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Penn State wrestling notes: PJ Duke leads new MatScouts rankings, Bo Bassett updates recruitment

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•06/28/24•

GregPickel

A file photo of Penn State Class of 2025 commit PJ Duke. (ALLYSE PULLIAM/For the Times Herald-Record)
A file photo of Penn State Class of 2025 commit PJ Duke. (ALLYSE PULLIAM/For the Times Herald-Record)

Penn State wrestling signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting Class of 2024. That means the program can turn its focus to the Class of 2025 and beyond. College coaches like Cael Sanderson were recently allowed to contact prospects in the Class of 2026 for the first time. Work in the current cycle has been going on for much longer than that, however. And, the group of commits that the Nittany Lions already have on board are featured prominently in a fresh set of high school rankings.

MatScouts’ Willie Saylor released his updated pound-for-pound and weight-by-weight lists for prep-aged prospects this week ahead of the 2024 Fargo Nationals in July. Longtime Penn State commit PJ Duke, a multi-time New York state champ and freestyle sensation at 157 pounds, leads the pound-for-pound rankings. The junior is ahead of Ohio junior Marcus Blaze and Pennsylvania sophomore Bo Bassett, who round out the top three. The Nittany Lions are also represented in the pound-for-pound rankings by New Jersey junior commit William Henckel. The 175-pounder checks in at No. 13 overall.

As for the weight rankings, here’s where the current Penn State commits stack up:

Nate Desmond | PA | Jr. | No. 4 at 126 pounds

Dalton Perry | PA | Jr. – No. 10 at 138 pounds

PJ Duke | NY | Jr. | No. 1 at 157 pounds

Asher Cunningham PA | Jr. | No. 4 at 165 pounds

Will Henckel | NJ | Jr. | No. 2 at 175 pounds

Read the full MatScout rankings here.

Penn State All-American Mesenbrink set for U23 Worlds

In case you missed our recent update on Penn State All-American Mitchell Mesenbrink, he headed to the U23 World Championships this October. The U20 champ at 74 kilograms earned the right to choose whether or not he wanted to head to Albania for this year’s freestyle event. And, he has decided to do so and thus will compete Internationally one last time this year before turning his full focus to the college season.

Bassett updates recruitment

As mentioned above, Bishop McCort star Bo Bassett checks in at No. 3 in MatScouts pound-for-pound rankings. That makes the 144-pound Pa., native the nation’s top Class of 2026 recruit. He is wanted by schools all over the country, including Penn State. And, this week, he revealed how his recruiting process will unfold. He will reduce a list of nearly 80 schools to one on a routine basis until he’s ready to decide.

“Right now training for U20 Pan Ams in Peru and Worlds in Spain is my priority,” Bassett wrote. “Every Wed for a while I will take 7 more off the list. This is a once in a (lifetime) thing and I am going to make it fun, not stressful.”

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