Penn State wrestling dominates top of new 2024 recruiting rankings

Penn State wrestling continues to maintain its stranglehold on the top of the 2024 recruiting rankings. With the latest rankings update recently released by FloWrestling, Cael Sanderson will have four of the top seven overall recruits joining the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley this upcoming fall.

Although this was FloWrestling’s first update since November, the rankings for Penn State’s top recruits remained unchanged.

Wyoming Seminary’s (Pennsylvania) Luke Lilledahl headlines the class as the No. 1 overall wrestler in the country for the 2024 recruiting cycle. Recent winner of the Junior Dan Hodge Trophy, Lilledahl may end up as the starter at 125 pounds in his true freshman season.

Zack Ryder from Minisink Valley (New York) and Joseph Sealey, also of Wyoming Seminary, remained at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, from the last rankings update in November.

Biggest changes for the Nittany Lions in the updated 2024 recruiting rankings

The most significant changes among the future Nittany Lions came after the top three wrestlers in Penn State’s class.

The Mirasola brothers out of the Askren Wrestling Academy and West Bend West High School in Wisconsin made notable leaps in these latest rankings after strong performances to end the year.

Connor Mirasola moved into the top 10, going from No. 11 to No. 7 after some great wrestling in international competition.

Cole Mirasola moved up nine spots from No. 24 to No. 15. He will be projected as the starting heavyweight for Penn State wrestling in 2025-26 once Greg Kerkvliet is out of eligibility.

After being ranked outside the top 100 in November, Jersey Shore’s (Pennsylvania) Brock Weiss is the sixth and final future Penn State wrestler to crack the top 75.

This is just a demonstration of the talent and depth that Cael Sanderson is continuing to build in Happy Valley.

The Nittany Lions are second only to Stanford for the number of commits in the top 100. Penn State has more signees in the top 10 (four) and the top 15 (five) than any program in the country for the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Sanderson has his future Penn State wrestling lineup

Cael Sanderson has made it a habit to win his National Championships in runs.

He first had a four-peat from 2011-2014 with the likes of David Taylor and Ed Ruth propelling the Nittany Lions. The second four-peat came in 2016-2019 with Zain Retherford, Bo Nickal, and Vincenzo Joseph.

Now, the current run of four-time champion Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks has set Penn State wrestling up for a chance at another four-peat next season.

Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State already has a defending NCAA Champion in Levi Haines with two more years of eligibility and National Runner-Up Mitchell Mesenbrink with three more years. Add in Tyler Kasak, Shayne Van Ness, and Braeden Davis, and the future is certainly already bright.

But with the 2024 recruiting class, Penn State wrestling will have two wrestlers ranked No. 1 at their weights, one ranked No. 2, and two ranked No. 3. The end of title contenders doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

More than four?

Cael Sanderson has yet to win more than four consecutive titles in his time as head coach at Penn State. The Iowa Hawkeyes won nine consecutive National Championships from 1978-1986 and six straight from 1995-2000.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys won seven successive titles from 1937-1942 and 1946, considering the absence of NCAA Championships for World War II.

It seems that Sanderson continues to check off the boxes of achievements towards being the greatest wrestling coach of all time. The next step is to be the third team ever to win five consecutive National Championships.

With the help of the 2024 recruiting class, that goal is certainly in play for Penn State wrestling.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation! Please follow us on all of our social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube) and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media.