Ohio State recruiting: Wrestling gets a huge commitment

I am going to start this article with my strongest and, possibly, most surprising take about Ohio State athletics. Here it is: Ohio State’s wrestling program is the best and most dominant athletic program they have on campus.

I can already hear some Buckeye football fans insulting my intelligence, but hear me out. In the last five seasons, Ohio State’s wrestling team has a national championship, three runner-up performances, and a third place finish. As for their individual wrestlers, they have had six individual national champions since 2015. The wrestling program has also produced medalists and world champions on the international stage. When it comes to Ohio State wrestling, they just produce winners.

And, they recruit winners as well.

In 2019, Ohio State had the No. 1 overall wrestling recruiting class in the country; that was a class that included 14 freshmen. Of those 14, three were ranked top-10 pound-for-pound: Jordan Decatur (125/133 pounds), Carson Kharchla (165 pounds) and Greg Kerkvliet (HWT). Because Ohio State brought in 14 freshmen, they will not be able to bring in as many recruits in the 2020 class—and it is too early to tell how many they will sign in 2021.

One thing is for sure though: Ohio State is getting an absolute star in the 2022 class with Seth Shumate.

Shumate is from Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio. When Shumate is on the mat, he has the strength and athleticism to beat his opponent in a variety of ways. For Buckeye fans curious about what weight he will wrestle at Ohio State, he plans on wrestling in the 184/197 pound division. Academically, he is an honor roll student at Dublin Coffman. While he may not arrive on Ohio State’s campus until Fall 2022, he is a great commitment for Ohio State and head wrestling coach Tom Ryan.

Ohio State will have a smaller class in 2020, but the Buckeyes are working to attract quality student athletes. One is Braxton Amos, the No. 2 overall pound-for-pound wrestler in the country. Amos has listed his top schools: Ohio State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin and Oklahoma State. While Amos has not yet made his decision, I believe the Buckeyes have a very good shot at landing him—and may very well be leading for him right now.

As for the 2021 class, there are two names Buckeye wrestling fans should keep an eye on: Paddy Gallagher and Victor Voinovich. Both are Ohio state champions.

If you would like to argue, leave a comment below or give me a follow and shoot me a message at @MickDWalker on Twitter.