Is anyone surprised that Bo Bassett always steals the spotlight? The 18-year-old has had a whirlwind of a season on the mat. After his bronze medal performance in the U-20 World Championships, he shut all the naysayers down by reclaiming his spot on FloWrestling’s “Who’s #1.” In fact, he stunned the wrestling community by clinching titles at Ironman, PIAAs, U20 Pan Am Championships, Super 32, and Powerade. However, he’s not just turning heads with his incredible performances on the mat.

Being the top recruit, he has found a unique approach to finding the right college. The wrestler continues to build a buzz around what his next visit will be while keeping his final answer a mystery. Frankly, the 18-year-old is taking his own sweet time by exploring all of his options for now. But this particular approach has caused quite a stir, generating positive and negative reactions. So, what could have brought on this unconventional approach?

Bo Bassett spills the beans on his never-seen-before college process

The wrestler has been stealing the spotlight since the NCAA Wrestling declared the contact window open for the 2026 recruiting class. On November 10, Bo Bassett appeared for a casual sit-down conversation with Bobby Lashley on Phenoms to Legends. Even the professional wrestler couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked the wunderkind if he’d made a decision yet. “I’m open,” he confirmed. But Bassett gave the MMA Legend some perspective.

Lately, all eyes have been on the 18-year-old due to his unique approach. While colleges rushed to get their dream recruit on board, he decided to create a college list to help make it easy. “So, we did the whole thing where we posted the big graphic, and I posted like every division one, couple division 2 schools on there,” he admitted. The wrestler stated how this would just give colleges an idea that he is not locked in and is open to exploring.  

Bo Bassett also talked about what the next few steps look like. “We would put out like the top 10. So, I’ve got an idea of where I want to be. I’m taking official visits. We did a ton of home visits over the past month or two,” he stated. The wunderkind had visited Michigan, Air Force, and Iowa. However, he isn’t nearly done yet. In the next 3 weeks, he would visit Ohio State, Penn State, and Virginia Tech. In fact, he seemed to be excited about the process. “It’s one of those things you think about it your whole life, and now it’s kind of here. So, trying to soak up every second of it,” the wrestler confessed.

However, many stated how this made him seem unlikeable, and he was only prolonging a simple process. However, Allyson Schwabb didn’t seem to agree. After reading the slew of hate thrown his way, she decided to share her opinion on X. Schwabb was appalled by the comments she came across, especially seeing the hate many grown men threw his way. She reiterated how they could move past it or unfollow if they disagreed, but there was nothing wrong with the way he was approaching it. Now that the 18-year-old has been to Penn State, does he think it might be the one?

The wrestler is nearly done with his official college visits

After a lengthy process of vetting his dream college, Bo Bassett finally visited Penn State to understand what the wrestling program looks like. However, he wasn’t alone. Jax Forrest and Sam Herring accompanied the wrestler on this exciting adventure. In fact, according to the ‘Inner Circle’ newsletter, the 18-year-old enjoyed having them around. It made the trip far more enjoyable for him.

But the Penn State visit wasn’t all about business. The wrestler enjoyed a volleyball match during his time there. Yet, his visit caused quite a stir since Penn State seemed to be the #1 choice for him. Bassett has a connection with the university though. He has spent a lot of time training there and at NLWC.

However, he never really understood how fun it could be. A few wrestlers he met while training were on the World Team in Spain. So, was this visit a resounding success? Even though PSU checked several boxes, he hadn’t made a final decision yet. According to him, the trips gave him perspective. But it made the process a lot harder.

One thing’s for certain: Bo Bassett wants to take as much time as he can. Why? Because this will be his home for a very long time. Every visit so far has helped him understand what matters and left a positive impact on him. Even though his way of picking a college is unconventional, the wrestler believes it will help him make the right choice when the time arrives.