A Penn State wrestling commit got the best of one of his future teammates.
Competing at the U20 World Championships, Jayden James wrestled Joe Sealey at 74 KG.
The bout wasnโt close.
James, the No. 3 overall recruit in the Class of 2026 per Mat Scouts, beat Sealey, about to enter his sophomore season with Penn State wrestling, in less than two minutes. To put this into perspective, Sealey was the No. 6 overall recruit in the Class of 2024.
This shows just how good James can be.
Penn State missed on the top two recruits inย Jax Forrestย (Oklahoma State) andย Bo Bassettย (Iowa).
But in James, the program landed what it hopes will be a future star. James, who wrestles at Delbarton High School in New Jersey, is coming off a state championship at the 150-pound weight class. So, yeah, heโs pretty good. Heโs also been good atFolkstyle, recentlyย winning a U17 U.S. Open Championship.
Not long after James committed to Penn State, NSNย caught up with his trainer, Khaled Dassan of the KD Training Center.
Dassan described James as โa perfect fit for Penn State.โ
โHeโs a relentless competitor whoโs fully committed to improving every day,โ he said. โHe genuinely loves the sport, and that passion, combined with his work ethic, makes him an ideal match for Caelโs room.โ
Dassan feels Jamesโ โmost significant growthโ has come within the past year.
โAfter taking a few tough losses at states and the World Team Trials, he made a major shift in mindset โ moving away from being outcome-focused to prioritizing performance and striving to become the best version of himself,โ Dassan said.โ
The โbest versionโ of James, per Dassan, is pretty darn good.
โJayden is incredibly positive and a great teammate,โ Dassan said. โHe brings energy to every room he walks into and lifts up the people around him. Heโs the kind of person who makes the environment better.โ
James is now in the semifinals.
