The Last 20 #1 Overall Recruits

Yesterday, MatScouts released its final Big Board for the Class of 2026. MatScouts (and InterMat’s) Willie Saylor has long been regarded as the gold standard for recruiting information, so his Big Board rankings generally carry the most weight and are considered “official” when referring to a particular recruits' ranking. 

Over the next few days, we have a couple pieces of content planned which stem from these recruiting rankings. Before getting to that, we’ll just start with the lowest hanging fruit. Who finished #1? 

The number one overall recruit is an important label that only one wrestler per year gets to tout. In a star-studded class like 2026, there might be multiple wrestlers good enough to be considered a #1 recruit; however, only one gets the title. 

If you were to look at past #1 overall recruits, you notice earning All-American honors is almost a given and national titles tend to follow, as well. Though there are big expectations, these wrestlers tend to have excellent collegiate careers. 

The #1 wrestler from the Class of 2026 is a unique case. For every other #1 overall recruit, there is some projection that takes place in May - once these rankings have been released. For this year’s #1, Jax Forrest, no projection is needed. He’s already competed in the NCAA postseason once and earned a national title. Forrest took the unusual route that consisted of enrolling at Oklahoma State in what would have been the second half of his senior year at Bishop McCort High School. Before that Senior season, Forrest already made a Senior World Team.

Here is the illustrious company that Forrest joins with his title - #1 overall recruit. We’ve gone back through 20 years of #1 overall recruits. Some of the data precedes MatScouts or Willie’s rankings (pre 2013). For those rankings, we’ve used InterMat’s #1 ranked wrestler. 

 

The Last 20 #1 Overall Recruits

2026: Jax Forrest: Bishop McCort (PA) - Oklahoma State

2025: PJ Duke: Minisink Valley (NY) - Penn State

2024: Luke Lilledahl: Wyoming Seminary (MO) - Penn State

2023: Meyer Shapiro: Wyoming Seminary (MD) - Cornell

2022: Nick Feldman: Malvern Prep (PA) - Ohio State

2021: Paddy Gallagher: St. Edward (OH) - Ohio State

2020: AJ Ferrari: Allen (TX) - Oklahoma State

2019: Greg Kerkvliet: Simley (MN) - Ohio State

2018: Gable Steveson: Apple Valley (MN) - Minnesota

2017: Spencer Lee: Franklin Regional (PA) - Iowa

2016: Mark Hall: Apple Valley (MN) - Penn State

2015: Zahid Valencia: St. John Bosco (CA) - Arizona State

2014: Kyle Snyder: Good Counsel (MD) - Ohio State

2013: Bo Jordan: Graham (OH) - Ohio State

2012: Jason Tsirtsis: Crown Point (IN) - Northwestern

2011: Morgan McIntosh: Calvary Chapel (CA) - Penn State

2010: Logan Stieber: Monroeville (OH) - Ohio State

2009: David Taylor: Graham (OH) - Penn State

2008: Jason Welch: Las Lomas (CA) - Northwestern

2007: Cody Gardner: Christiansburg (VA) - Virginia Tech