Penn State wrestling freshman phenom moves into top 5

No. 1 Penn State wrestling continued its destruction of the collegiate wrestling world last weekend with three more wins at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals, two of which came over ranked opponents. The Nittany Lions now are 6-0 on the season and have outscored their opposition by a combined 268-9.

One of the reasons why Penn State has looked so dominant through one month of the season is the production that Cael Sanderson has seen from new additions to the starting lineup, like 197-pounder Josh Barr. Following another outstanding weekend, the redshirt freshman has moved into the top five of InterMat’s 197-pound rankings.

Barr has been on a tear to start the season and is turning into a legitimate national title contender at 197 pounds. He solidified that status last weekend at the Journeymen, taking down then-No. 5 Stephen Little of Little Rock in a 4-1 sudden victory. The win was Barr’s second over a top-six opponent this season after previously upsetting No. 6 Michael Beard of Lehigh with an 11-3 major decision.

Released earlier this week, Barr moved up three spots in InterMat’s 197-pound rankings to No. 4. He passed both Little and undefeated Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota.

The move shouldn’t be surprising to those who follow college wrestling recruiting, as Barr was the No. 8 overall prospect in the country two years ago. However, what is shocking is how good he has become after spending just one year with the program.

Cael Sanderson and Casey Cunningham are two of the best heavyweight coaches in the country, and they’ve now helped Barr seamlessly transition from 184 to 197 pounds. Barr even looks to be wrestling a little bit light at the weight. But with an 88.89 bonus percentage so far through nine matches, size doesn’t seem to be an issue for the redshirt freshman.

Josh Barr is becoming yet another title contender for Penn State wrestling

Cael Sanderson came into the season needing to find the best option to replace four-time NCAA Champion Aaron Brooks. It wasn’t going to be Carter Starocci, who ultimately moved up to 184 pounds for his final year of eligibility. While Josh Barr seemed like the frontrunner, there was still some uncertainty about whether he or Lucas Cochran would get the starting spot for the Nittany Lions.

After starting the year ranked No. 23 in the country, Barr is now only behind AJ Ferrari (CSU Bakersfield), Stephen Buchanan (Iowa), and Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) for the weight class’s top spot. He will be able to face both Buchanan and Cardenas on back-to-back weekends at the Bryce Jordan Center on January 31 and February 7.

Before those top five matchups, Barr will face No. 25 Remy Cotton (Michigan State), No. 23 Camden McDanel (Nebraska), and No. 14 John Poznanski (Rutgers). By mid-February, we should know just how good Josh Barr can be in 2025. The Big Ten is the most difficult conference in the country. Current No. 1 AJ Ferrari simply won’t get enough quality matches to compete with Barr if the two have similar records and go head-to-head in seeding at Nationals. With several resume-boosting wins already under his belt and potentially more on the way, the second half of the season is setting up for an exciting finish at 197.

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