Nebraska Nabs Class of 2025 #46 Nikade Zinkin

On Friday, the one of the highest ranked uncommitted seniors made his college choice known. Nikade Zinkin (Clovis, CA) is ranked #46 overall in the Class of 2025 and is currently ranked fifth in the nation at 144 lbs. 

Zinkin announced via social media that he will continue wrestling at the collegiate level with the University of Nebraska. 

Zinkin is a three-time California state placewinner who won a title last season at 126 lbs for Clovis High School. He was fourth and fifth in his previous two seasons. 

On the national scene, Zinkin got on the podium in 2023 at Fargo’s 16U freestyle tournament - where he took seventh place at 126 lbs. Zinkin has also placed in the top-three on three occasions at California’s toughest regular season tournament - the Doc Buchanan Invitational. In each of the last two years he was a finalist. 

Zinkin joins a Nebraska recruiting class that already includes a pair of top-50 recruits - #24 Tyler Eise and #35 Cade Ziola. With three top-50 recruits, Mark Manning’s team has put themselves in position to have another strong recruiting class. The Huskers have ranked #19, #7, #8, and #13 in each of the last four years. 

At the next level, Zinkin appears to project at 149 lbs. That could certainly be a position of need in the near future as current starter and two-time All-American Ridge Lovett is currently exercising his final year of eligibility. As of now, there isn’t a clear-cut successor to Lovett in-line. 

For more recruiting information and Nebraska’s Class of 2025, check out InterMat’s College Commitment Page.