The Pipeline from St. John Bosco to Arizona State

A young Zahid Valencia wrestling for St. John Bosco at the 2012 Walsh Ironman; photo by Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Yesterday, we detailed the verbal commitment given by Nicholas Sahakian to Arizona State. Sahakian was a California state champion as a sophomore and has a boatload of national-level credentials, so it’s not surprising that he’d end up at a school like Arizona State, which has won NCAA team trophies in two of the last three years. It’s also not surprising that the Sun Devils were his choice given the team’s recent history with his high school St. John Bosco. One major part of recruiting is developing relationships. Relationships with high school coaches, club coaches, and parents. Coaches that keep their word while recruiting and helping student-athletes develop on and off the mat tend to build strong bonds with those important mentors in a high school athlete’s lift. That leads to recruits from a certain club or high school continuing to sign with a particular college. In the media, we simply call it a “pipeline.” Arizona State has certainly developed a pipeline to the California power that continues to produce high-level talent. Sahakian is one of the top heavyweight prospects in the Class of 2025 and is ranked #38 overall in the nation. He’s just the latest star from St. John Bosco to choose the Sun Devils. Now we’ll take a look at some of the recent wrestlers at ASU that were at St. John Bosco before matriculating to Tempe. Arizona State’s 2022-23 roster had one team member from the school and another on the way in incoming freshman Nicco Ruiz. A two-time California state champion, Ruiz solidified his national standing with a pair of finals appearances at the Super 32 (a title in 2021), along with two at the Doc Buchanan (2023 titleist) and a trip to the Junior freestyle finals in Fargo. Ruiz also participated in FloWrestling’s “Who’s #1” dual prior to his senior year. All of these factors led to Ruiz being named the #23 overall recruit in the Class of 2023. Before mentioning the current member of the Sun Devil squad from St. John Bosco, we have to take a look back at the two wrestlers that started this recent run of recruits from the high school power to ASU and they are the Valencia brothers, Anthony and Zahid. Two of the top recruits in the high school Class of 2015, the Valencia’s chose ASU and saw success immediately. As redshirt freshmen in 2017, Zahid finished third in the nation, while Anthony was a match shy of placing. Zahid would go on to put together one of the finest careers in school history with two national titles and three Pac-12 crowns. Anthony won four conference titles and earned a spot on the NCAA podium with an eighth-place finish in 2021. As Anthony was finishing up in 2021-22, younger brother, Cael, had already signed and was redshirting during that season. Cael was labeled the #13 recruit in the Class of 2021. Last year, the youngest Valencia brother had a solid first season in the ASU lineup, but experienced more lumps than his two older brothers, going 12-12 and 0-2 at his first NCAA Tournament. Cael still has three years of eligibility remaining and a bright future in Tempe. One aspect to mention here is that the Valencia’s father, Ruben, is the head assistant coach at St. John Bosco, so it’s not a shock that other wrestlers have followed his two older sons' footsteps. To reiterate, if a parent/coach has a positive experience with their pupils at a particular institution, they have no problem recommending it to others, which has obviously been the case with this relationship. Just because a particular wrestler or two has success from the same high school and college programs, doesn’t mean a college is for everyone. Another notable St. John Bosco alum, Cleveland Belton, signed with Arizona State and spent three years at the school before transferring to Pac-12 rival Oregon State. Belton flourished in his role as the Beavers full-time starter to the tune of an 18-10 record and his first trip to the NCAA Championships. Belton could be on the move again as his name was in the transfer portal this offseason. Speaking of moving on, Arizona State’s starting 141 lber, Jesse Vasquez, spent time at St. John Bosco among his three stops in high school. Vasquez was headed for his first NCAA Tournament experience in 2023, before a late-season injury put a halt to his season. Once Sahakian signs (and that can’t be before November 2024), it will make it seven top-100 recruits (since 2015) that have inked with ASU after spending their high school days at St. John Bosco. That number (7) could have been even higher as the older Valencia’s came up wrestling with two additional superstars in Cade Olivas and Aaron Pico. Both won Cadet World medals (Olivas/bronze and Pico/gold) while in high school at St. John Bosco. Olivas actually verbally committed to ASU, but had to stop wrestling in high school due to concussions. Pico would have been one of the most sought-after recruits of his time; however, he decided to forgo college and go directly into mixed martial arts. Knowing how the Valencia brother's collegiate careers played out, setting the foundation for head coach Zeke Jones at Arizona State, helps you appreciate the role that St. John Bosco had in bringing ASU back to NCAA contender status. Because of the unusual eligibility associated with Covid, Anthony was able to be a key cog in those two NCAA trophy-winning teams. As Jones’ team reloads and looks to the future, there’s little doubt that St. John Bosco will be a factor if his teams continue to rack up accolades in the Pac-12 and at NCAA’s.

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The Pipeline from St. John Bosco to Arizona State

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