OUTLOOK: Raymond Jordan looks to defend his Big 12 title at 184 pounds and capture his first All-America honors at the 2008 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. One of six returning NCAA qualifiers on the Tiger roster, Jordan is also one of four team captains.

"Raymond has grown up as both a wrestler and an individual," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "He's a leader on the mat, in the classroom and in the community. Not many people know this, but Raymond is the secretary of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. This makes the third season in which we've had a wrestler hold office in SAAC. Raymond's maturity and work ethic have grown exponentially over the past three years and we expect, and he expects, to be at the top of the podium by the end of the year."

2006-07: Making his second appearance at the NCAA Championships, Jordan was 2-2 in the three-day tournament, winning his first two matches before dropping back-to-back losses. Jordan, seeded fifth, opened the first day of competition with a 4-2 decision over Trevor Brandvole of Wisconsin and followed with a 3-2 victory over Rocco Caponi of UVA. Jordan's first loss came to Tyrel Todd, Michigan's fourth-seeded grappler at 184 pounds, by a score of 8-3. In Jordan's final match of the tournament, he lost by a score of 6-3 to eventual All-American Louis Caputo of Harvard. Before traveling to Auburn Hills for the NCAA's, Jordan improved on his second place Big 12 finish from one year prior by earning his first Conference title, March 3 in Columbia, Mo. Jordan collected the 184-pound title after besting Jake Varner (Iowa State), 4-3. Earlier in the day, Jordan earned his second win of the season by technical fall, winning 19-4 in 6:12 over Josh Hinton of Oklahoma. Jordan was one of two Tiger starters to finish the campaign with a perfect dual record against league opponents. Jordan, 4-0, won two of his Big 12 bouts by major decision (Levi Wofford, Nebraska and Joshua Hinton of Oklahoma) and two by two-point decisions. Jordan suffered only four losses on the season prior to the NCAA tournament, two coming to higher ranked opponents. Jordan carried a 21-match win streak throughout his sophomore campaign, with eight of his 21 wins decided by eight or more points and two ending early by way of fall. Jordan's streak began Dec. 9 with an 11-8 decision over Christian Sinnott of Central Michigan. Jordan finished as high as first in tournament competition (Missouri Open), also taking second at the Southern Scuffle and sixth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

2005-06: One of seven Tigers to qualify for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Jordan went 2-2 at the three-day tournament. In his first NCAA appearance, Jordan suffered a one-point loss to Paul Bradley of Iowa but rebounded with a 7-1 decision over Eastern Illinois' Greg Perz and 10-5 decision over Greg Gifford of Fresno State. In what became his final bout of the tournament, Jordan fell 7-2 to Alex Camargo of Kent State. Jordan earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships after finishing second at 184 pounds in the Big 12 Championships in Ames, Iowa. Besting then No. 11 Vince Jones of Nebraska (11-10), Jordan advanced to the title bout where he fell 4-2 to then No. 6 Kurt Backes. Jordan finished his campaign with a 10-8 record against ranked opponents, upsetting No. 2 Paul Bradley (Iowa) and No. 8 C.B. Dalloway (Arizona State) in back-to-back wins at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jan. 14 and 15. Making his collegiate wrestling dual debut Nov. 11 against Larry Ozowara of Stanford, Jordan pinned the Cardinal in 3:59. Jordan held a six-match win streak between Nov. 13 and Dec. 2, in which he won three bouts over two nationally ranked opponents. During the course of the season, Jordan claimed the Missouri Open title, taking third at the Central Missouri State University (CMSU) Open, eighth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and fifth at the Southern Scuffle.

2004-05: Wrestling in open meets during his redshirt season, Jordan began his collegiate career in impressive fashion, winning his first eight matches. Jordan placed in the top six in each of the six tournaments he wrestled, winning the Lindenwood Open, Nov. 4. The 165-pound wrestler began the University of Northern Iowa Open, Dec. 5 by pinning his first three opponents before dropping his next two matches and finishing in fifth place. Jordan's second loss of the day was in an impressive one-point match against Nick Baima of Northern Iowa (No.12).

HIGH SCHOOL: A member of the New Bern High School wrestling team in New Bern, N.C., Jordan was coached by Tom Marsh and wrestled at 171 pounds. A three-time high school champion (2002-2003-2004), Jordan finished third as a freshman in 2001 and totaled 200 wins. Twice selected as the Most Outstanding Wrestler for New Bern (2002 and 2003), Jordan defeated several of the nation's top-ranked wrestlers and claimed 4A state titles his sophomore (2002) junior (2003) and senior (2004) seasons. Jordan received Most Outstanding Wrestler honors at the 4A state championships his junior (2003) and senior (2004) seasons. Additionally, Jordan was the only wrestler to win both the Roy Heverly and James Johnson Awards in eastern North Carolina. Jordan was a member of the Bear honor roll and earned four letters while competing in wrestling and track.

PERSONAL: Born May 24, 1986, in Newark, N.J., Jordan has one brother Earl (23) and one sister Jasmine (19). Jordan is a personal finance major with a minor in business.