Rutgers Wrestling Recruiting #3 in the Country
- Thread starter HeavenUniv.
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The WIN Magazine #3 Ranking was from early December 2015. The other rankings from Flow and Intermat (both #9) were more recent and after State and National Championship Tournaments in 2016.
I would be curious if WIN would keep the #3 ranking now. I am sure other recruits committed to schools after December which would impact the rankings. I would also bet that State/National tourney results affected individual recruit rankings.
Needless to say, still a great job!
Clearscreen25 is correct about the WIN rankings. They are outdated. Flo and InterMat have us at # 9 which is about right. While next year we may drop in the dual meet rankings, we should remain near the Top 10 in the long term. To be a top 10 or better tournament team, we need our share of top out of state recruits. Here are the InterMat rankings.
1. North Carolina State
2. Penn State
3. Iowa State
4. Iowa
5. Lehigh
6. Nebraska
7. Purdue
8. Minnesota
9. Rutgers
1. North Carolina State
Top 100 recruits: No. 9 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 13 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa.), No. 18 Trent Bullard (Archer, Ga.), No. 42 Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) and No. 75 Tariq Wilson (Steubenville, Ohio)
Other ranked recruits: Tommy Cox (Deer Park, N.Y.) and Chris Diaz (Archer, Ga.)
Additional notable recruits: Three-time state champion Kellen Devlin (Amherst, N.Y.), NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Codi Russell (Collins Hill, Ga.) and Super 32 placer Wade Cummings (Downington East, Pa.)
Commentary: This is the second straight year that a non-traditional program has earned the top recruiting class ranking, following Arizona State last year. The Wolfpack have the momentum of a most excellent 2015-16 regular season that included dual meet wins at Oklahoma State and Iowa. This recruiting haul further validates the work that Pat Popolizio and his assistants have done in Raleigh over a short period of time. Middleweights are abound with Hidlay, Reenan and the Bullard's; while lowerweights are addressed by Wilson, Cox, and the three lesser heralded but notable recruits.
2. Penn State
Top 100 recruits: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 2 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 7 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and No. 92 A.J. Nevills (Clovis, Calif.)
Commentary: Penn State just won a national title, their fifth in six years, and has three of the nation's top ten recruits coming to Happy Valley in the fall. Somehow I think things will be just fine for the Nittany Lions despite not getting the No. 1 recruiting class, which was driven by the quantity of quality recruits in the haul that North Carolina State brought in. Suriano will probably be called into immediate service at 125 where he becomes an All-American contender, Hall and Manville will become assets in the middle of the Penn State lineup sooner rather than later, and Nevills provides quality depth in the upperweights. Penn State returns three of their five national finalists in 2016-17, and will replace Conaway in the lineup at 133 with impact transfer Jered Cortez.
3. Iowa State
Top 100 recruits: No. 14 Samuel Colbray (Hermiston, Ore.), No. 43 Gannon Gremmel (Dubuque Hempstead, Iowa), No. 45 Kanen Storr (Leslie, Mich.), No. 72 Ian Parker (St. Johns, Mich.) and No. 76 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.)
Additional notable recruits: State champion Trey Meyer (East Valley, Wash.) and three-time state champion Zemua Baptista (Friend, Neb.)
Commentary: With the slight scrutiny that the Cyclones coaching staff is facing on a year-to-year basis, bringing in strong recruits is one way to head it off. The other is obviously strong dual meet performances and success at the NCAAs in terms of All-Americans and team finish. Five top 100 recruits is joint most for 2016 with North Carolina State. Colbray and Gremmel have the potential to be cogs in the Cyclones' machine at 197 and 285 for a few years, Vega the same as a career 125, while Storr and Parker provide potential in the lower-middleweights.
4. Iowa
Top 100 recruits: No. 3 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), No. 26 Kaleb Young (Punxsatawney, Pa.), No. 36 Carter Happel (Lisbon, Iowa) and No. 83 Jack Wagner (Bettendorf, Iowa)
Additional notable recruits: Three-time state champion Brock Rathbun (Cedar Point-Urbana, Iowa) and state champion Matt Malcom (Glenwood, Iowa)
Commentary: Falling outside of the top four trophies for the first time in the Tom Brands era stoked the fire for fans across the sport of wrestling about the Hawkeyes' program, regardless of where one falls in the Iowa spectrum (fan, non-fan, etc). Since the top-ranked recruiting class in 2012, it has been three successive recruiting years outside the top ten prior to this one. This group -- along with the verbal commitments of elite 2017 and 2018 prospects -- provides a clear marker that Iowa remains a collegiate wrestling force to be reckoned with. Of interest here is that Marinelli and Happel are both four-time state champions.
5. Lehigh
Top 100 recruits: No. 10 Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa.), No. 15 Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), No. 19 Chris Weiler (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and No. 80 John Jakobsen (Stroudsburg, Pa.)
Additional notable recruits: Junior National freestyle All-American Nick Farro (Delbarton, N.J.) and two-time state placer Kyle Gentile (Pennridge, Pa.)
Commentary: Local recruiting is the lifeblood of Lehigh's program, and an excellent base has enabled Pat Santoro to bring in yet another ranked class. Five of the six core recruits in this Mountain Hawks recruiting class are in-state wrestlers, while the other is from across the river in New Jersey; this includes two wrestlers from District XI itself (Karam and Jakobsen).
6. Nebraska
Top 100 recruits: No. 5 Chad Red (New Palestine, Ind.), No. 12 Beau Breske (Hartford Union, Wis.) and No. 40 Eric Schultz (Tinley Park, Ill.)
Other ranked recruits: Luke Weber (Forsyth, Mont.) and Taylor Venz (Owatonna, Minn.)
Additional notable recruit: Two-time state champion Johnny Blankenship (Platte County, Mo.)
Commentary: In recent years, Mark Manning's Huskers have been noted for having a very balanced lineup, which culminated in all ten wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA tournament based on finish in the Big Ten tournament; furthermore each and every wrestler won two or more matches at the NCAA tournament. In order to achieve that type of lineup, it takes strong recruiting. This class is another example of that; Red is an elite lower-middleweight, while Breske and Schultz fit that description for upperweights. The other three core recruits have strong potential as well.
7. Purdue
Top 100 recruits: No. 17 Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.), No. 27 Shawn Streck (Merrillville, Ind.) and No. 84 Christian Brunner (Dundee-Crown, Ill.)
Other ranked recruits: Devin Schroder (Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Mich.) and Kobe Woods (Penn, Ind.)
Commentary: Rebuilding a program in college wrestling is a process that takes time, especially at a relatively off-brand program, a billing that describes the Boilermakers. They are competing in the nation's toughest conference, Big Ten, and face a tough battle in terms of talent procurement. However, in two years at the helm Tony Ersland has laid a solid foundation. This year's recruiting class a crucial tone setting piece of that. The three top 100 recruits need to reach their potential and beome lynchpin pieces if the Boilermakers are going to creep into the upper half of the Big Ten and get to earning multiple All-Americans at the NCAA tournament yearly.
8. Minnesota
Top 100 recruits: No. 20 Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 48 Owen Webster (Shakopee, Minn.) and No. 50 Hunter Marko (Amery, Wis.)
Other ranked recruit: Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.)
Commentary: The Gophers' 2010 recruiting class was the top-ranked group of that year, and then there were four straight groups outside the top ten. This somewhat explains the relative struggles of the 2015-16 season, finishing in the lower half of the Big Ten tournament standings, and a finish outside the top 15 at the NCAA tournament. However, a second straight top ten recruiting class should enable the Gophers to return to their perennial status of the upper reaches of the Big Ten standings and the top ten at the NCAA tournament.
9. Rutgers
Top 100 recruits: No. 34 Matt Correnti (Holy Cross, N.J.), No. 44 Kevin Mulligan (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) and No. 62 Joe Grello (Bergen Catholic, N.J.)
Other ranked recruits: Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio), Mike Van Brill (Clearview Regional, N.J.) and Brett Donner (Wall Township, N.J.)
Additional notable recruit: Two-time state runner-up Brandon Paetzell (Phillipsburg, N.J.)
Commentary: The Garden State provides a fertile in-state recruiting base for head coach Scott Goodale and his Scarlet Knights. Three consecutive seasons with an All-American, and now a season with multiple All-American finishers, helps to validate the development work that has went into the program during Goodale's reign. Of the seven core wrestlers in this class, six are in-state wrestlers. In addition, the six weight class ranked recruits is the second most this year (North Carolina State has seven).
1. North Carolina State
2. Penn State
3. Iowa State
4. Iowa
5. Lehigh
6. Nebraska
7. Purdue
8. Minnesota
9. Rutgers
1. North Carolina State
Top 100 recruits: No. 9 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 13 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa.), No. 18 Trent Bullard (Archer, Ga.), No. 42 Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) and No. 75 Tariq Wilson (Steubenville, Ohio)
Other ranked recruits: Tommy Cox (Deer Park, N.Y.) and Chris Diaz (Archer, Ga.)
Additional notable recruits: Three-time state champion Kellen Devlin (Amherst, N.Y.), NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Codi Russell (Collins Hill, Ga.) and Super 32 placer Wade Cummings (Downington East, Pa.)
Commentary: This is the second straight year that a non-traditional program has earned the top recruiting class ranking, following Arizona State last year. The Wolfpack have the momentum of a most excellent 2015-16 regular season that included dual meet wins at Oklahoma State and Iowa. This recruiting haul further validates the work that Pat Popolizio and his assistants have done in Raleigh over a short period of time. Middleweights are abound with Hidlay, Reenan and the Bullard's; while lowerweights are addressed by Wilson, Cox, and the three lesser heralded but notable recruits.
2. Penn State
Top 100 recruits: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 2 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 7 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and No. 92 A.J. Nevills (Clovis, Calif.)
Commentary: Penn State just won a national title, their fifth in six years, and has three of the nation's top ten recruits coming to Happy Valley in the fall. Somehow I think things will be just fine for the Nittany Lions despite not getting the No. 1 recruiting class, which was driven by the quantity of quality recruits in the haul that North Carolina State brought in. Suriano will probably be called into immediate service at 125 where he becomes an All-American contender, Hall and Manville will become assets in the middle of the Penn State lineup sooner rather than later, and Nevills provides quality depth in the upperweights. Penn State returns three of their five national finalists in 2016-17, and will replace Conaway in the lineup at 133 with impact transfer Jered Cortez.
3. Iowa State
Top 100 recruits: No. 14 Samuel Colbray (Hermiston, Ore.), No. 43 Gannon Gremmel (Dubuque Hempstead, Iowa), No. 45 Kanen Storr (Leslie, Mich.), No. 72 Ian Parker (St. Johns, Mich.) and No. 76 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.)
Additional notable recruits: State champion Trey Meyer (East Valley, Wash.) and three-time state champion Zemua Baptista (Friend, Neb.)
Commentary: With the slight scrutiny that the Cyclones coaching staff is facing on a year-to-year basis, bringing in strong recruits is one way to head it off. The other is obviously strong dual meet performances and success at the NCAAs in terms of All-Americans and team finish. Five top 100 recruits is joint most for 2016 with North Carolina State. Colbray and Gremmel have the potential to be cogs in the Cyclones' machine at 197 and 285 for a few years, Vega the same as a career 125, while Storr and Parker provide potential in the lower-middleweights.
4. Iowa
Top 100 recruits: No. 3 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), No. 26 Kaleb Young (Punxsatawney, Pa.), No. 36 Carter Happel (Lisbon, Iowa) and No. 83 Jack Wagner (Bettendorf, Iowa)
Additional notable recruits: Three-time state champion Brock Rathbun (Cedar Point-Urbana, Iowa) and state champion Matt Malcom (Glenwood, Iowa)
Commentary: Falling outside of the top four trophies for the first time in the Tom Brands era stoked the fire for fans across the sport of wrestling about the Hawkeyes' program, regardless of where one falls in the Iowa spectrum (fan, non-fan, etc). Since the top-ranked recruiting class in 2012, it has been three successive recruiting years outside the top ten prior to this one. This group -- along with the verbal commitments of elite 2017 and 2018 prospects -- provides a clear marker that Iowa remains a collegiate wrestling force to be reckoned with. Of interest here is that Marinelli and Happel are both four-time state champions.
5. Lehigh
Top 100 recruits: No. 10 Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa.), No. 15 Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), No. 19 Chris Weiler (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and No. 80 John Jakobsen (Stroudsburg, Pa.)
Additional notable recruits: Junior National freestyle All-American Nick Farro (Delbarton, N.J.) and two-time state placer Kyle Gentile (Pennridge, Pa.)
Commentary: Local recruiting is the lifeblood of Lehigh's program, and an excellent base has enabled Pat Santoro to bring in yet another ranked class. Five of the six core recruits in this Mountain Hawks recruiting class are in-state wrestlers, while the other is from across the river in New Jersey; this includes two wrestlers from District XI itself (Karam and Jakobsen).
6. Nebraska
Top 100 recruits: No. 5 Chad Red (New Palestine, Ind.), No. 12 Beau Breske (Hartford Union, Wis.) and No. 40 Eric Schultz (Tinley Park, Ill.)
Other ranked recruits: Luke Weber (Forsyth, Mont.) and Taylor Venz (Owatonna, Minn.)
Additional notable recruit: Two-time state champion Johnny Blankenship (Platte County, Mo.)
Commentary: In recent years, Mark Manning's Huskers have been noted for having a very balanced lineup, which culminated in all ten wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA tournament based on finish in the Big Ten tournament; furthermore each and every wrestler won two or more matches at the NCAA tournament. In order to achieve that type of lineup, it takes strong recruiting. This class is another example of that; Red is an elite lower-middleweight, while Breske and Schultz fit that description for upperweights. The other three core recruits have strong potential as well.
7. Purdue
Top 100 recruits: No. 17 Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.), No. 27 Shawn Streck (Merrillville, Ind.) and No. 84 Christian Brunner (Dundee-Crown, Ill.)
Other ranked recruits: Devin Schroder (Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Mich.) and Kobe Woods (Penn, Ind.)
Commentary: Rebuilding a program in college wrestling is a process that takes time, especially at a relatively off-brand program, a billing that describes the Boilermakers. They are competing in the nation's toughest conference, Big Ten, and face a tough battle in terms of talent procurement. However, in two years at the helm Tony Ersland has laid a solid foundation. This year's recruiting class a crucial tone setting piece of that. The three top 100 recruits need to reach their potential and beome lynchpin pieces if the Boilermakers are going to creep into the upper half of the Big Ten and get to earning multiple All-Americans at the NCAA tournament yearly.
8. Minnesota
Top 100 recruits: No. 20 Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 48 Owen Webster (Shakopee, Minn.) and No. 50 Hunter Marko (Amery, Wis.)
Other ranked recruit: Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.)
Commentary: The Gophers' 2010 recruiting class was the top-ranked group of that year, and then there were four straight groups outside the top ten. This somewhat explains the relative struggles of the 2015-16 season, finishing in the lower half of the Big Ten tournament standings, and a finish outside the top 15 at the NCAA tournament. However, a second straight top ten recruiting class should enable the Gophers to return to their perennial status of the upper reaches of the Big Ten standings and the top ten at the NCAA tournament.
9. Rutgers
Top 100 recruits: No. 34 Matt Correnti (Holy Cross, N.J.), No. 44 Kevin Mulligan (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) and No. 62 Joe Grello (Bergen Catholic, N.J.)
Other ranked recruits: Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio), Mike Van Brill (Clearview Regional, N.J.) and Brett Donner (Wall Township, N.J.)
Additional notable recruit: Two-time state runner-up Brandon Paetzell (Phillipsburg, N.J.)
Commentary: The Garden State provides a fertile in-state recruiting base for head coach Scott Goodale and his Scarlet Knights. Three consecutive seasons with an All-American, and now a season with multiple All-American finishers, helps to validate the development work that has went into the program during Goodale's reign. Of the seven core wrestlers in this class, six are in-state wrestlers. In addition, the six weight class ranked recruits is the second most this year (North Carolina State has seven).
