Penn State Wrestling's Aaron Nagao defeats Alex Braun 9-5 in Penn State's dual meet against Oklahoma, November 14, 2025 Credit - Lloyd McCully
Penn State Wrestling may have a tough decision to make at 141 for the remainder of the season.
Now, before I dive into this article, I’m going to preface everything with this: Cael Sanderson and his coaching staff will undoubtedly make the correct decision when it comes time to do so.
One of the greatest dynasties in all of sports wasn’t born out of making poor decisions.
I just wanted to get that out of the way.
So now onto the point of this article and why the Nittany Lions may have an important decision to make in their lineup.
How did Penn State Wrestling get here?
The Nagao Injury Bug: A Dynasty’s Toughest Lineup Pivot
After taking a medical redshirt last season, Aaron Nagao was back in the starting lineup this season.
Albeit up a weight class as he previously competed at 133 for his career.
And the season started out fairly benign for Nagao. He picked up a solid win in the Oklahoma dual meet before plowing his way to the finals in the 2025 Black Knight Invite.
However, in the finals against No. 16 Braden Basile (Army), Aaron appeared to suffer an injury to his arm. Unfortunately Nagao could not continue. Furthermore, the Penn State Wrestling staff held him out in the next five dual meets.
Aaron then made the trip down to the Southern Scuffle this past weekend along with Josh Barr. Now normally the starters don’t participate in the Southern Scuffle. At least not in the past six or so years. So the obvious reason was for both Nagao and Barr to get some more action before the B1G season starts.
And following a 4-0 win in his first match, the injury bug once again struck. Nagao came into the event with a heavy wrap over his shoulder so the assumption is that he aggravated the previous injury. Either way, Aaron could not continue in the match and he medical forfeited the rest of the tournament.
The Candidate Pool at 141: Why Nasdeo and Davis are Likely Out
Well, here’s the list of guys who could take over for Nagao if he can’t go the rest of the year.
Cael Nasdeo
After going 1-2 in the 2025 Black Knight Invite, Nasdeo filled in for Nagao in both the Drexel and Lehigh dual meets. And while Cael wrestled his butt off in both of the duals, he was unable to secure a win in either match.
Nasdeo was then back on the mat this past weekend in the Southern Scuffle. And following an impressive 15-1 major decision in the opening round, Cael dropped a super tough 5-1 decision to No. 7 CJ Composto (Penn) before medically forfeited the remainder of the tournament.
Chances of being the starter: Not likely
Braeden Davis
Prior to the start of this year it was widely understood that Davis would be taking a redshirt.
And to be honest, I thought Braeden would just take the whole year off altogether.
But that was not the case at all as Davis competed this past weekend in the Bobby Kaufman Open. And boy did he look good.
Braeden racked up two major decisions and two falls on his way to the title. Additionally, he looked noticeably bigger wrestling at 141. And while his transition from 125 to 133 was fairly seamless, I thought him bumping up to 141 would be far more difficult.
So far that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Chances of being the starter: Maybe, but I don’t think so
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The Nate Desmond Era: From 125 to 141-Pound Frontrunner
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Desmond is a perfect 3-0 on the year while wrestling at 141 pounds.
Oh, and he’s also a perfect 4-0 while wrestling at his beginning season weight of 125.
His four wins at 125 were at the 2025 Black Knight invite where Nate took out No. 32 Cooper Flynn (Chattanooga) and his teammate No. 2 Luke Lilledahl in the finals.
So it was a bit surprising when Desmond traveled with the team and started for the Nittany Lions away dual against Wyoming.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s hard to make the jump from 133 to 141. But making the leap from 125 to 141? Now that’s really tough.
But, Desmond was able to navigate the huge bump in weight pretty well. He won an 11-4 decision, a 4-1 decision, and a 9-0 major decision.
Now, were Nate’s three wins at 141 against world beaters? Well, not really.
However, I will say that Desmond has looked more relaxed in each of his matches. Furthermore, while his frame is probably more suitable to 133 pounds, Nate’s strength can make up for the weight difference.
And there’s no question about whether or not Nate Desmond is talented. Just check out his accomplishments prior to landing in Happy Valley. The dude’s a stud. All he needs is just a bit more experience on the mat.
Which is what I believe he will get the rest of the season.
Chances of being the starter: 99.999999%
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Education: Penn State University
Location: State College, PA
Even though he had no prior journalism experience, Chris has now covered Penn State Wrestling and Penn State Football for the past three years, including as the Penn State Wrestling Beat Writer for VictoryBellRings.com, part of the FanSided network.
And it's clear he also likes constant torture as he's been a PSU Basketball fan for way too long.
Several years back, Chris made the seamless transition from PGA Professional to computer programmer and thoroughly enjoys following and writing about all things related to Penn State sports during his spare time.
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