Penn State wrestling makes top two for transfer portal target Chris Cannon
Penn State wrestling wants to add to its roster via the transfer portal this offseason. After making the shortlist for former Minnesota All-American Aaron Nagao last week, the Nittany Lions are now a finalist for another former All-American.
Pat Mineo reported on Sunday that former Northwestern 133-pound star Chris Cannon is down to two schools: Penn State and Rutgers. A timeline has not yet been set for a decision.
Cannon was the No. 12 seed at this year’s NCAA tournament. He was upset in the opening round and only made it to the second round of wrestlebacks before being eliminated. The 2021-2022 season was much better for the Oceanport, N.J., native who attended the prominent Blair Academy. He was seventh at nationals to earn his second consecutive All-American honor. He was fifth at Big Tens that year, as well.
Cannon has multiple years of eligibility remaining.
“Thankful for my time with the coaches and teammates at Northwestern,” Cannon wrote on Twitter in March.
“With graduating this spring, I have decided to enter the transfer portal. Excited for what’s to come!”
Penn State aims to fill its 133-pound role via the transfer portal
One thing is clear about the Penn State wrestling plan this offseason: The Lions intend to replace multi-time national champion Roman Bravo-Young via a transfer portal addition at 133 pounds. Cannon is one target. Nagao is the other.
Here’s what we reported on the latter last week:
Minnesota All-American Aaron Nagao entered the transfer portal shortly after finishing fifth at nationals. He was the runner-up at Big Tens in 133-pound weight class, losing only to Bravo-Young, of course.
During an appearance on Justin Basch’s ‘Baschmania’ podcast this week, Nagao confirmed that he could still return to the Golden Gophers. But, he also has three other programs in focus: Penn State, Cornell, and Iowa.
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“I have a strong feeling [I’ll have a decision] by the end of [April], Nagao said.
Nagao explained his decision to enter the portal by saying that he wanted to see what other options exist besides the one he already has in Minneapolis.
“I laid everything out on the table, talked to my family, assessed all my options, and laid out my goals. I want to be a three-time national champion, win Olympics and Worlds … the hardest decision of my life. I’m not deciding to leave yet. Just because I opened the portal up doesn’t mean I’m leaving. But for me to assess these options adequately, I needed to open the portal up.
“I thought the wisest decision was to open up the portal and see what’s out there for me and my goals.”
Fans of football recruiting know how this will play out. Whichever one of Nagao and Cannon commits first will get the coveted spot in the Penn State wrestling room and lineup. Stay tuned for the latest as each wrestler continues to work on making a final decision.
