On the heels of a third-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championship, the Buckeye wrestling team is already looking ahead to the future and hoping to sign some of the top talent in the country. The Buckeyes fared well in recruiting recently, which paid dividends thanks to NCAA champions Kyle Snyder, Myles Martin, and Nathan Tomasello.
While Tom Ryan is the program’s head coach, he is happy to let two-time NCAA champion J Jaggers take the wheel when it comes to recruiting.
Let’s take a look at some of the recruits on the radar of J Jaggers and the rest of the Ohio State staff.
CLASS OF 2017
Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional High School, Pennsylvania) – 120 pounds
- No. 1 at 120 by InterMat and Flo Wrestling. No. 2 in Flo’s pound-for-pound rankings (behind Penn State recruit Mark Hall)
Lee is a perfect 117-0 with three Pennsylvania AAA state titles to his name in folkstyle wrestling after three years of high school competition. He was a Cadet World Champion in 2014 and a Junior World Champion in 2015, so his accomplishments as a freestyle wrestler may make Spencer look like a smaller version of Kyle Snyder. Despite the freestyle comparisons to Snyder, Lee may be the heir apparent to Nathan Tomasello at 125 for the Buckeyes. Lee missed much of his junior season while recuperating from a surgery to repair a torn labrum (the same injury that knocked Braxton Miller out for the 2014 season), but rebounded nicely and dominated his way to a state title.
Lee downed Austin DeSanto in the championship bout with a 15-0 tech fall in just less than two full periods. While some may suggest a 15-0 tech fall implies DeSanto is less-than-deserving of a state runner-up, DeSanto was a perfect 50-0 on the season heading into the match. Lee is an excellent wrestler in all positions, and will improve any program in the country. It’s rumored that Iowa and Penn State are the front-runners for Lee, but Ohio State is in the running, as well.
Kaleb Romero (Mechanicsburg High Shool, Mechanicsburg, Ohio) – 160 pounds
- No. 10 at 160 by InterMat, No. 14 at 160 by Flo Wrestling
Despite the Buckeyes snagging Isaiah White at this weight from the Class of 2016, Romero is still a high priority from the Class of 2017. Romero is on track to earn his fourth DIII state title in March of 2017 after outscoring his four opponents at the 2016 state tournament by a combined score of 78-17 with each match ending in a tech fall. A perfect 52-0 as a junior, he defeated three wrestlers who were state champions in different weight classes or divisions, including a Michigan state champ and a Division I state champion from Ohio.
Romero impressed throughout his entire junior campaign, only giving up 132 points all season, each of which were escapes. Romero has scored 495 takedowns in his career against just 4 scored by his opponent. Not only has he shown excellence on the wrestling mat, but Kaleb was selected to the All-State first team in football as a quarterback and is in line to be his class salutatorian upon graduation. In the time it took you to read his accomplishments, Romero likely helped an old lady cross a busy intersection, volunteered at a soup kitchen, and scored a few more takedowns because he seems to be just that kind of guy.
Daton Fix (Sand Springs High School, Sand Springs, Oklahoma) – 126 pounds
- No. 2 at 126 by InterMat and Flo Wrestling, No. 8 on Flo’s pound-for-pound rankings
Fix has rolled to an amazing 119-0 record on his way to three consecutive state titles in Oklahoma. Not only does Fix dominate on the mats in folkstyle, but he defeated Spencer Lee at the Cadet Nationals freestyle tournament, so his talents extend to the Olympic styles as well. Daton hasn’t backed down from elite competition, taking on the nation’s best at exhibitions like Who’s Number One, where he fell to Penn State commit Nick Suriano 3-1 in overtime.
Fix grew up in the middle of Oklahoma State territory, but the Cowboys have Kaid Brock in a similar weight class just a year ahead of Fix. The entire process has been fairly quiet as far as Fix is concerned, so he’ll surprise a lot of people when he decides to announce where he will wrestle in college.
Kevin Vough (Elyria High School, Elyria, Ohio) – Heavyweight
- No. 5 at HWT by InterMat, No. 7 by Flo Wrestling
Vough is a mobile big man, taking 3rd, 1st, and 2nd in each of his first 3 seasons of competition at the Ohio Division I state tournament. Vough is a notable freestyle wrestler, coming in second at 285 at the 2015 Junior Nationals, which could play into the favor of Ohio State with the proximity of the Ohio Regional Training Center in Columbus. Vough went 43-0 as a sophomore on his way to his first state title and 32-1 as a junior, with his only loss coming by injury default in the state final.
Vough was Elyria’s first Ironman champion and would fit nicely into the Buckeye lineup once Snyder graduates. An elite heavyweight is always a hot commodity, so Vough can expect phone calls from all of the nation’s top programs throughout his senior season. Former Elyria teammate Ben Darmstadt committed to Cornell this past fall, so the Big Red may be interested in Vough, as well, especially considering their void at heavyweight.
CLASS OF 2018
Gable Steveson (Apple Valley High School, Apple Valley, Minnesota) – 220 pounds
- No. 1 at 220 by InterMat and Flo Wrestling, No. 9 pound-for-pound by Flo
Steveson is probably a long-shot for the Buckeyes, but he’s certainly worth keeping an eye on throughout his last two high school seasons. Steveson is a Cadet World Champion that combines quickness and brute force with a variety of impressive takedowns. Since he is in the Class of 2018, Gable has a chance to earn two more state titles in Minnesota to go with his two he won as a freshman and sophomore. His older brother, Bobby, currently wrestles for Minnesota, but high school teammate Mark Hall is set to be a freshman at Penn State this upcoming season, so both programs are likely to stake their claim to Steveson’s talents.
David Carr (Perry High School, Massillon, Ohio) – 145 pounds
- No. 2 at 145 by InterMat and Flo Wrestling
David is the son of Olympic bronze medalist Nate Carr, who is the current head coach of powerhouse Massillon Perry. While his dad casts a pretty lengthy shadow, David is doing his best to step out and create his own legacy. The younger Carr won a state title as an 8th grader in Kentucky before moving to Ohio to wrestle for powerhouse Dayton Christian for a season where he won a title as a freshman.
When his father accepted the head coaching position at Perry, David joined him and won a Division I state title for the Panthers this past season. David has just three losses in the past two seasons, with the only one as a sophomore coming at the hands of a former Dayton Christian teammate in a controversial manner. Carr is incredibly smooth with his technique and is well-schooled in the sport of wrestling. Carr has two seasons before he will have to make a college choice, but the phone has already started ringing for the outstanding Carr.
Rocky Jordan (Graham High School, St. Paris, Ohio) – 145 pounds
- No. 13 at 145 by InterMat, No. 18 at 145 by Flo Wrestling
Does that last name look familiar? Rocky is the youngest son of Graham head coach Jeff Jordan and Bo and Micah’s younger brother. Rocky lost in the state finals as a freshman, but earned his first state title as a sophomore. Much like Hunter Stieber’s style differed from old brother Logan’s, Rocky resembles both Bo and Micah, but he has his own style woven into the mix. With Micah and Bo’s success to this point in their career, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that Tom Ryan is hoping to land Rocky in a few years, as well.
Dominick Demas (Dublin Coffman High School, Dublin, Ohio) – 145 pounds
- No. 5 at 145 by InterMat, No. 11 at 145 by Flo Wrestling
Speaking of familiar last names, Dominick is the younger brother of Josh Demas, who was a starter at 157 for the Buckeyes. A sixth place finisher in Division I as a freshman, Demas earned a state title as a sophomore before finishing as runner-up to Carr at the state tournament this year. Demas has cat-like quickness and finishes his shots as well as anyone in the country. The Buckeyes should be on his radar, as well as Rutgers, where Josh is an assistant coach.
While there are certainly many more recruits on the national scene that the Buckeye staff is monitoring, this is a good place to start. Ryan has indicated in the past that he would like to keep some of the best in-state wrestlers from Ohio, but he would not be afraid to take a shot at must-have guys around the country.
Be sure to check Eleven Warriors for more information on the Buckeye wrestling recruits as it becomes available.
