Iowa Men's Wrestling: Class of '25 and '26 Recruiting Breakdown
For those of you accustomed to a college recruiting landscape in which many (if not most) high school prospects commit to their school of choice either leading up to or during their senior year – think football and basketball – welcome to the comparatively wacky world of men’s college wrestling.
To get a better idea of what I’m talking about, here are some numbers courtesy of FloWrestling’s rankings for the Class of 2025:
- 46 of the top 47 ranked prospects have already committed (most of them for quite some time now)
- The only top-47 prospect who has yet to announce his college of choice is #1 overall prospect Marcus Blaze (more on him in a bit)
Men’s wrestling prospects are similarly identified and scouted early in their high school careers much like athletes in other sports, but in this one the ‘conclusion’ of that recruiting process tends to occur much sooner for most of the top athletes – oftentimes during the fall/winter of their junior year.
And so, as it pertains to the Iowa men’s wrestling program specifically, there aren’t much in the way of ‘groundbreaking’ commitments likely to come from the Class of 2025 from here on out – unless of course the Hawkeyes happen to land the mysterious Marcus Blaze.
Here’s what we know so far about Iowa’s current 2025 commits, what the possible addition of Blaze would bring to the program, and a look ahead to a massively important Class of 2026:
Class of 2025
Current commitments:
Leo DeLuca – Blair Academy (NJ)
- Ranked #1 nationally at 120 pounds
- #6 overall in the Class of 2025
- #13 pound-for-pound HS prospect in America (regardless of age/weight)
DeLuca is unquestionably the crown jewel of Iowa’s four-man class thus far.
With wins over a plethora of other top lightweights from around the country – not to mention the hardware to back it up – DeLuca profiles as the next stud 125-pounder for the Hawkeyes when he steps onto campus.
Among those credentials is a 2023 Junior Fargo national title over prized 2024 Oklahoma State signee Beric Jordan:
Jarrel Miller – St. Edward (OH)
- Ranked #6 nationally at 190 pounds
- #21 overall in the Class of 2025
Jarrel Miller profiles as an exciting upper weight prospect for the Hawkeyes in future seasons (likely at either 184 or 197 pounds).
The Ohio product announced his commitment to Iowa back in June along with his brother Tryel (more on him in a moment) and is a guy whom I could see really blossoming in Iowa City.
Just like DeLuca, Miller is notably also a past Fargo champion – taking first at 170 pounds in the 16U division back in 2022:
Tyrel Miller – St. Edward (OH)
- Ranked #7 nationally at 175 pounds
While his twin brother may be more credentialed to this point in their respective careers, don’t sleep on Tyrel Miller’s potential in the Black & Gold either.
The #7 wrestler in America at 175 pounds (according to Flo), Tyrel was a state runner up in Ohio this past spring, as well as a 2022 Fargo 16U All-American (seventh at 160 pounds).
Leister Bowling IV – Longmont (CO)
- Currently unranked by Flo
- Two-time Fargo All-American (Greco-Roman)
Bowling likely projects somewhere in the 157-174 range for the Hawkeyes – at both ends of which he’s found success on the mat in 2024.
He won his first Colorado state title this past spring at 175 pounds, then took fourth place at 157 in the Junior Greco division at Fargo in July.
Remaining targets:
Marcus Blaze – Perrysburg (OH)
- Ranked #1 nationally at 132 pounds
- #1 overall in the class of 2025
- #1 pound-for-pound HS prospect in America (regardless of age/weight)
As of right now, Blaze is the clear-cut #1 high school wrestler in the country. And as I mentioned earlier, he’s quite literally the only ‘premier’ uncommitted prospect remaining in the Class of 2025.
He’s also a total mystery in terms of where his recruitment is currently at and/or ultimately headed.
The 2023 U17 World champion and recent 2024 U20 bronze medalist has all the accolades a college coach could possibly desire – and that was before he went to the Senior World Team Trials a few weeks ago and beat a trio of former World teamers (including 2021 silver medalist Daton Fix) en route to a runner up finish at 61 kilograms.
We just don’t know where he stands in his recruitment process at the moment, nor which schools are truly in contention.
Iowa has been among a group of all the usual suspects (Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, etc.) that get mentioned as most likely suitors for Blaze, but that’s about the extent of it.
Basically, at this point I don’t think you can count out the possibility of Blaze ending up in Iowa City.
However, I also certainly don’t think it’s an outcome Hawkeye fans should be banking on with any sort of confidence.
Class of 2026
If the 2025 recruiting cycle is more or less finished with commitments of obvious consequence – sans the massive prize that would be Marcus Blaze – then the Class of 2026 is just getting started with what’s set to be a loaded collection of decisions pertaining to the top programs in the country.
The Hawkeyes are squarely among those programs – having turned their attention and efforts toward a whole host of elite junior prospects.
It can’t be overstated what a massive opportunity this is for Iowa, nor how crucial hitting it big with the Class of 2026 would be in helping to narrow the gap between the Hawkeyes and the current gold standard of men’s wrestling that continues to churn along out in State College (PA).
Top targets:
Jax Forrest – Bishop McCourt (PA)
- Ranked #2 nationally at 132 pounds
- #1 overall in the Class of 2026
- #2 pound-for-pound HS prospect in America (regardless of age/weight)
Amidst a crowded, talented group of recent high school lightweights Forrest has gotten in just about as many licks as any of them.
The 2022 U17 World silver medalist has also thrown his hat in the ring against senior-level competition this past summer – taking fourth at April’s Olympic Trials (incl. a 5-4 loss to four-time World/Olympic medalist Thomas Gilman) and third at World Team Trials a few weeks ago (headlined by a 9-6 loss to Austin DeSanto).
Forrest released a list of his top 10 schools yesterday and it included the Hawkeyes.
Bo Bassett – Bishop McCourt (PA)
- Ranked #1 nationally at 144 pounds
- #2 overall in the Class of 2026
- #4 pound-for-pound HS prospect in America (regardless of age/weight)
Along with Jax Forrest, Bo Bassett gives the Bishop McCourt program the top two ranked prospects in the Class of 2026.
It’s not without good reason too, as Bassett has a U17 World title (2021) and U20 bronze medal (2024) in his trophy case to back up his ranking.
Bassett is also going about his recruiting process in a, shall we say, ‘unique’ manner – publicly eliminating programs from an original list of 80 schools put out last December:
Iowa is now one of 17 programs that remain – though the Hawkeyes are considered one of the real ‘true contenders’ among that group.
After recently traveling to Ann Arbor (MI) to check out the Wolverines Bassett’s next official visit is set for Iowa City on the weekend of October 25th.
We’ll see if perhaps one (or more) of his Bishop McCourt teammates join him.
Dreshaun Ross – Fort Dodge (IA)
- Ranked #2 nationally at 215 pounds
- #3 overall in the Class of 2026
- #15 pound-for-pound HS prospect in America (regardless of age/weight)
Quite possibly the next ‘Ben Kueter’ due to both his play on the football field and his historically outlying performances on the mat – Dreshaun Ross might just be the best wrestling prospect in America – forget Iowa – when all is said and done.
Per On3’s (football recruiting) predictor Iowa is currently the favorite to land his services.
How might that pair up with his future on the mat – or will Ross ultimately choose one sport over the other?
Who knows?
Much like with Kueter, if you’re the Iowa wrestling staff you just get Ross on campus and figure the rest of it out later. He’s that special.
Jordyn Raney – Union County (KY)
- Ranked #6 nationally at 132 pounds
- #4 overall in the Class of 2026
A two-time U17 Greco-Roman World medalist (gold in 2023, bronze in 2024) as well as a 2024 U17 World (freestyle) semifinalist, Jordyn Raney is one of the more entertaining wrestlers you’ll see.
Beyond his international credentials, he also has domestic wins on his resume over the likes of Jax Forrest and Bo Bassett.
Jordyn possesses the exact sort of all-gas-no-brakes style that Hawkeye fans love.
Per FloWrestling, he and his twin brother Jayden received calls from Iowa twin coaches Tom/Terry Brands the second the clock struck midnight on June 15th – the start of the contact period for the Class of 2026.
Jayden Raney – Union County (KY)
- Ranked #2 nationally at 126 pounds
- #7 overall in the Class of 2026
Not to be overlooked, Jayden Raney is now a U17 Greco-Roman World champion in his own right – winning his title last month in Jordan.
You’ll be shocked to learn that he has a similarly attack-minded, high-tempo approach to his brother Jordyn – who kept Jayden off this year’s freestyle World team by defeating his brother in a best-of-three final out in Las Vegas:
Haakon Peterson – Hollandale (WI)
- Ranked #3 nationally at 113 pounds
- #14 overall in the Class of 2026
Per Ross Bartachek of IA Wrestle, this four-time Fargo champion has plans to visit Iowa City at some point in the fall.
He’s also a long-time Hawkeye fan.
Others to watch:
Michael Mocco – Cardinal Gibbons (FL)
- Ranked #6 nationally at 215 pounds
- #9 overall in the Class of 2026
The son of 2003 Hawkeye heavyweight national champion Steve Mocco, Michael just bonus’d his way to a U17 World title in August – outscoring four opponents by a combined margin of 46-6.
Sam Herring – Bishop McCourt (PA)
- Ranked #5 nationally at 138 pounds
- #11 overall in the Class of 2026
Herring is the third high-profile member of the Bishop McCourt program with purported Iowa interest in this class and has consistently placed at some of the top high school tournaments around the country.
He was contacted by the Iowa staff this summer according to IA Wrestle’s Ross Bartachek.
Other top-100 in-state prospects:
Jake Knight – Bettendorf (IA)
- Ranked #18 nationally at 120 pounds
- #18 overall in the Class of 2026
Alexander Pierce – Iowa City West (IA)
- Ranked #19 nationally at 113 pounds
- #69 overall in the Class of 2026
Nolan Fellers – Bondurant-Farrar (IA)
- Honorable mention at 138 pounds
- #79 overall in the Class of 2026
Blake Fox – Osage (IA)
- Honorable mention at 120 pounds
- #87 overall in the Class of 2026
Short Time
That’ll wrap things up for this recruiting preview – something that I hope gives fans both a snapshot of the present as well as a preview of the future for the Iowa men’s wrestling program and its efforts out on the trail.
Be sure to also check out my early thoughts on this year’s Iowa team and come back tomorrow for my season/recruiting lookaheads for the Hawkeye women.
These have been a blast to put together so far, and I hope you all have enjoyed reading them.
See you again real soon.
