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the_hermanator

HR Heisman
Jan 22, 2002
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I am a little bit of a novice to wrestling recruiting. I have been looking for team wrestling recruiting rankings like you see in football or basketball. I can’t find anything.

I know from 2016 to 2018, Iowa’s recruiting skyrocketedFrom #3 P4P Alex Marinelli to #1 Spencer Lee to #7 Jacob Warner, they had some top gets. In other words, a 5* type recruit that pretty much everyone else wanted.

It also seems to me that Penn State pretty much gets their pick of the litter. It’s ridiculous how many top 10 P4P guys they get at all weights. Now I know that Pennsylvania and Ohio each has better high school wrestling than Iowa. The Iowa coaches have a tougher road to travel when recruiting. Literally. Is that the only reason?

What that said, I would think Iowa would definitely get more of the top 5-10 P4P guys in the country on a routine basis instead of some here and there. Kind of confused why more kids would not want to come wrestle in front of 15,000 and compete for national championships on a yearly basis.
 
I am a little bit of a novice to wrestling recruiting. I have been looking for team wrestling recruiting rankings like you see in football or basketball. I can’t find anything.

I know from 2016 to 2018, Iowa’s recruiting skyrocketedFrom #3 P4P Alex Marinelli to #1 Spencer Lee to #7 Jacob Warner, they had some top gets. In other words, a 5* type recruit that pretty much everyone else wanted.

It also seems to me that Penn State pretty much gets their pick of the litter. It’s ridiculous how many top 10 P4P guys they get at all weights. Now I know that Pennsylvania and Ohio each has better high school wrestling than Iowa. The Iowa coaches have a tougher road to travel when recruiting. Literally. Is that the only reason?

What that said, I would think Iowa would definitely get more of the top 5-10 P4P guys in the country on a routine basis instead of some here and there. Kind of confused why more kids would not want to come wrestle in front of 15,000 and compete for national championships on a yearly basis.
One would think so but.....
 
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2023:
IA: #5 Arnold, #6 Jesuroga, #16 Keuter
PSU: -

2022:
IA: #30 Riggins
PSU: #7 Haines

2021:
IA: #5 Ayala, #14 Henson, #37 Rathjen
PSU: #2 Facundo, #4 Van Ness

2020:
IA: #3 Kennedy, #16 Ybarra, #60 Reyna, #66 Schriever
PSU: #4 Bartlett, #7 Howard

2019:
IA: #29 Assad, #83 Glazier
PSU: #9 Starocci

2018:
IA: #14 Cassioppi, #93 Brands
PSU: #2 Brooks, #11 Beard, #12 RBY, #16 Teasdale, #20 J Lee, #22 Nevills, #35 Teske

2017:
IA: #2 S Lee, #7 Warner, #44 Murin
PSU: #6 Berge, #9 J Lee, # 20 Verkleeren

2016:
IA: #3 Marinelli, #21 Young, #34 Happel
PSU: #1 Hall, # 2 Suriano, #5 Manville

2015:
IA: #9 Kemerer, #61 Turk
PSU: #3 Joseph
 
2023:
IA: #5 Arnold, #6 Jesuroga, #16 Keuter
PSU: -

2022:
IA: #30 Riggins
PSU: #7 Haines

2021:
IA: #5 Ayala, #14 Henson, #37 Rathjen
PSU: #2 Facundo, #4 Van Ness

2020:
IA: #3 Kennedy, #16 Ybarra, #60 Reyna, #66 Schriever
PSU: #4 Bartlett, #7 Howard

2019:
IA: #29 Assad, #83 Glazier
PSU: #9 Starocci

2018:
IA: #14 Cassioppi, #93 Brands
PSU: #2 Brooks, #11 Beard, #12 RBY, #16 Teasdale, #20 J Lee, #22 Nevills, #35 Teske

2017:
IA: #2 S Lee, #7 Warner, #44 Murin
PSU: #6 Berge, #9 J Lee, # 20 Verkleeren

2016:
IA: #3 Marinelli, #21 Young, #34 Happel
PSU: #1 Hall, # 2 Suriano, #5 Manville

2015:
IA: #9 Kemerer, #61 Turk
PSU: #3 Joseph
PSU also got Barr
 
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Current lineups with Big Board class ranking:
125: Ayala #5 (Lee #1) Hildebrand (XFER) (Howard #7)
133: De Santo (XFER) RBY #12
141: Eierman (XFER) Lee #9
149: Murin #44 Bartlett #4 (Van Ness #4)
157: Young #21 Berge #6
165: Marinelli #3 Edsell N/A (Facundo #2)
174: Kem #9 Starocci #9 (Manville #5)
184: Assad #29 Brooks #2
197: Warner #7 Dean (XFER) (Beard #11)
285: Cass #14 Kerk (XFER #1) (Nevills #22)
 
2023:
IA: #5 Arnold, #6 Jesuroga, #16 Keuter
PSU: -

2022:
IA: #30 Riggins
PSU: #7 Haines

2021:
IA: #5 Ayala, #14 Henson, #37 Rathjen
PSU: #2 Facundo, #4 Van Ness

2020:
IA: #3 Kennedy, #16 Ybarra, #60 Reyna, #66 Schriever
PSU: #4 Bartlett, #7 Howard

2019:
IA: #29 Assad, #83 Glazier
PSU: #9 Starocci

2018:
IA: #14 Cassioppi, #93 Brands
PSU: #2 Brooks, #11 Beard, #12 RBY, #16 Teasdale, #20 J Lee, #22 Nevills, #35 Teske

2017:
IA: #2 S Lee, #7 Warner, #44 Murin
PSU: #6 Berge, #9 J Lee, # 20 Verkleeren

2016:
IA: #3 Marinelli, #21 Young, #34 Happel
PSU: #1 Hall, # 2 Suriano, #5 Manville

2015:
IA: #9 Kemerer, #61 Turk
PSU: #3 Joseph

PSU keeps reloading but their hit rate is far from 100%.

Berge, Joe Lee, Nevills, and Manville have yet to AA and all but Berge sit on the bench.

Bartlett and Howard seem very mortal and don't strike me as the second coming of Retherferd and Megaludis.

Verkleeren never AA'd and had a so-so career.

Suriano and Teske transferred out without AA'ing for PSU; Suriano turned out to be a killer (figuratively) but PSU couldn't keep him in the fold for whatever reason.

Teasdale didn't work out and Cael moved on quickly.

Cael recruited over Beard, a strong but not dominant wrestler, and now he sits on the bench.

Many on this board have noted PSU's seemingly relentless willingness to move on from good, even really good, wrestlers in the hope of finding someone better. That hasn't been a secret, but this list suggests that PSU's identification and development of high school talent have been very hit or miss, even at the high end.
 
2023:
IA: #5 Arnold, #6 Jesuroga, #16 Keuter
PSU: -

2022:
IA: #30 Riggins
PSU: #7 Haines

2021:
IA: #5 Ayala, #14 Henson, #37 Rathjen
PSU: #2 Facundo, #4 Van Ness

2020:
IA: #3 Kennedy, #16 Ybarra, #60 Reyna, #66 Schriever
PSU: #4 Bartlett, #7 Howard

2019:
IA: #29 Assad, #83 Glazier
PSU: #9 Starocci

2018:
IA: #14 Cassioppi, #93 Brands
PSU: #2 Brooks, #11 Beard, #12 RBY, #16 Teasdale, #20 J Lee, #22 Nevills, #35 Teske

2017:
IA: #2 S Lee, #7 Warner, #44 Murin
PSU: #6 Berge, #9 J Lee, # 20 Verkleeren

2016:
IA: #3 Marinelli, #21 Young, #34 Happel
PSU: #1 Hall, # 2 Suriano, #5 Manville

2015:
IA: #9 Kemerer, #61 Turk
PSU: #3 Joseph

Thanks for the leg work Tarp.

For 2015: both teams got great production from their top ten guys. Turk started 1 season, then spot started no AA.

2016: #3 Bull started for 5 years good production minus some NCAA misfortune. #21 Young has been solid. #34 Happel was spot starter. #1 Hall and #2 Suriano both with great results even if not at PSU. #5 Manville a flop.

2017: #2 Spencer a star. #7 Warner very solid with AAs so far. #44 Murin solid and tough but yet to AA. #6 Berge has had injuries but still no AA is underperforming. #9 Nick Lee a stud. #20 Verkleeran a flop but they got him to walk on supposedly.

2018: #14 Cass has been a stud. #93 brands better than his rank but not AA level. #2 brooks has been gold. #11 beard was AA in only season before getting recruited over. #12 RBY has been gold. #16 Teasdale a flop for both teams. #20 Joe Lee a flop. #22 Nevills a flop and the recruited over with #1 overall recruit. #35 teske a flop under PSU direction, solid after leaving.

2019: #29 Asad a paper AA in 2020 but not currently ranked to AA, probably were you would expect #29 to be but that doesn't win titles. #83 glazier a spot starter. #9 Starocci is gold.

2020: #3 Kennedy looks to be promising for AA level. #16 Ybarra spot starter, not looking like #16 so far. #60 Reyna looking like #60. #66 Schriever wrestling well above #66 but still not AA level. #4 Bartlett has been below #4. #7 Howard not AA in 1 opportunity.

2021 too early to tell but PSU has 2 top tens to our 1.

2022: #7 Hains another top 10. Is ahead of our #30 Riggins as expected and penciled in to start right away. Our other recruit Franklin is ranked behind Riggins.

3 of our highest rank/seed guys Desanto, Lugo and Eierman were not recruited by us originally.

Bottom line is point scoring recruits for us have been high end blue chips with #21 Young being the lowest. PSU gets more of these and even though they have more high end flops the volume of high end guys covers for it.
 
There you go.
I’v heard it said here that certain top recruits we’ve missed weren’t good fits, “culturally,” for the team. Sasso would be one example. Then I see those guys go out and tear it up for the competition.

I realize “team fit,” is important, but is it possible that we present a bit over the top in a certain direction, “culturally,” and potentially scare some top talent away or pass on others we should maybe pursue harder?
 
I’v heard it said here that certain top recruits we’ve missed weren’t good fits, “culturally,” for the team. Sasso would be one example. Then I see those guys go out and tear it up for the competition.

I realize “team fit,” is important, but is it possible that we present a bit over the top in a certain direction, “culturally,” and potentially scare some top talent away or pass on others we should maybe pursue harder?
I don't know. Some guys we missed on ended up being a blessing and others have been good but it seemed like we didn't know they existed. It seems like we take a more passive approach to recruiting. Others staffs seem to be out evaluating and beating the bushes more than we do. It takes a lot of effort to land a lot of high end guys. I hear often about certain staffs being at various events checking kids out but rarely do I hear ours mentioned. I get they like to be respectful when kids are training for things and some families don't like getting the hard press but other kids require more activity.
 
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2023:
IA: #5 Arnold, #6 Jesuroga, #16 Keuter
PSU: -

2022:
IA: #30 Riggins
PSU: #7 Haines

2021:
IA: #5 Ayala, #14 Henson, #37 Rathjen
PSU: #2 Facundo, #4 Van Ness

2020:
IA: #3 Kennedy, #16 Ybarra, #60 Reyna, #66 Schriever
PSU: #4 Bartlett, #7 Howard

2019:
IA: #29 Assad, #83 Glazier
PSU: #9 Starocci

2018:
IA: #14 Cassioppi, #93 Brands
PSU: #2 Brooks, #11 Beard, #12 RBY, #16 Teasdale, #20 J Lee, #22 Nevills, #35 Teske

2017:
IA: #2 S Lee, #7 Warner, #44 Murin
PSU: #6 Berge, #9 J Lee, # 20 Verkleeren

2016:
IA: #3 Marinelli, #21 Young, #34 Happel
PSU: #1 Hall, # 2 Suriano, #5 Manville

2015:
IA: #9 Kemerer, #61 Turk
PSU: #3 Joseph

Lots of “misses” in there.

Which brings me to a point I’ve made before, but it is worth repeating: there are no prospect ratings for wrestling. The rankings used above are reflections of their HS career and not a projection of college success.

HS wrestling national rankings should not be used the same way football prospect ratings are used. That’s like saying the HS QB who passed for the most yards last year should be the #1 prospect.
 
Lots of “misses” in there.

Which brings me to a point I’ve made before, but it is worth repeating: there are no prospect ratings for wrestling. The rankings used above are reflections of their HS career and not a projection of college success.

HS wrestling national rankings should not be used the same way football prospect ratings are used. That’s like saying the HS QB who passed for the most yards last year should be the #1 prospect.
The way the ranking guys look at these prospects they do factor in projected success to a certain extent. Especially when they do the recruiting class rankings.
 
PSU keeps reloading but their hit rate is far from 100%.

Berge, Joe Lee, Nevills, and Manville have yet to AA and all but Berge sit on the bench.

Bartlett and Howard seem very mortal and don't strike me as the second coming of Retherferd and Megaludis.

Verkleeren never AA'd and had a so-so career.

Suriano and Teske transferred out without AA'ing for PSU; Suriano turned out to be a killer (figuratively) but PSU couldn't keep him in the fold for whatever reason.

Teasdale didn't work out and Cael moved on quickly.

Cael recruited over Beard, a strong but not dominant wrestler, and now he sits on the bench.

Many on this board have noted PSU's seemingly relentless willingness to move on from good, even really good, wrestlers in the hope of finding someone better. That hasn't been a secret, but this list suggests that PSU's identification and development of high school talent have been very hit or miss, even at the high end.
That really doesn’t matter when the other half of the recruited class performs as desired.

Nobody knows for sure who is going to stick or who is going to wrestle up to expectations. So we need as many of those top tier guys as we can get on the team.

Our situation at 157 is a good example. I didn’t see them attempt to find someone at that weight who was going to add more than ten points a year at nationals in the last five seasons. (I don’t know what went in behind the scenes.) And that’s not a strategy for winning in March.
 
That really doesn’t matter when the other half of the recruited class performs as desired.

Nobody knows for sure who is going to stick or who is going to wrestle up to expectations. So we need as many of those top tier guys as we can get on the team.

Our situation at 157 is a good example. I didn’t see them attempt to find someone at that weight who was going to add more than ten points a year at nationals in the last five seasons. (I don’t know what went in behind the scenes.) And that’s not a strategy for winning in March.
Yep, it's obvious that the Brands have a high loyalty to their guys, probably to a fault at times. Carl has loyalty too but loyalty to winning is his #1 priority.
 
2023:
IA: #5 Arnold, #6 Jesuroga, #16 Keuter
PSU: -

2022:
IA: #30 Riggins
PSU: #7 Haines

2021:
IA: #5 Ayala, #14 Henson, #37 Rathjen
PSU: #2 Facundo, #4 Van Ness

2020:
IA: #3 Kennedy, #16 Ybarra, #60 Reyna, #66 Schriever
PSU: #4 Bartlett, #7 Howard

2019:
IA: #29 Assad, #83 Glazier
PSU: #9 Starocci

2018:
IA: #14 Cassioppi, #93 Brands
PSU: #2 Brooks, #11 Beard, #12 RBY, #16 Teasdale, #20 J Lee, #22 Nevills, #35 Teske

2017:
IA: #2 S Lee, #7 Warner, #44 Murin
PSU: #6 Berge, #9 J Lee, # 20 Verkleeren

2016:
IA: #3 Marinelli, #21 Young, #34 Happel
PSU: #1 Hall, # 2 Suriano, #5 Manville

2015:
IA: #9 Kemerer, #61 Turk
PSU: #3 Joseph
Thank you for the list. I have seen some lists that don’t even have Arnold in the top 5 at his weight. You say he is #5 P4P in the country? Needless to say, that is a big difference.
 
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Thank you for the list. I have seen some lists that don’t even have Arnold in the top 5 at his weight. You say he is #5 P4P in the country? Needless to say, that is a big difference.
Well, is Jesuroga really #6 pfp? Or is that the second brother coming in?
 
That really doesn’t matter when the other half of the recruited class performs as desired.

Nobody knows for sure who is going to stick or who is going to wrestle up to expectations. So we need as many of those top tier guys as we can get on the team.

Our situation at 157 is a good example. I didn’t see them attempt to find someone at that weight who was going to add more than ten points a year at nationals in the last five seasons. (I don’t know what went in behind the scenes.) And that’s not a strategy for winning in March.
You seriously don’t know what went on behind the scenes at 157 the last 5 years? Tom Brands son inlaw is the 157 pounder. A 3 time AA son in law.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize our head coach isn’t going to recruit over family. Especially when that 157 pounder has placed in March multiple times. That’s obvious.

Now with Young walking out the door, I hope we find a transfer to fill in for the next year or two.
 
You seriously don’t know what went on behind the scenes at 157 the last 5 years? Tom Brands son inlaw is the 157 pounder. A 3 time AA son in law.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize our head coach isn’t going to recruit over family. Especially when that 157 pounder has placed in March multiple times. That’s obvious.

Now with Young walking out the door, I hope we find a transfer to fill in for the next year or two.
I expect Tom would recruit over family. Because part of his job as father in law and father is to demonstrate his idea of honor. He owes it everyone around him to “do the right thing”.

problem is the kid is on the podium. Where are you really finding an upgrade? I guess Iowa standards are higher but Young would be a home run on any roster. Coaches family or not.
 
Lots of “misses” in there.

Which brings me to a point I’ve made before, but it is worth repeating: there are no prospect ratings for wrestling. The rankings used above are reflections of their HS career and not a projection of college success.

HS wrestling national rankings should not be used the same way football prospect ratings are used. That’s like saying the HS QB who passed for the most yards last year should be the #1 prospect.
There's probably not a sport out there where rankings are more earned, than wrestling these days. Sure, some don't pan out, while others still get better. But for the most part, the best compete against the best way more often in wrestling, then any other sport.
 
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I expect Tom would recruit over family. Because part of his job as father in law and father is to demonstrate his idea of honor. He owes it everyone around him to “do the right thing”.

problem is the kid is on the podium. Where are you really finding an upgrade? I guess Iowa standards are higher but Young would be a home run on any roster. Coaches family or not.
I’m prolly the one who deserves that questioning as I brought it up originally.

I keep hearing about the sacrifices KY made for the team and his contribution. However, based on what I saw through the past four/five years, that was a weight that could have been upgraded to compete for national titles.

If a team has ten AA’s all scoring the points we brought in at 157 over the past four years, does it compete for a title?
 
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Really like Davis but he’s better in free imo. 0 and 3 in his career, including twice this season, in folk vs Caden Horwath.

that ranking (Davis at 7 and Horwath at #28 (JR Big Board) is from a while ago and (imo) weight-dependent.

Davis made finals in three straight majors (Fargo 2x + S32) at a lighter weight while Horwath dnp'd (inj i think) at Fargo and then registered, but skipped S32.

Horwath then beat him something like 3-2 this season.

If they are the same weight i like Horwath. But at the time of the ranking i considered Davis a career 125 and Horwath a 33, which, to me, is a very important distinction as they are both very good, but not, imo, 'can't miss'.

in other words, i truly didn't care if Drake was a 125 or 133, or if Patrick Kennedy was a 57 or 65 or 74.

there's a difference there i think.
 
I’m prolly the one who deserves that questioning as I brought it up originally.

I keep hearing about the sacrifices KY made for the team and his contribution. However, based on what I saw through the past four/five years, that was a weight that could have been upgraded to compete for national titles.

If a team has ten AA’s all scoring the points we brought in at 157 over the past four years, does it compete for a title?
I'd love to see the list of guys you'd have brought in at 57 over the last 4/5 years to "compete for a national title".
 
I’m prolly the one who deserves that questioning as I brought it up originally.

I keep hearing about the sacrifices KY made for the team and his contribution. However, based on what I saw through the past four/five years, that was a weight that could have been upgraded to compete for national titles.

If a team has ten AA’s all scoring the points we brought in at 157 over the past four years, does it compete for a title?

I guess? Assuming that’s true (I’ll be honest I’m not up to date) I think it’s more a case of “scholarship dollars per point at nationals” than “coaches family” As to why no one was recruited over him.

Tom Brands may or may not be a good dude (I’ve never met him, I don’t know him, but he seems good), but I don’t think he could ever look himself in the mirror knowing he cost (Insert anyone else on the roster) a chance at a team title because he was playing favorites. He doesn’t seem like that kinda guy.
 
that ranking (Davis at 7 and Horwath at #28 (JR Big Board) is from a while ago and (imo) weight-dependent.

Davis made finals in three straight majors (Fargo 2x + S32) at a lighter weight while Horwath dnp'd (inj i think) at Fargo and then registered, but skipped S32.

Horwath then beat him something like 3-2 this season.

If they are the same weight i like Horwath. But at the time of the ranking i considered Davis a career 125 and Horwath a 33, which, to me, is a very important distinction as they are both very good, but not, imo, 'can't miss'.

in other words, i truly didn't care if Drake was a 125 or 133, or if Patrick Kennedy was a 57 or 65 or 74.

there's a difference there i think.
Did you shower an/or change clothes yet? waiting for a podcast to listen to
 
I am a little bit of a novice to wrestling recruiting. I have been looking for team wrestling recruiting rankings like you see in football or basketball. I can’t find anything.

I know from 2016 to 2018, Iowa’s recruiting skyrocketedFrom #3 P4P Alex Marinelli to #1 Spencer Lee to #7 Jacob Warner, they had some top gets. In other words, a 5* type recruit that pretty much everyone else wanted.

It also seems to me that Penn State pretty much gets their pick of the litter. It’s ridiculous how many top 10 P4P guys they get at all weights. Now I know that Pennsylvania and Ohio each has better high school wrestling than Iowa. The Iowa coaches have a tougher road to travel when recruiting. Literally. Is that the only reason?

What that said, I would think Iowa would definitely get more of the top 5-10 P4P guys in the country on a routine basis instead of some here and there. Kind of confused why more kids would not want to come wrestle in front of 15,000 and compete for national championships on a yearly basis.
Here's where you can find the 2023 recruiting rankings, my friend...and my apologies if someone already posted these. Iowa is ranked #1 followed by MN, tOSU, OSU, and NC State. Even though we were ranked first MN has the 1st and 4th ranked wrestlers coming in so it's pretty tight. Penn State is 8th. Our recruits include top 100 recruits:
  • #5 Gabe Arnold (174)
  • #6 Nate Jesuroga (125)
  • #16 Ben Kueter (285)
  • #61 Ryder Block (141/149)

PSU's recruits are:
  • #10 Josh Barr (174/184)
  • #36 Braeden Davis (125/133)

Courtesy of FloWrestling: https://www.flowrestling.org/rankin...ngs/41519-2023-ncaa-recruiting-class-rankings

Would love to see the Hawks go on another run like they have these last few years. I think it's fair to compare Cael and Dan Gable to a degree based on their successes over a limited number of years, but it sure would be nice to have Brands brought into the discussion as well. We need to keep the magic going strong!
 
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I’m prolly the one who deserves that questioning as I brought it up originally.

I keep hearing about the sacrifices KY made for the team and his contribution. However, based on what I saw through the past four/five years, that was a weight that could have been upgraded to compete for national titles.

If a team has ten AA’s all scoring the points we brought in at 157 over the past four years, does it compete for a title?

I can't believe you dorks are spending so much time focusing on performance at 157.

184 and 149 say "HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
 
I can't believe you dorks are spending so much time focusing on performance at 157.

184 and 149 say "HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I see the same possible scenario at 184. Was hoping they are recruiting at 149.
 
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