One of Ohio's best wrestlers is staying home.
Paddy Gallagher, a junior at St. Edward's who won a state title in March and a Junior National Freestyle title at Fargo this summer, announced via Twitter that he would wrestle for the Buckeyes, becoming Tom Ryan's first commitment in the Class of 2021.
Excited to continue my wrestling career at The Ohio State University. Go bucks!! #stayinghome pic.twitter.com/4Xn2ckzR9R
— Paddy Gallagher (@paddygallagherr) December 10, 2019
Gallagher won the 160-pound state championship as a sophomore, and his stock continued to rise with a dominant performance in Fargo. He ran the table with a combined 78-15 margin of victory, winning six of his seven matches by tech fall.
"I've always wanted to be a Big Ten wrestler," Gallagher told FloWrestling in September when he announced his Top 5 schools. "I'd like a really hard, intense room, with guys that have my same mindset."
He took official visits to Michigan and Illinois before visiting the Buckeyes, and considered Iowa and Wisconsin among his options. Flo currently has Gallagher ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect in the class, and the No. 1 in the country at 160 pounds.
Gallagher was also announced Monday as the No. 1 pre-seed at 160 pounds at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, the nation's toughest in-season high school tournament. He'll wrestle some of the best in the country at the event, and it will be the first wrestling he'll do since committing to the Buckeyes.
He is the second St. Ed's wrestler to commit to Ohio State in as many months, as Class of 2020 prospect Bryce Hepner announced he was switching his pledge from Rutgers ahead of Thanksgiving. Hepner captured back-to-back state titles as a sophomore (126 lbs) and junior (138 lbs); the three-time finalist is competing at 152 pounds as a senior.
Eleven Warriors will have more on his commitment, and on prospects likely to join him in the Class of 2021.
