Top Wrestling Recruit Jax Forrest Ready to Announce; Penn State in Final Four

Forrest, a junior at Bishop McCort, went 53-2 last year in winning the PIAA Class 2A individual title at 127 pounds. He placed second at the 2022 U17 World Championships at 55 kg. Forrest also competed at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in State College, where he placed fourth in the 57 kg freestyle weight class.

Bassett and Forrest wrestle for the high-powered Bishop McCort team that will compete for the PIAA Class 2A team title this weekend. Their teammate Sam Herring already has committed to Penn State's 2026 recruiting class.

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson recently Penn State's recruiting process, which he said will not pitch NIL opportunities as the primary strategy.

"We like where we’re at," Sanderson said of the recruiting process. "We love the kids we have in the program and the kids we have coming into the program. I think obviously our greatest recruiting tool is, we’re going to help you get to the top of the mountain, and whatever that means to you, you’re going to reach your highest levels. To us obviously, it’s about helping you and preparing you with a certain lifestyle, mentality and approach that’s going to benefit you for the rest of your life. That’s what we want.

"We want to create 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 the sport of wrestling, it might be outside the sport of wrestling, but that’s what we’ve been blessed to be able to do, and our greatest recruiting pitch is just, you can see what we’re doing. It’s not, hey, what are we gonna do? It's, this is what we are doing. That makes it a lot easier."

Top-ranked Penn State (10-0) hosts two dual matches in State College this weekend. The Nittany Lions will meet Michigan on Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center before returning to Rec Hall for a Sunday afternoon match against Maryland.