State Champion Tyler Stein Commits To Wrestle At Ohio State

Ohio State just added some more firepower to the heavyweight end of its list of recent recruits and commitments, as the 2018 Ohio high school champion at 220 lbs. announced he'd wrestle for Tom Ryan's Buckeyes.

Rising senior Tyler Stein of Canfield announced his decision via Twitter on Wednesday evening.

I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to THE Ohio State University to continue my academic and athletic career! I cant thank everyone enough for all of the support given throughout the years! -positive pic.twitter.com/7wLYiKzMhR

— Tyler Stein 50 (@steintyler_) July 12, 2018

Stein finished his junior season at Canfield with a record of 46-3 and the state title. According to WKBN, he chose the Buckeyes over Iowa State, West Virginia, American University and the U.S. Naval Academy.

FloWrestling ranked Stein as the No. 11 220-pound prospect in the country in its July 10 rankings.

The newest future Buckeye is one of the stronger high school seniors out there. He told the (Warren) Tribune Chronicle in March that his impressive physique and lifts come from the time he spends in the gym his family owns:

“My family own a gym,” said Stein, whose family runs VSN Athletic Performance Fitness Center in Boardman. “I was in there this offseason, and during football season, I was in there two times a day, even with football practice. Before school and after football practice. … It was just a cycle for me because this was my goal.”

The “this” he referred to was a state championship, which he secured Saturday at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, beating Brandon Phillips 7-3 in the title match. Stein won four straight bouts in the 220-pound weight class in Division II, and it took a lot more than strength to accomplish that feat.

Sure, bench-pressing 355 pounds and squatting 500 helps quite a bit when Stein is executing a move, but as he and his coach said, strength won’t always make up for any flaws he may have in his technique or give him the stamina he needs in the third period of a close match.

Ohio State's most recent heavyweight superstar, Kyle Snyder, is known as one of the hardest-working men in the weight room, so Stein should fit right in with the Buckeye strength and conditioning program.

The Buckeyes currently have three heavyweights on the active roster: Chase Singletary (the presumed heir to Snyder's throne), Gary Traub and Kevin Snyder. The Buckeyes didn't recruit any true heavyweights in the class of 2018, the No. 2 recruiting class in the country.

Stein is the fourth Ohioan to commit to their home-state wrestling powerhouse so far this recruiting cycle.