Penn State wrestling is arguably the best program in college athletics. So it’s natural to think it would be in the mix for pretty much any top recruit.
The No. 1 pound for pound wrestler in the Class of 2026 is no exception.
Jax Forrest, who just started his junior school year at Bishop McCourt, has Cael Sanderson’s wrestling empire in his top 10.
Judging by Forrest’s Instagram post in which he marked off nine stats on the map, Penn State is a finalist along with Iowa, Iowa State, Lehigh, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, NC State, Ohio State and Oklahoma State. Four of those schools are in the Big Ten. Lehigh is annually on Penn State’s schedule and Oklahoma State is now coached by Penn State wrestling legend David Taylor.
Forrest is 83-3 in his high school career, going 53-2 and winning a state title at 127.
At the college level, he figures to wrestle at either 141 or 149.
It’s way too early to tell how Penn State’s 2026-27 lineup projects, but for now, defending national runner-up Beau Bartlett is slated to come back at 141 this season, and Shayne Van Ness is projected to start at 149. Van Ness finished fourth at the 2023 NCAA Championships but missed all of last season due to injury.
Despite being early in his junior season, Forrest is already taking official visits and most recently took one to Michigan. When the Class of 2025’s top wrestler, PJ Duke, committed to Penn State, he did so while visiting during White Out weekend.
Penn State also got the top-ranked commit from the Class of 2024, Luke Lilledahl. Lilledahl recently won a U20 World Championship and is expected to be Penn State’s starter at 125.
Duke is also a big part of Penn State’s future, and we’ll see if Forrest becomes one.
