Carter Starocci is one of the best wrestlers Penn State has ever had, and that’s saying something.
His abilities on the mat haven’t been in question since he started dominating for Cael Sanderson’s empire.
Starocci has won three national titles and was a finalist for the Hodge Trophy— wrestling’s Heisman— this March.
Starocci’s ability and track record is obvious. But his future plans haven’t been.
Well, not long after Penn State’s 2023 wrestling schedule came out, Starocci posted an Instagram story with a photo of the schedule and wrote:
“The Final Hit List.”
Starocci seems to be planning to wrestle next year in college pic.twitter.com/BwuWSb94EF
— 🐐 (@TheGOATFollower) October 2, 2023
After winning his third national title, Starocci indicated in an interview with ESPN that he wouldn’t be returning to Penn State for the 2023-24 season.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“This (college wrestling) is cool,” Starocci told ESPN, “but I want the peak of the sport. I don’t look past this because this is what I wake up to do every single day. It’s been fun smacking the head of the college team, but I want that Olympic gold.”
Almost two weeks after Starocci’s national title win, he sent a series of tweets. In one of them, he wrote that he’s considering returning to Penn State to pursue a fourth national title, something only five wrestlers at any weight class have accomplished.
The thread’s first tweet reads as a follow-up to Starocci’s post-national title interview.
But in the thread’s second tweet, Starocci said he’s still weighing his decision.
“There’s options on the table,” he wrote. I will talk with the people I trust and make a decision on either finishing my college career early, train strictly for my Olympic strap and then go right into MMA, or run down the college scene one last time for my 4th Natty Daddy, then head to Paris.”
Paris is where the 2024 summer games will be.
Starocci has two years of eligibility left if he wants to use them.
