Let's Look at the MSU Open Frosh/Soph Division

One of the very best attributes of the Michigan State Open is that it has a Freshman-Sophomore division. This gives ILLINI fans a chance to see their prize recruits go up against some of the top recruits from other big-time wrestling schools. There was no tournament last year, but two years ago, the ILLINI kids put on a show. 

D.J. "The Future" Shannon wrestled in the open division winning second after a close-fought final with Ohio State's Kaleb Romero. Luke Luffman won the Freshman-Sophomore division and had a great win over Ohio's Jordan Earnest who was a national qualifier the next year with a nice 23-11 record. Trey Sizemore beat Donnell Washington of Indiana to top his weight class by cannily getting Washington to disqualify himself. Lucas Byrd had an exciting final against a four-time Michigan champ in Jordan Hamdan from MSU. 

This was the meet that put Kendall Coleman and Donnell Washington on my radar. In the open division, Danny Braunagel beat Cam Amine, and Zac Braunagel beat Cam Caffey. Lots of fun! Hopefully the budget allows the ILLINI to bring a bunch of hungry wrestlers. Fans are certain to want to see these guys wearing the Orange and Blue:

Left to right is Caden Ernd, Anthony Federico, Danny Pucino (to get reps as long as he's back from Worlds and up to it), Luke Rasmussen, Maximo Renteria, Biggest Brawny, Dylan Connell. Can you wait to see these guys on the mat? How about some of the other sophomores? 

Here are some of the fresh faces from other teams to look out for at the MSU Open:

MICHIGAN

The Wolverines will likely bring Chance Lamer, the #7 overall recruit, to wrestle at 149. At either 125 or 133, they have the Tanefeu brothers, Wilfried and Christian, both three-time North Dakota state champions and Fargo All Americans. And finally, because their mom never got any sleep from 1998 to 2003, there's another Mattin brother; this one is Zack. He joins his twenty-seven brothers and seventeen sisters on the team. I will lodge a formal protest against all of these Mattins by way of cartoon:

Including folks who were sophomores or freshmen last year, the Wolverines could bring a couple of bus loads just like the ILLINI. Of interest, though, are guys like Fidel Mayora, who was a two-time IHSA finalist for Montini. He would be at 149 or 157.  Also, Kurt McHenry is available to wrestle at 106. 

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

The Huskies might have two busloads of freshmen pull up in East Lansing. They have a lot of ILLINOIS schoolboys, but also kids from across the country. A top name from the home state is Devonjae Hudson at 184, a two time IHSA state finalist for Glenbrook South, and then there's Nathaniel Genobana at 133, who was a four-time finalist in Iowa's 1A class. From a little further away, Blake West of Minnesota was a Fargo freestyle finalist and two-time placer in Minnesota. He'll be at 125. 

STUPID NORTHWESTERN

Carter Young could be a program-changing recruit for Stupid Northwestern. Never mind. The Wildcats do have Joel Vandervere out of Warren Township high school, and he was a Super 32 champ and IHSA champ, likely wrestling at 149. Perhaps we can reignite the war between Vandervere and the ILLINI's (and Italy's) Danny Pucino? 

OKLAHOMA 

The Sooners brought in Alejandro Herrera-Rondon. He was a Dream Team member and a three-time state champ in Pennsylvania. Oklahoma has #14 Justin Thomas at 157, so the newbie will likely keep his redshirt and wrestle in the Frosh-Soph division. Tate Picklo at 197 is a stud to be, as he was a #1 recruit for his weight and a four-time Fargo AA. 

EDINBORO

The Scots recruited sixteen freshmen for their squad, but I'm only going to list Caleb Edwards at 125, as he was a four-time placewinner in Ohio. Their coach kind of let the cat out of the bag with this quote: "We are looking to build more depth in our wrestling room with this group...."

MICHIGAN STATE

The Spartans had a pretty good recruiting class last year, so their crop this year is a bit weak. They did sign Michigan high school champion Jacob Lee to wrestle at 197. Other than that, they have added a couple of state placewinners. 

CENTRAL MICHIGAN

The Chippewas got a good one in IHSA product Bryan Caves from Riverdale, the three-time state medalist and one-time champ for the Rams (who missed out his Covid senior year). He'll likely go at 197. Trey Bates at 125 was a three-time Tennessee state champ, but Tennessee. Mason Shrader at 149 was a Michigan state champ and finalist. 

This is not counting the sophomores who can wrestle in this division. There should be a lot of great wars, especially in a very large 125 pound weight class, and in a quality 197 pound weight class. What new recruits for other teams have I missed? Are there any sophomores from these teams that we should look out for?