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The fall visit season continues. College coaches are trying to make sure that the new Class of 2027 recruits are able to get on campus and see all that their wrestling program and school have to offer. We’ve also seen some uncommitted seniors who had big summers in Fargo getting the chance to take their visits. However they’ve come about, we’ve been tracking them! One of the things that makes following the recruiting process fun is the cloak-and-dagger secrecy surrounding certain aspects of it. For every Bo Bassett who routinely keeps the public informed on recruiting decisions, there are plenty of others who don’t discuss it as much. Therefore, it can be difficult to follow which recruit is interested in which school and vice versa. I suppose it’s fun, but you’re left wanting more! To help our fan base feel more knowledgeable about the process, we’ll feature a weekly column that recaps the recruiting weekend. Who has visited where? Perhaps some background information on the recruits or the recruitment process from the school would be helpful. Here’s are the previous articles: The weekend of August 23rd The weekend of August 30th Last weekend’s article If we've missed a recruit or you'd like to provide info on future visits, please let me know: earl@matscouts.com Appalachian State #218 Maximus Hay (Brown Deer, WI) - 2026 #155 Brock Weaver (Camden County, GA) - 2026 Appalachian State already has an impressive group from the Class of 2026, but is looking to add more with Big Boarders Maximus Hay and Brock Weaver. Hay is a two-time UWW U17 Trials All-American (both times finishing seventh). Weaver was an NHSCA Junior National fourth-place finisher in the spring. Just this morning, we were notified that App State received a commitment from New Jersey qualifier Luke Scholz (Cranford, NJ). Scholz was in Boone last weekend. Arizona State #26 Tanner Hodgins (Howell, NJ) #19 Gabe Logan (Delbarton, NJ) Arizona State has been showing a lot of interest in prospects from New Jersey over the past few years and, why not, with Frank Molinaro on staff. This weekend, they had two of the best in the junior class with U17 World Team member Tanner Hodgins and Gabe Logan. This is the first visit we’ve noted for Hodgins and the second for Logan. He was at Virginia Tech last weekend. Brown #145 Chris Anguiano (Millikan, CA) #101 Vinnie Gutierrez (Fountain Valley, CA) NR Bailey Holman (Poway, CA) #61 Isaac Novod (Belmont Hill, MA) #117 Matthew Orbeta (Poway, CA) #86 Will Soto (Newburg Free Academy, NY) #150 Ryan Totten (Detroit Central Catholic, MI) Another big recruiting weekend for Brown. Last week, they had three Big Boarders in town and this time they had six - among others. The highest-ranked one of the bunch was a local kid in Isaac Novod. Novod was a National Prep finalist at 120 lbs in 2025. With Jesse Delgado on staff, Brown continues to reach out to California. They had one wrestler from Cali last week and three more this week. With the number of kids that have already visited Providence, I think Brown could put together a special Class of 2027. Bucknell #81 Emilio Albanese (Emmaus, PA) #68 Carter Chunko (Saucon Valley, PA) #40 Justin Farnsworth (Malvern Prep, PA) #55 Blake Hostetter (Oxford, PA) #80 Luke Knox (Perkiomen Valley, PA) #60 Braiden Lotier (Bishop McDevitt, PA) NR Jordan Manyette (Trinity, PA) #20 Brock Rothermel (Line Mountain, PA) What a huge recruiting weekend for Bucknell! Seven top 100 wrestlers in town and all of them from Pennsylvania. This was the first visit we’ve noticed for Albanese, Chunko, Farnsworth, Knox, and Lotier. Maybe that first visit will leave a lasting impression. Hostetter has already taken a look at Penn. Manyette went across the country to visit Utah Valley. Rothermel has been the busiest of the bunch heading to Pittsburgh and Maryland before Bucknell. Clarion NR Blake Boyer (Kennett, PA) - 2026 NR Bryce Boyer (Kennett, PA) NR Jacob Buffum (Skyline, VA) NR Zack Jaffe (Kennett, PA) NR Clay Kimmy (General McLane, PA) - 2026 NR Elijah Scriven (Hickory, PA) NR Brady Slicker (Hickory, PA) Once again, Clarion had a good-sized group in town. They follow a particular pattern you’ll see with Clarion recruiting. For the most part, they are from smaller schools and are prospects that the staff has identified as being ready to break out within the next year or two. Lots of potential, rather than national-level credentials. The Clarion staff has also gone back into Virginia to check out two-time state finalist Jacob Buffum. They seem to be looking at more Virginia kids than in the past. Illinois #48 Bruno Cassioppi (Honanegah, IL) #21 Rocco Cassioppi (Honanegah, IL) #72 Nico DeSalvo (Southeast Polk, IA) #24 Caleb Noble (Warren, IL) Last week, we learned that two-time Iowa state champion, Nico DeSalvo, had reopened the recruiting process after originally committing to Minnesota. Shortly after, DeSalvo hit the road to visit Illinois. He was joined by the Cassioppi twins and Caleb Noble. The Illinois staff has done well thus far, locking up high-profile recruits from their home state in the Class of 2026. Any combination of the three would be huge for 2027. The Cassioppi’s already have a combined nine Fargo placements under their belt. Noble was a U17 Greco World Team member in 2025. Working with Bryan Medlin would be great in that aspect. Indiana #104 Peyton Hornsby (Center Grove, IN) NR Torin Kuokkanen (Waukesha West, WI) #89 Evan Stanley (Lowell, IN) #31 Lukas Zalota (Malvern Prep, PA) There’s a familiar name for Hoosier fans in this group with Torin Kuokkanen, the younger brother of current Indiana wrestler Magnus Kuokkanen. The younger Kuokkanen was a Wisconsin state qualifier in 2025. The remainder of the group includes three Big Boarders - two from Indiana. Under Escobedo, Indiana has been better about keeping in-state wrestlers at home and retaining Evan Stanley and Peyton Hornsby would be great in that aspect. Stanley has already taken a visit to Brown. This is the first one we have for Hornsby. Heavyweight Lukas Zalota has been a hot commodity. He traveled to Army and Virginia Tech before Indiana. Little Rock #91 Colin Rutlin (Christian Brothers, MO) Little Rock has recruited well in Missouri and the Trojan staff went back into the Show Me State for 16U freestyle national champion Colin Rutlin. Before visiting Little Rock, Rutlin has been hosted by Oklahoma and Missouri. Michigan State #119 Cason Craft (Coweta, OK) #199 Brennan Warwick (Massillon Perry, OH) - 2026 These are the first visits we’ve received this fall associated with Michigan State. The Spartans hosted six-time Fargo All-American Cason Craft and Ohio state placewinner Brennan Warwick. Michigan State has a long history with Ohio recruits, so Warwick isn’t surprising. Craft has already visited Little Rock and Oklahoma. Warwick has visited Indiana, Kent State, and Little Rock. Navy NR Ryker Cox (Coxsackie-Athens, NY) NR Aiden Kunes (Central Mountain, PA) #74 Jon Smith (Oxford, PA) Head coach Cary Kolat is a legend in Pennsylvania (and everywhere else), so it makes sense for Navy to dive into PA for some recruiting. They typically do that. The two PA recruits they recently had in Annapolis were Aiden Kunes and Jon Smith. Smith is a top 100 recruit who was fourth at PA’s AAA state tournament as a sophomore. Aiden Kunes has yet to place at the Pennsylvania AAA tournament, but has qualified twice. From out of state is Ryder Cox, who was fourth at the New York DII State Championships in 2025. This is the first visit we have on record for all three wrestlers. Northern Illinois NR Caeleb Hutchinson (Manhattan, KS) - 2026 #245 Zaiyahn Ornelas (Creighton Prep, NE) - 2026 Northern Illinois is still working on its Class of 2026 and had a pair of intriguing prospects in town. Zaiyahn Ornelas is a three-time Fargo All-American. His latest honor came over the summer when he finished eighth in Junior freestyle. He would be a great pickup for the Huskies. Caeleb Hutchinson is a three-time Kansas state champion who also won Preseason Nationals in 2024. Northern Iowa #52 Luke Hayden (Hickman, MO) #50 Gavin Landers (Denver, IA) #141 Camden Rugg (Union Grove, WI) #15 Hayden Schwab (Don Bosco, IA) NR Cale Vandermark (Ankeny Centennial, IA) - 2026 #38 Dawson Youngblut (Don Bosco, IA) The Panther Train carried an impressive group of recruits into town, including four top 100 recruits from the Class of 2027. Hayden Schwab, son of UNI head coach Doug, didn’t have to go very far to make the trip. Despite the relationship, the double 16U national champion has taken a trip to Cornell and has others planned. Also from in-state are Gavin Landers, Cale Vandermark, and Dawson Youngblut. Vandermark and Youngblut were both at Iowa State last weekend. Youngblut has also visited Cornell. This is the first visit we have recorded for Landers, though he recently put out his list of top schools, which included UNI, Iowa State, Nebraska, North Dakota State, and Stanford. Ohio State #6 Grey Burnett (Perrysburg, OH) #11 Clinton Shepherd (Crown Point, IN) #4 Landon Sidun (Norwin, PA) True to their recruiting strategy, Ohio State hasn’t had massive groups in for recruiting; they’ve had smaller numbers but lots of talent. That holds true with the most recent list of visitors - three of the top 11 wrestlers in the nation. Grey Burnett recently released his top three schools, with Nebraska and Penn State joining the Buckeyes. Burnett was a 16U freestyle world bronze medalist this year. Sidun was a Pennsylvania state champion as a freshman and recently took a visit to Pittsburgh. Fargo 16U champion Clinton Shepherd is from the same high school as two-time national champion Jesse Mendez. That’s a good sign. He has also visited Nebraska. Princeton #29 Ronan An (North Cobb, GA) #22 Gabe Ballard (Northampton, PA) #37 Mikey Batista (Blair Academy, NJ) #17 Arseni Kikiniou (Poway, CA) #28 Cam Sontz (Delbarton, NJ) What a group for Princeton to bring in! Five top 50 recruits. This is the first one we’ve seen for Fargo 16U double All-American Gabe Ballard. The rest of this crew has already taken at least one visit to an Ivy League rival. The recruiting battles between these Ivy League schools will be fun! Purdue #43 Zach Aquila (Brecksville, OH) NR Brady Brown (Derry Area, PA) #109 Sam Howard (Boonville, IN) #63 Brody Sendele (Honanegah, IL) The efforts of the Purdue staff in the recruiting game last weekend have already paid off as Brady Brown has given the Boilermakers a verbal commitment. Brown was fifth at the PA AA state tournament at 189 lbs as a sophomore. Another upperweight in West Lafayette was Sam Howard, an Indiana state qualifier, who finished fifth at the UWW U17 Trials earlier this year. Zach Aquila is a two-time 16U freestyle All-American in freestyle. He visited Little Rock last weekend. Brody Sendele was third in 16U freestyle in Fargo in 2024. He’s already taken a visit to Big Ten rival Wisconsin. SIU Edwardsville #224 Jason Hampton Jr. (Joliet Catholic, IL) - 2026 #151 Judah Heeg (Lemont, IL) - 2026 NR Royce Lopez (Warren, IL) - 2026 NR Kameron Luif (Montini Catholic, IL) - 2026 The SIU Edwardsville staff is still working hard to land some in-state prospects from the Class of 2026. They had two in over the weekend in Jason Hampton Jr. and Judah Heeg. Heeg was an Illinois 2A state champion as a junior. Hampton Jr. was third in the state at the 3A classification. Kameron Luif was also a 2A champ, while Royce Lopez was fifth in 3A. With one 2026 Big Boarder already committed, SIUE could have an excellent class if they can land some or all of this group. South Dakota State NR Cole Caniglia (Creighton Prep, NE) NR Cavin Carlson (Willmar, MN) - 2026 #42 Mac Crosson (Indianola, IA) South Dakota State is another school that has already received a verbal commitment from one of its weekend visitors. Cavin Carlson didn’t need much time to think about it after his visit. Carlson is a two-time Minnesota state third-place finisher. He’s the latest in a line of Carlson’s from Willmar to wrestle for SDSU. The Jackrabbit staff has been able to dip into Iowa time and time again and pick up some quality recruits. That might be the case again with #24 Mac Crosson. Crosson was a 2025 Iowa 3A state champion and won a Fargo 16U title a few years ago at 88 lbs. Crosson also visited Oklahoma earlier this fall. Also from the Class of 2027 is Nebraska state champion lightweight Cole Caniglia. Virginia Tech #47 Michael Boyle (Bishop Watterson, OH) #41 Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary, PA) Blake Jacobson (Washington, WV) #54 Steel Meyers (Allen, TX) #29 Jayden Williams (Roseville, MI) - 2026 Virginia Tech already has an excellent Class of 2026 waiting to sign, but it could get a boost as they had one of the top uncommitted prospects in Blacksburg in Jayden Williams. Williams was a double Junior All-American this summer in Fargo, taking sixth in freestyle and second in Greco. They also had Blake Jacobson in town. He’s a West Virginia state champion who is originally from Virginia and was a Round of 12 finisher in Fargo. Moving on to the Class of 2027, the Hokie staff had four of the top 54 prospects in for a visit. This is the first visit we’ve seen from double Fargo Junior AA and freestyle finalist Michael Boyle. Dale Corbin was also a double AA this summer, placing top five in both styles. He spent some time living in Virginia prior to high school. Corbin has already taken a visit to Wisconsin. Finally, we have Steel Meyers. The NHSCA Sophomore runner-up obviously has the ACC on his mind. He visited NC State and Virginia before coming to Virginia Tech. West Virginia #34 Maximus Fortier (Fairmont, WV) #32 Stephen Myers (Parkersburg, WV) #35 Greyson Music (Bishop McDevitt, PA) #117 Kai Vielma (Connellsville, PA) It was a big Saturday for WVU as the football team hosted Pittsburgh for the “Backyard Brawl.” Four Big Boarders - three in the top four were on hand for the festivities. Two of which are homegrown talents in Maximus Fortier and Stephen Myers. As a state, West Virginia doesn’t typically produce recruits of that caliber, so the Mountaineers should take advantage, if possible. Coming in from PA are Greyson Music and Kai Vielma. Vielma has an older brother, Lonzy, who is a freshman at WVU. Music was third in 16U freestyle this summer in Fargo. Fortier has already taken a visit to the Naval Academy. Music has gone to Pitt and Bucknell. Vielma has traveled to North Carolina and Cornell. This is the first visit we’ve seen for Myers. Wyoming #86 Derrek Barrows (Pomona, CO) -2026 #93 Ladd Holman (Juab, UT) NR Kyler Walters (Shakopee, MN) - 2026 #95 Kalob Ybarra (Pomona, CO) - 2026 Wyoming appears to be trying to put the finishing touches on the Class of 2026, while keeping an eye on 2027. Pomona, Colorado has a pair of teammates who are top 100 recruits and still uncommitted. The Cowboys staff had both in town. Maybe they’ll stay together at the next level? Derrek Barrows has already taken a visit to Oregon State over the summer. Kalob Ybarra went to Utah Valley last fall, North Carolina during the spring, and Oregon State this summer. Also from the Class of 2026 is Minnesota AAA runner-up Kyler Walters. Wyoming has done well recruiting in Minnesota, so this isn’t a big surprise. Looking at the Class of 2027, they hosted Junior Fargo double AA, Ladd Holman. Holman made the Fargo finals in Greco, along with the UWW U17 Trials.

Here are the results from the first session of day five at the 2025 Senior World Championships. We'll have a more thorough recap after the medal matches this afternoon. Women’s Freestyle 53 kg Round of 32: Jin Zhang (China) over Felicity Taylor 10-0 62 kg Round of 32: Adaugo Nwachukwu over Selvi Ilyasoglu (Turkey) 7-3 Round of 16: Adaugo Nwachukwu over Johanna Lindborg (Sweden) 13-6 Quarterfinals: Orkhon Purevdorj (Mongolia) over Adaugo Nwachukwu 5-2 65 kg Repechage: Macey Kilty over Grace Bullen (Norway) Fall 4:38 Bronze Medal Matchup: Macey Kilty vs. Enkhjin Tuvshinjargal (Mongolia) 68 kg Round of 16: Kennedy Blades over Radhika Jaglan (India) 11-0 Quarterfinals: Ami Ishii (Japan) over Kennedy Blades 12-1 72 kg Round of 32: Alex Glaude over Svetlana Oknazarova (Uzbekistan) Fall 3:30 Round of 16: Alex Glaude over Masako Furuichi (Japan) 3-2 Quarterfinals: Nurzat Nurtaeva (Azerbaijan) over Alex Glaude 8-4 76 kg Repechage: Kylie Welker over Elmira Yasin (Turkiye) 10-0 Bronze Medal Matchup: Kylie Welker vs. Anastasiya Alpyeyeva (Ukraine)