The Class of 2018 is a talented group that features many that have experienced success on the national and international stages. Most obvious is the "top dog" in the class, Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.), already a three-time world champion: winning Cadet titles in freestyle at 100 kilos in 2015 and 2016 before following it up with a Junior title at 120 kilos in 2017, while he was actually age-eligible at the Cadet level.
Steveson will be keeping that talent and ability level in-state as he will matriculate at the University of Minnesota. Brayton Lee (Brownsburg, Ind.) will join Steveson as a Golden Gopher, along with three additional top 100 recruits.
However, the Gophers and everyone else will remain in the "chase pack" after Penn State and Ohio State. The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes combined to procure signings from 15 of the nation's top 100 prospects in this senior class.
Penn State signee Seth Nevills won four California state titles (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Penn State's class is led by No. 6 Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) and No. 10 Joe Lee (Evansville Mater Dei, Ind.). Nevills is a four-time state champion, who will likely take over older brother's Nick spot in the lineup at 285 in 2019-20. Lee is a three-time state finalist and 2016 state champion, who like older brother Nick spent his senior year of high school in residence at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club getting ready for the collegiate grind. Cadet World champion Aaron Brooks (North Hagerstown, Md.) is one of four other top twenty recruits in their class.
Ohio State's class is led by No. 9 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth, Pa.) and Cadet world bronze medalist Gavin Hoffman (Montoursville, Pa.), who is ranked No. 11; Sasso has won state titles the last two years after finishing runner-up at state as a freshman, and is a two-time UWW Cadet National runner-up in freestyle. Two-time Cadet world team member Malik Heinselman (Castle View, Colo.) is one of six other recruits within the top 80.
Directly behind Steveson in the Class of 2018 rankings are a pair of 2016 Cadet world bronze medalists, Travis Wittlake (Marshfield, Ore.) and David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio), both of whom are headed to Big XII schools. Each is joined by one other top 100 recruit in matriculating at their respective institution of choice; Wittlake is joined by Anthony Montalvo (Buchanan, Calif.) at Oklahoma State, while Carr is joined by Joel Shapiro (West Des Moines Valley, Iowa) at Iowa State.
Rounding out the top five are a pair of folkstyle fiends headed to the University of Michigan, Mason Parris (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) and Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.). Parris was 152-0 in his last three years of high school competing at 220 pounds, going 206-1 in his career overall. All this while also being a star football player at the linebacker position, one who got looks by multiple Division I-A institutions as a linebacker. Silva won five state titles in high school, and was a NHSCA grade-level national champion each of the last four years, along with winning Super 32 Challenge titles in the fall each of the last two years. The Wolverines also signed Cadet World freestyle champion Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) in this class.
The remaining top ten recruit in this class is No. 8 Jacori Teemer (Long Beach, N.Y.), a five-time state champion, who is headed to Arizona State. Teemer has won NHSCA grade-level titles the last two years, and was a Cadet world bronze medalist this past summer; he is the lone Arizona State signee from this year's top 100.
The only top 15 ranked wrestler in this senior class not to be mentioned is No. 13 Patrick Glory (Delbarton, N.J.), a four-time state finalist, who earned state titles each of the last two years. Glory is a three-time Beast of the East champion headed to Princeton, winning a Super 32 Challenge title in the fall of 2016 and finishing third in Junior freestyle last summer.
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