 Women’s Freestyle US National Team
Clearly it isn’t possible to declare a unanimous pair of best wrestling shoes. At the highest level, athletes are having success with a wide range of shoes. Nike, Asics, and Rudis are by far the biggest players in the space right now, making up 78% of the team collectively. Interestingly, Nike’s distribution shot up from ~27% over the last two years to over 40% in 2025. Another notable finding was the disappearance of Scraplife, who previously held a considerable market share.
We hope this helps you in your search of finding a pair of wrestling shoes. And always remember that the best wrestling shoes are the ones that feel right on you and give have the best mobility, flexibility, weight, and traction for the techniques you are executing.
