Obviously this was Pre-Iowa State De-commitments.....Pre-Lee Injury and before I saw Daton wrestle a few more times 
....trying to locate my updated version
Since I haven't seen any site ranking the 2017 NCAA Wrestling recruits......and I can't sleep.....I thought I would take a stab at it. I am certain mine will be different than most sites. I put a premium on guys who are projected to be high All Americans over a team that got a lot of guys ranked 40-80. So my scale is weighted towards the top 10...then 10-20...then 30-40....etc with a bigger drop off between 4 and 5 than between 44 and 45. Last year Ohio State had two guys that were in the top 10....first in their weight class but were rated behind Purdue and Iowa State who had zero top 20 guys and Nebraska, and Purdue that had only 1 top 10. I would have had Ohio State 4th....not 8th. Anyway....here is what I came up with...........Cornell and Iowa were pretty much deadlocked with Iowa State as far as overall points ....but Cornell got the #2 and #4 ranked wrestlers while Iowa got #1 and #8. I go with Iowa because they got Spencer Lee. If there is such a thing as a "Sure Thing"....he gets my vote. So call them 1 and 1A if you want. Iowa State got #9 and #14...plus two other top 50 guys so they get my #3. After these 3 there is a pretty big drop off. I give Penn State the #4 spot for landing #5 Nick Lee and #7 Brady Berge. That is their only incoming recruits this year....but they are good ones. This rating is conditional on Berge....who is the top rated 160 lb wrestler entering his senior year.....says he will red-shirt and wrestle at 149lb in 2018-2019. Wow. Just remember Mason Manville was top rated at 152lbs. last year and over the summer wrestled at 80 Kg ( 176lbs. ) Where is he going to fit in? Anyway..I digress. I have Ok. State at #5 because they got #3 rated Daton Fix as well as another top 30. Ohio State I slot in at #6 for getting #6 and #23. Now comes Oklahoma at #7. I am sure others will have them higher because they got 7 wrestlers in the top 90....more than anyone. But their highest rated is #28....so while this makes them a much tougher dual meet team......will it transfer to NCAA points? I am guessing not as much. After #7 there is another drop-off to the next 5. Here is my top 12. I should Mention Navy had a good year recruiting and would probably break the top 10....but I kinda focused on the "National Powers" that will be in the running for Championships. Keep in mind that schools like NC State don't even show in the top 12 ...but they had the #1 ranked class last year and had few scholarships this year....still a great team. I am guessing that 5 of the top six in next year's recruiting will be the top 5 schools this year.....so the good keep getting better. I am not certain Cornell will be a top 5 team this year but they certainly will continue to be strong in the years to come........It will be interesting to see how this compares to the experts:
1. Iowa.........................#1, 8, 51, 87
2. Cornell.....................#2, 4, 68, 81
3. Iowa State................#9, 14, 30, 48
4. Penn State................#5, 7
5 Oklahoma State........#3, 31
6. Ohio State.................#6, 23
7. Oklahoma..................#28, 33, 41, 54, 56, 70, 89
8. Michigan....................#24, 43, 45, 52
9. Nebraska...................#10, 20, 85
10.North Carolina..........#25, 37, 69, 74, 82
11.Virginia Tech.............#21, 49, 61, 88
12.Missouri.....................#34, 57
UPDATED VERSION: Before McKenna and Lugo announced Sorry its so long.
Last November I took a stab at rating the top wrestling recruiting classes for 2017. Since then there have been numerous de-commitments and transfers with a few more likely in the near future. Some wrestlers moved up the rankings and others dropped So I decided to update my rankings. To review I had listed them as such: ( Can you tell I am bored and still awake?
Since I posted that Iowa State has had 3 top recruits de-commit. One went to Minnesota...One to Ohio State and the other to Penn State. DII Champion at 165 Isaiah White transferred to Nebraska. Te'shan Campbell ( 165 ) transferred from Pitt to Ohio State and Cory Keener ( 133 ) came to Penn State. So....my new ratings are as such:
1. Iowa...still Anytime you get a lifetime 125 lb. wrestler who happens to be one of the best to ever step on a Pa. mat AND the #1 197lber and a solid heavyweight ( The 3 hardest weights to fill with quality ) plus a local Pa. guy....you win.
2. Cornell For all the same reasons as before
3. Ohio State Close call with Penn State but the kicker for me is Te'Shan Campbell. His record as a sophomore was 22-4. Yes he lost to Joseph 9-5 but he is one of the most athletically gifted 165 lbers in the country and fills a dead spot in Ohio State's lineup. Big get. If they also get Joey McKenna.....all holes are filled.
4. Penn State. They added Verkleeren and Keener since November. Not exactly sure where Verleeren fits in yet. Keener is a 133 that has graduated.....never scored more than 2.5 points at NCAAs Not an Earth Shattering addition but helpful.
5. Oklahoma State....they got FIX ....a top 4 ( or higher ) threat as soon as he steps on the mat plus a couple others
6. Nebraska.....Big move up after getting Isaiah White....very talented. Every dual meet in the Big 10 will have a Marquee match-up at 165 next year. Can't wait
7. Oklahoma and everyone else moves up one spot as Iowa State plummets.
It looks like the best will stay the best for a while. Should be exciting to watch. Also...keep an eye on where McKenna and Lugo end up if they decide to transfer. That could decide who the NCAA favorite will be next year.
....trying to locate my updated versionSince I haven't seen any site ranking the 2017 NCAA Wrestling recruits......and I can't sleep.....I thought I would take a stab at it. I am certain mine will be different than most sites. I put a premium on guys who are projected to be high All Americans over a team that got a lot of guys ranked 40-80. So my scale is weighted towards the top 10...then 10-20...then 30-40....etc with a bigger drop off between 4 and 5 than between 44 and 45. Last year Ohio State had two guys that were in the top 10....first in their weight class but were rated behind Purdue and Iowa State who had zero top 20 guys and Nebraska, and Purdue that had only 1 top 10. I would have had Ohio State 4th....not 8th. Anyway....here is what I came up with...........Cornell and Iowa were pretty much deadlocked with Iowa State as far as overall points ....but Cornell got the #2 and #4 ranked wrestlers while Iowa got #1 and #8. I go with Iowa because they got Spencer Lee. If there is such a thing as a "Sure Thing"....he gets my vote. So call them 1 and 1A if you want. Iowa State got #9 and #14...plus two other top 50 guys so they get my #3. After these 3 there is a pretty big drop off. I give Penn State the #4 spot for landing #5 Nick Lee and #7 Brady Berge. That is their only incoming recruits this year....but they are good ones. This rating is conditional on Berge....who is the top rated 160 lb wrestler entering his senior year.....says he will red-shirt and wrestle at 149lb in 2018-2019. Wow. Just remember Mason Manville was top rated at 152lbs. last year and over the summer wrestled at 80 Kg ( 176lbs. ) Where is he going to fit in? Anyway..I digress. I have Ok. State at #5 because they got #3 rated Daton Fix as well as another top 30. Ohio State I slot in at #6 for getting #6 and #23. Now comes Oklahoma at #7. I am sure others will have them higher because they got 7 wrestlers in the top 90....more than anyone. But their highest rated is #28....so while this makes them a much tougher dual meet team......will it transfer to NCAA points? I am guessing not as much. After #7 there is another drop-off to the next 5. Here is my top 12. I should Mention Navy had a good year recruiting and would probably break the top 10....but I kinda focused on the "National Powers" that will be in the running for Championships. Keep in mind that schools like NC State don't even show in the top 12 ...but they had the #1 ranked class last year and had few scholarships this year....still a great team. I am guessing that 5 of the top six in next year's recruiting will be the top 5 schools this year.....so the good keep getting better. I am not certain Cornell will be a top 5 team this year but they certainly will continue to be strong in the years to come........It will be interesting to see how this compares to the experts:
1. Iowa.........................#1, 8, 51, 87
2. Cornell.....................#2, 4, 68, 81
3. Iowa State................#9, 14, 30, 48
4. Penn State................#5, 7
5 Oklahoma State........#3, 31
6. Ohio State.................#6, 23
7. Oklahoma..................#28, 33, 41, 54, 56, 70, 89
8. Michigan....................#24, 43, 45, 52
9. Nebraska...................#10, 20, 85
10.North Carolina..........#25, 37, 69, 74, 82
11.Virginia Tech.............#21, 49, 61, 88
12.Missouri.....................#34, 57
UPDATED VERSION: Before McKenna and Lugo announced Sorry its so long.
Last November I took a stab at rating the top wrestling recruiting classes for 2017. Since then there have been numerous de-commitments and transfers with a few more likely in the near future. Some wrestlers moved up the rankings and others dropped So I decided to update my rankings. To review I had listed them as such: ( Can you tell I am bored and still awake?
Since I posted that Iowa State has had 3 top recruits de-commit. One went to Minnesota...One to Ohio State and the other to Penn State. DII Champion at 165 Isaiah White transferred to Nebraska. Te'shan Campbell ( 165 ) transferred from Pitt to Ohio State and Cory Keener ( 133 ) came to Penn State. So....my new ratings are as such:
1. Iowa...still Anytime you get a lifetime 125 lb. wrestler who happens to be one of the best to ever step on a Pa. mat AND the #1 197lber and a solid heavyweight ( The 3 hardest weights to fill with quality ) plus a local Pa. guy....you win.
2. Cornell For all the same reasons as before
3. Ohio State Close call with Penn State but the kicker for me is Te'Shan Campbell. His record as a sophomore was 22-4. Yes he lost to Joseph 9-5 but he is one of the most athletically gifted 165 lbers in the country and fills a dead spot in Ohio State's lineup. Big get. If they also get Joey McKenna.....all holes are filled.
4. Penn State. They added Verkleeren and Keener since November. Not exactly sure where Verleeren fits in yet. Keener is a 133 that has graduated.....never scored more than 2.5 points at NCAAs Not an Earth Shattering addition but helpful.
5. Oklahoma State....they got FIX ....a top 4 ( or higher ) threat as soon as he steps on the mat plus a couple others
6. Nebraska.....Big move up after getting Isaiah White....very talented. Every dual meet in the Big 10 will have a Marquee match-up at 165 next year. Can't wait
7. Oklahoma and everyone else moves up one spot as Iowa State plummets.
It looks like the best will stay the best for a while. Should be exciting to watch. Also...keep an eye on where McKenna and Lugo end up if they decide to transfer. That could decide who the NCAA favorite will be next year.
Last edited:
