Christian Carroll at the Grappler Fall Classic (Photo/ SeWrestle.com)As of today, only three wrestlers from the Class of 2023 have committed to wrestle at DI schools. Two of those have committed to new Illinois head coach Mike Poeta. Christian Carroll (New Prairie, IN) has joined Kannon Webster (Washington, IL) as current sophomores that have given verbals to the Illini.
Carroll was injured as a freshman so he may have snuck under the radar for some last year. Once healthy, Carroll took the nation by storm winning the Super 32 at 195 lbs. In the finals, he took out eventual Cadet Freestyle World Team member Gavin Nelson, 3-1. Around the same time, Carroll won the Grappler Fall Classic at 215 lbs. Christian was not able to compete during the high school postseason as a sophomore in Indiana, because of questions surrounding a transfer.
Carroll is currently ranked second in the nation at 220 lbs by MatScouts. It's also likely that he'll fall in the top-five among the Class of 2023 in MatScouts next Big Board update. Since he's a well-built 220 lber as a sophomore in high school, it's safe to say that Carroll projects as a heavyweight at the next level. That could work out well for the Illini as current starter Luke Luffman will be a sophomore in 2021-22. He'll be able to finish up while Carroll redshirts in 2023-24.
With a pair of strong recruits leading the way in the Class of 2023, Poeta has shown that Illinois may be a new force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail.
For all of the college commitment news, check InterMat's Commitment Page.
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