If Penn State wrestling does end up getting Bo Bassett, it won’t be because of NIL.
You don’t hear much about college wrestling headlines on a Tuesday. But this week will be an exception when the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2026 will make his college decision in Bassett.
Bassett, a junior from Bishop McCort in Johnstown, about an hour and a half from State College, is 36-0 on the season while competing at 145 pounds. Out of those 36 wins, 22 of them are by technical fall.
Bassett has narrowed his college decision down to four schools – Penn State, Iowa, Oklahoma State, and Virginia Tech.
Recruiting Update: No. 1 Wrestling Prospect Has Penn State in Final Four
He will make the decision after Bishop McCort competes in the first round of the PIAA Class AA Tournament.
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson isn’t allowed to discuss specific recruits per NCAA guidelines. But Sanderson said he likes where the program is at from a recruiting standpoint.
“We like the kids we have in the program,” Sanderson said. “We like the kids that are coming into the program. Obviously our greatest recruiting tool is we’re going to help you get to the top of the mountain, whatever that means to you. You’re going to reach your highest levels. To us, it’s about helping you and preparing you with a certain lifestyle that’s going to benefit you for the rest of your life.
“We want to create kids that make a difference in the world and do what they want to do. It might be in the sport of wrestling. It might be outside of wrestling.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.With a recruit such as Bassett, the process of figuring out where to continue wrestling after high school can be a long one. It was a similar experience for Luke Lilledahl. Lilledahl is doing just fine in his true freshman season at 125 pounds for PSU.
“I tried to take my time,” Lilledahl said. “There were a lot of schools reaching out to me. I kind of settled on Penn State because of the culture here, and the coaches and teammates just preach getting better. It’s not really focusing on the wins and the losses as much, and just kind of having fun improving. I think it was a really big aspect on why I came here, and I think I made the right decision.”
With NIL and the transfer portal always changing the landscape of college athletics, recruiting has become more of a constant process rather than just a recruit’s senior year of high school.
But make no mistake about it with Penn State and Sanderson: NIL will not play a big factor in any recruitment.
“We’re not going to get anybody because of NIL money,” Sanderson said. “That just goes against what we believe. We’re always going to be a little slow to change. At the same time, we’re always going to take care of our kids. Penn State has a great alumni network, very loyal people. But our focus is always on the big picture, long-term stuff.
“Recruiting is like a long-term relationship. It’s like a marriage. You want it to be a two-way street, otherwise it’s just not a good long-term plan. We’re not aggressive recruiters. We just want kids to know when they come in here, we’re going to go to work for them.”
In addition to this season, Bassett won last year’s PIAA Championship at 139 pounds and is 110-0 for his high school career.
