#16 Overall Keanu Dillard to Stay Home with Lehigh Choice

Last week, we reported on Lehigh’s getting their first verbal from the Class of 2026 when #25 overall Cael Wiedemoyer (Faith Christian, PA) committed. Now, Lehigh has received a second and it’s from another elite prospect. The latest is #16 overall Keanu Dillard, who is currently ranked #1 in the nation at 120 lbs. 

Dillard is also from Lehigh’s backyard as he has won a pair of Pennsylvania AAA state titles for Bethlehem Catholic High School. 

Over the summer, Dillard represented the United States at U17 World Championships wrestling 55 kg in freestyle. Dillard ended up coming home from Jordan with a bronze medal. 

To make the world team, Dillard won the UWW U17 Trials for the first time. He was fifth at the tournament in 2023 and fifth in Greco-Roman in 2022. 

Other notable accomplishments for Dillard include a runner-up finish at 16U freestyle nationals in Fargo in 2022. A year ago, Dillard was sixth at the Super 32. 

The fit between Dillard and Lehigh appears to be a good one. The Mountain Hawks EIWA Champion and All-American at 125 lbs, Luke Stanich, is redshirting and moving up a weight (or two). Current projected starter Sheldon Seymour is headed into his junior year of competition. After Seymour, there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut starter waiting in the wings. 

Just two years ago, Lehigh retained another top prospect from their home turf in Ryan Crookham. Crookham was as good as advertised in 2023-24 and will start the year ranked #1 in the nation at 133 lbs. Also, Lehigh’s last national champion (Darian Cruz) was a 125 lber from Bethlehem Catholic. 

Dillard took a visit to Lehigh on the weekend of September 28th and it was one of six schools he visited. Nebraska, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, and Virginia are the others. 

For Lehigh’s current verbal commitments from the Class of 2025 and 2026 - click here.