It is quite a disappointing day for Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling. The No. 1 NCAA team has missed the chance to recruit a top high school 2026 prospect. With their latest win against the Iowa Hawkeyes by 30-8, the Nittany Lions are now with a 10-0 record performing in front of an attendance of around 15,998 fans. But even if they lost to Penn State, the Hawkeyes have gotten their hands on a major gift this season. Bo Bassett, who was remaining to make his decision on his college recruitment, finally comes with his anticipated reveal.
It’s not the Penn State or either the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but it’s the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes who got the top wrestler. Having lost out on a player like Bassett, Penn State relevance in the NCAA gets a shoutout by none other than their head coach.
Cael Sanderson on Penn State relevance
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Despite losing out on a prospect like Bo Bassett, for Sanderson, Penn State’s recruiting process for its wrestlers comes significant. The efforts provided by the team were well described in detail by the head coach in one of his recent interviews following the announcement of Bo’s recruitment to Iowa.
“No. We like where we’re at; we liked and loved the kids. We have in the program and the kids we have coming into the program I think you know obviously our greatest route, uh, recruiting tool, is just, you know, we’re going to help you, um, get to the top of the mountain and whatever that means to you. You know you’re going to reach your highest levels and you know to us obviously it’s about kind of helping and preparing you with a certain lifestyle and mentality and approach that.”
Cael Sanderson’s statements mention the benefits coming in for the wrestlers deciding to be a part of the Penn State Nittany Lions. The head coach wants its wrestlers to get their respective achievements not only as part of the team but also get their acclaim on the international stage.
Cael Sanderson had this response about where Penn State wrestling stands with its recruiting efforts.
The results speak for themselves, as the saying goes. pic.twitter.com/gXoyLEWVJ9
— Zach Seyko (@zach_seyko) February 4, 2025
“It’s going to benefit you for the rest of your life. I mean, that’s what we want. You know, we want to create. You know, kids that go out there and make a difference in the world and do what they want to do. Whatever that might be, it might be outside the sport of wrestling. But you know, that’s what we’ve been blessed to be able to do. And that’s our, you know, our greatest recruiting pitch: just kind of see what we’re doing. You know it’s not like, boy, what are we going to do? It’s like this is what we are doing. So that makes it a lot easier.”
All in all, Cael Sanderson’s Penn State looks to provide an environment in which its wrestlers know what they are doing rather than being in a doubt. Its recruitment of Tyler Nasak comes as one of the prime examples that have helped the team achieve its prominence today. At 157 pounds, the No. 3 team-ranked wrestler took the No. 1 spot, defeating Jacori Teemer, becoming the highlight performance of the BJC Dual.
With not much affected by the Bo Bassett decision, the Penn State loss comes in as a highlight of missing out on their recruiting target of such a player. It’s the Iowa Hawkeyes who got the top prospect under their team.
Bo Bassett commits to Iowa
After coming down to his prospect teams of colleges, the Bishop McCort Catholic seventh grader finally made his commitment decision on Tuesday night. It was down to selecting among four, including Penn State, Oklahoma State, Iowa, and Virginia Tech, and Bo Bassett decided to go with the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes.
Ranked No. 1 wrestler of his class, the announcement was out on FloWrestling made by the 2026 prospect. Joining his all-time favorite team, Bo will be representing the Iowa Hawkeyes for the 2026–27 season as a freshman. Sharing on the good news, the wrestler is becoming a part of No. 2. Hawkeyes talks about making the right decision for his career.
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“It wasn’t an easy decision, but I think it was the right decision. You get what you earn, so I’m excited to be a Hawk,” Bo states in excitement.
With a year remaining for Bo Bassett to set his foot in the NCAA, the high school top prospect is gaining quite the attention from all over, with people giving their take on his decision coming in as right or wrong. This, however, will be seen when Bo debuts with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
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