Penn State Wrestling Recruiting: What Masanosuke Ono’s Commitment Means For Nittany Lions
Penn State Wrestling Recruiting made waves in the news Monday that sent shockwaves across the country.
And I’m not talking about the Nittany Lions’ record-breaking performance in the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Nor am I talking about Mr. Five Time, Carter Starocci, making history by bringing home his fifth NCAA individual title.
Which is quite possibly a record which may never be broken.
Credit – Lloyd McCully
No, I’m talking about something completely different, yet still on the same page as above.
And this is the fact that I’m talking Masanosuke Ono’s commitment to wrestle for Penn State Wrestling next season.
At this point I’m sure everyone in the Nittany Lion faithful is aware of it. But that’s why I’m here. Because I’m going to shed some light on some things that you maybe didn’t know about what Ono brings to the table.
What Ono’s Commitment Means for Penn State Wrestling Recruiting
World Champion
The first and foremost thing is that Masanosuke Ono is a world champion.
The talented Japanese grappler won gold at 61 kg in the 2024 World Championships in Tirana, Albania. And that came on the heels of Ono also bringing home gold (61 kg) in the U20 World Championships two months prior.
Furthermore, Ono also snagged gold at both the 2024 Yasar Dogu Tournament and in the 2024 Japan National Championships.
And then this past February, Ono took down Spencer Lee 3-2 in a super match hosted by FloWrestling.
So, for those of you who are still wondering … yeah, the dude is, like, really good.
But I’ll put this into some further context.
Masanosuke Ono is perhaps the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the entire wrestling room at Penn State. However this doesn’t just count the Nittany Lion guys. I’m also including every single member of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.
Zain Retherford
Bo Nickal
Jason Nolf
Kyle Snyder
Anthony Cassar
Recognize any of those names?
I’ll also go one step further. There isn’t a single collegiate wrestler between the weights of 125 and 141 who can come close to beating Ono when both guys are on their feet. As for his change from freestyle to folkstyle? I don’t think Ono will miss a beat.
Hopefully you now get an idea of what I’m talking about with Ono.
Penn State Wrestling Roster Shakeup?
If there is any downside whatsoever in adding a World Champion wrestler to your lineup, it means that someone is losing a starting spot.
That is especially difficult when you have a lineup that’s stacked from top to bottom as the Nittany Lions’.
Based on where Ono feels comfortable wrestling at (61 kg), it’s basically a lock he’s going to go at 133.
And the Nittany Lions already have two All-Americans at that weight: Aaron Nagao and Braeden Davis.
The good news is that there’s an opening at 141 as Beau Bartlett rode off into the sunset with his third-place finish last weekend. And my guess is that either Davis or Nagao will be moving up.
To me, and based on his frame, it makes more sense for Davis to bump up.
But then you have to factor in the No. 1 overall incoming recruit, Marcus Blaze. His most likely landing spot on the roster will also be 141 pounds.
So both Davis and Blaze will be duking it out next year to try and fill the giant shoes Bartlett left behind. No word yet if he left matching shoes or if they’re some kind of clashing colors.
Where was I? Oh yeah, the starting lineup.
My gut tells me that Nagao is the one who’s going to be essentially pushed out. But that all depends on how long Ono is going to wrestle for Penn State.
Penn State Football Recruiting: James Franklin’s to-Do List to Secure a Top-10 Class in 2026
2026 Penn State Wrestling Recruiting Class
Cael Sanderson and his coaching staff currently have one commitment from the class of 2026. And that’s from Bishop McCort’s Sam Herring.
In my most recent 2026 Big Board article, I highlighted several other recruits that Penn State Wrestling could land down the road. And even from the jump, I assumed the 2026 class was going to be on the smaller size.
Namely due to the immense talent that’s recently descended into Happy Valley in the crazy-loaded 2024 and 2025 classes. And when you add in the idea that NCAA D1 rosters may be cut down to 30 guys, then that means there’s not a ton of room left.
The Nittany Lions are losing Carter Starocci, Greg Kerkvliet, Beau Bartlett, along with others due to eligibility. Additionally, there are three Nittany Lions in the transfer portal: Gary Steen, Alex Facundo, and Marco Vespa.
Due the roster is still fairly tight. And now with the addition of Ono, I believe Penn State Wrestling will only add one more guy to the class.
As far as who that will be?
Michael Mocco or Peter Snyder would be good gets to bolster the back end of the lineup.
But as always, whatever decision Cael makes, I’m sure it’s going to be a good one!
MORE Penn State Wrestling News from NittanyCentral:
- Penn State Wrestling Prospect Profile: Asher Cunningham
- Nittany Lion Wresting Recruiting Big Board: Top Targets to Watch in 2026 Cycle
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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.