Updated - A Look at Penn State's Recruiting Under Cael Sanderson

****Editor’s Note: The original version of this article ran in April of 2023 after Luke Lilledahl committed to Penn State. ***

Earlier this week, the Nittany Lions received a verbal commitment from Wyoming Seminary’s Nathan Desmond, the #17 overall recruit in the Class of 2025. He joins #1 PJ Duke, #27 Dalton Perry, and #42 Asher Cunningham in PSU’s recruiting class for current juniors. 

With a monster signing class on the horizon for 2024 and another potentially loaded one for 2025, it seemed the appropriate time to talk Penn State recruiting. 

The 2024 class features six of the top 15 wrestlers in the land. #1 Lilledahl, #3 Joseph Sealey, #5 Connor Mirasola, #6 Zach Ryder, #13 Cole Mirasola, and #15 Mason Gibson. On paper, it looks like one of Cael Sanderson’s best yet. As you can see, those wrestlers have a lot of work ahead of them to take that title from the Class of 2014. 

We also have to throw the 2023 group in the mix. That group was ranked third overall in InterMat’s recruiting rankings and there’s a chance it could have an impact on the Nittany Lion lineup in 2023-24. With the injury to All-American Shayne Van Ness, it appears as if Tyler Kasak is the guy at 149 lbs. Also, the constant uncertainty around 125 lbs, may give way to Braeden Davis finishing the season as the starter. If and when that happens, we can start comparing 2023 to the rest of Penn State’s classes under Sanderson, as shown below. 

***Below is what ran in April regarding past PSU recruiting classes***

On Monday afternoon, Luke Lilledahl the #2 overall recruit in the high school Class of 2024, gave a verbal commitment to Cael Sanderson’s Penn State Nittany Lions. With Lilledahl’s commitment, Penn State now has verbals from four of the top-seven juniors in the nation and six of the top-15. Should all follow through and sign with Penn State, it would become one of the most star-studded in recent years. 

Just how good? Well, we’ll have to wait for another four or five years down the line to say for sure, but it has the potential. 

Below are the recruiting classes for Penn State since Cael Sanderson has been at the helm (spring of 2009-present). They have been sorted in order of best collegiate results first. 

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