As No. 1 Penn State wrestling prepares for its upcoming season, head coach Cael Sanderson has his hands full with deciding the starting roster.
The defending national champions have an enviable problem that makes it hard on Sanderson: they have an excess of talent.
Sanderson met with the media on Tuesday and discussed some of the lineup battles the team has had in the preseason and how they affect who makes the starting roster. Sanderson talked about how there’s competition at every weight class.
“We’re just getting started. Haven’t even wrestled yet, so we have had a few wrestle-offs,” Sanderson said. “With the additional scholarships, you’re going to have more depth and more competition. So you’ve got to kind of figure out what’s in the best interest of everybody.”
The Nittany Lion roster is loaded with talent. They return several national champions, such as Mitchell Mesenbrink and Levi Haines. Sanderson mentioned how even the stars aren’t immune to competition from their teammates.
“Best thing you can do for your teammate is kick their butt in practice, right, and force them to get better, and vice versa.”
An area where Sanderson really needs to make a tough choice is in the 133-pound class. Penn State returns Kysion Garcia and All-American Braeden Davis, but also brings in Marcus Blaze, who was one of the top recruits in the class of 2025. The Nittany Lions also brought in Japanese World Champion Masanosuke Ono in the offseason. This competition makes it hard for Sanderson to decide who gets the nod.
“At the end of the day, the best guy goes,” Sanderson said. “When you have the flexibility that you have in college sports now, with redshirts and different opportunities, we can be flexible.”
Sanderson stressed the importance of his players having a team-first mentality. He mentioned how returning All-American Tyler Kasak is likely to redshirt, but used him as an example for what a team-first player looks like.
“You want guys that are team guys,” Sanderson stated. “[Kasak] is one of the best wrestlers in the country. That’s a tough guy to redshirt, you know, because he is a beast and he’s a gamer, the bigger the match, the better he wrestles. But you know, for the team, it probably makes sense.”
Sanderson also alluded to Davis bumping up a weight class but still redshirting with Garcia and Ono this year. He gave praise to both the veterans and the young guys who handled the competition in all weight classes.
Sanderson also had high praise for Oklahoma ahead of their matchup to open the season.
“They have a strong team,” he said. “Oklahoma is one of the traditional powerhouses in the sport of wrestling.”
Sanderson shared some final thoughts ahead of the team’s season opener.
“We’re excited,” He explained. “We’ve got to be ready to go.”
The Nittany Lions open their season with a dual meet against No. 18 Oklahoma on Friday, November 14. The match will be at the Bryce Jordan Center at 6 p.m.
Brian is a freshman from State College, PA, majoring in journalism and minoring in sports studies. He’s a fan of Pittsburgh sports and likes listening to music and lifting in his free time. You can contact him @kriley_brian on X or [email protected]
