Wrestling: Here’s Why Top Recruit Bo Bassett SHOULD Come to Nebraska

The class of 2026 recruiting class in wrestling is absolutely loaded, and it’s led by a pair of wrestlers from the same high school — Bishop McCort in Pennsylvania.

Bo Bassett and Jax Forrest are the consensus top two recruits in the 2026 class, and their recruitment is apparently wide open. Focusing on Bassett, he started his recruitment with a graphic with 80 schools on it, representing the fact that he’s open to any program. This past Wednesday, he “trimmed” his list to 73 with the Huskers still on his list.

Bassett wrestles with possibly the highest pace I’ve ever seen. He’s famous for his legendary 5 a.m. workouts and his #MachineGunMindset. If you’ve ever seen him wrestle, you’d know that Bassett absolutely melts people with his pace. It’s really something to behold.

In 2021, Bassett became the youngest U17 World Champion, accomplishing the feat at the age of 14 at 45 kg. He’s also a two-time Super 32 champion and two-time Ironman champion, the two toughest folkstyle tournaments of the year in high school.

This year, Bassett made it to the final of the Olympic Last Chance Qualifier at 65 kg by beating Anthony Ashnault in the semis (watch below). Ashnault was a four-time All-American for Rutgers and won an NCAA title in 2019 at 149 pounds.

After falling in the final at Last Chance to Matt Kolodzik, Bassett went on to win a U20 US Open title before earning the 65 kg spot on this year’s U20 World Championships which will take place in early September.

To put it lightly, every program in the country is falling all over themselves trying to bring Bassett in, and they should be. The kid looks about as sure-thing as they get.

Now, Bassett could go the route that everyone expects and choose Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State or Oklahoma State. I feel like that would be the easy route though, and Bassett doesn’t seem to me like someone who likes to go the easy route, considering he routinely wakes up to train at 5 a.m.

With the type of talent Basset has, can he become the GOAT at a place like Penn State or Iowa? I suppose it’s possible, but it will be extremely difficult. Penn State just had two four-time NCAA Champions this past year in Aaron Brooks and Carter Starocci with Starocci coming back for an unprecedented fifth title. It’ll be hard to top those two, and that’s not even throwing in there three-time NCAA champions Bo Nickal, Zain Retherford, Ed Ruth and Jason Nolf.

At Iowa, there’s a slew of three-time NCAA Champions like Spencer Lee, Ed Banach, Tom Brands and Joe Williams, among others. The same goes for Oklahoma State, the most storied program in wrestling history, and Ohio State which has won a few team titles and consistently brings in top classes.

Now, here’s why I think Bassett should come to Nebraska. Not only would it be a huge boost for the program, but it could also be in Bassett’s best interest.

Chance At Being Husker GOAT

I’ve written at length about Nebraska’s greatest wrestler of all time: Jordan Burroughs. He won two NCAA titles while at Nebraska and went on to become the American GOAT with seven Olympic/World gold medals and three bronze, giving him 10 career medals.

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Burroughs wasn’t really the Burroughs we all know until sometime in his sophomore year when he finished third at NCAAs in a loaded bracket. He went on to put together two undefeated NCAA title runs, winning a Hodge Trophy along the way.

Despite Burroughs being the only Husker to ever win multiple NCAA titles, nine other guys have won one in Lincoln, showing it can and has been done before.

Nebraska has proven to be a top program, but it’s had a hard time breaking into the upper echelon. There has been the occasional team trophy and some individual champs in addition to a consistent All-American rate, but a team title and individual titles have eluded the Huskers and head coach Mark Manning since Burroughs graduated in 2011.

All that is to say that if someone came along with a fan-favorite style, crazy work ethic and the knack for social media that Basset has, then that person could become a star and Nebraska’s greatest ever. If Bassett can win three or maybe four national titles, as I imagine he will do pretty much anywhere he chooses to go, he would be able to cement himself as the Husker GOAT.

I know, that’s a lot of praise and what-ifs to heap onto a kid that’s just entering his junior season in high school, but Bassett just has that feel about him that he’s destined. Do I think he can do all of these things? Absolutely, I do. Will he follow through and live up to the hype? That’s what we’re going to figure out.

But I do know one thing — Bassett has his sights set on greatness. He wants to win titles and lots of them — in folkstyle and in freestyle. He could very well be Team USA’s Olympic rep at 65 kg in 2028 when he’s 21.

Burroughs did just that right after finishing his career at Nebraska, winning World gold in 2011 and Olympic gold in 2012. The blueprint is there in Lincoln.

Top Coaching Staff

The Husker coaching staff doesn’t get as much love as it deserves. Head coach Mark Manning has been at the helm since the 2000-01 season and has coached his wrestlers to a total of 69 All-American honors and four individual NCAA titles.

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Manning is a two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year (2008 and 2009) and was the Dan Gable Coach of the Year in 2009. On the freestyle scene, Manning has three times been named the Terry McCann Award Winner as USA Wrestling’s Freestyle Coach of the Year (2011, 2015, 2017).

Manning’s first star pupil was Bryan Snyder, Nebraska’s current associate head coach. Snyder was a junior for Manning’s first team and made it to the NCAA finals both years at 157 pounds under Manning, falling in overtime both times. After some time at Arizona State, Snyder has been Manning’s right-hand man since 2011.

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Together, Manning and Snyder coached Burroughs to his 2012 Olympic Gold Medal as well as four of his World Titles (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017). They also have coached James Green to a pair of World Medals (silver in 2017, bronze in 2015). Snyder also won his own Terry McCann Award in 2017 as USA Wrestling’s Freestyle Coach of the Year.

Then there’s James Green who just joined the staff last season after a year as Team USA’s developmental coach, where he worked with young elite wrestlers like Bassett. Green is an assistant coach for the Huskers and competes and trains at the Nebraska Wrestling Training Center. A former Husker wrestler himself, Green was a four-time All-American.

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On the senior level, Green is a six-time World Team member at 70 kg and has two World medals. After successful hip surgery, Green came out of retirement and is back to competing. He’ll compete for the World Team spot this year at 70 kg.

Last but certainly not least is assistant coach Tervel Dlagnev who doubles as the head coach of the NWTC. An Olympic Bronze-Medalist in 2012, Dlagnev is one of the best freestyle coaches in the game. While at Ohio State before coming to Nebraska, he helped coach and was in the corner for Kyle Snyder when he knocked off Abdulrashid Sadulaev in the 2017 World Championships.

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From talking to this staff, I know that they pride themselves on development. That’s why they routinely turn recruits that are not always seen as elite into All-Americans. Just think of what they could do with someone with the gifts that Bassett has.

Now, Tyler Weeda isn’t officially a coach, but he serves as another coach for Nebraska while doubling as its star athletic trainer. He’s been instrumental to Nebraska’s successes. Last year, after Peyton Robb came down with his leg infection and nearly lost his life, Weeda showed just how much of a family this program is. I wrote about him at length here and here last year.

With this collection of coaches, you would think that any top recruit would want to listen and come take a visit.

Husker Success at 157 Pounds

Nowhere in the lineup has Manning had more success than at 157 pounds. He’s coached his wrestlers to a total of 13 All-American honors at the weight.

First, he helped coach Bryan Snyder to a pair of NCAA final appearances. After that, Burroughs won his first NCAA title at 157 pounds in 2009 before moving up to 165. James Green then came along and placed on the podium four times from 2012 to 2015, placing third his final two seasons.

Tyler Berger came after Green and was a three-time All-American from 2017-19, making it to the NCAA final in 2019. These past three seasons, we’ve seen Peyton Robb land on the podium all three times.

Going forward, Nebraska has Antrell Taylor moving down to 157 after finishing as an All-American as a freshman at 165 pounds this past season. He’s currently ranked #7 at 157 by FloWrestling going into the season.

I think it’s pretty obvious, but Manning and this staff have shown to be elite at coaching up their middle weights.

Practice Partners Galore

The one thing all elite wrestlers need are good practice partners, and the Huskers have a host of guys around 65 kg for Bassett to square up against in practice.

First, there’s James Green. One of the best in the world at 70 kg (154 pounds), Green has been a valuable training partner in the room since returning last summer. His success and pedigree would make him an ideal training partner for Bassett.

Another training partner in the room would be Bryan Snyder. One of the best Huskers ever, Snyder still rolls around and trains hard with guys like Ridge Lovett, Brock Hardy and Antrell Taylor. The guys say he has “old man tricks”.

Speaking of Hardy, he just won a U23 World Bronze Medal at 65 kg last year and would supply Bassett with a great training partner who’s adept at a more funky and scrambling style of wrestling. Hardy is already a two-time All-American going into his junior year, having finished third at NCAAs this past season.

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Much like Hardy, Lovett is a skilled scrambler and very good defensively. A two-time All-American, Lovett was a 2022 NCAA finalist at 149 pounds. He’s elite in the top position. In freestyle, he’s had a lot of success too, such as his Junior National Title in 2021.

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Staying in Lincoln after graduating, three-time All-American Peyton Robb is sticking around to train at the NWTC. A former U23 World-Teamer, Robb is extremely solid in every area of wrestling and would serve as a real test for Bassett in the room.

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On a rapid trajectory, Taylor is already an All-American. In freestyle, he was a U20 World Team Trials finalist and a Pan-Am gold-medalist in 2023. His defense is really solid and he possesses some elite offense when he chooses to shoot.

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Then there are the visits from Burroughs himself as he often makes his way to Lincoln and gets in the room with the Huskers.

This just goes to show that not only would Bassett have a lot of great training partners in Lincoln, but they also possess different skill sets to give him different looks.

Other Top Prospects to Team Up With

Any top prospect also wants to realize success as a team, and I’m sure Bassett is no different. At Nebraska, Bassett could team up with a number of top prospects and could just be the future straw that stirs the proverbial drink.

Incoming this year as true freshmen will be a trio of blue-chip recruits in Camden McDanel, LJ Araujo and Kael Lauridsen. McDanel is a U20 World bronze-medalist and just spent a year training at the Olympic Training center along Lauridsen, who recently took down and held a lead against Roman Bravo-Young before falling to the Penn State legend. Araujo won a Super 32 title last year and looks like he’ll be an absolute hammer from the top position in college. All three will likely redshirt this year, although Araujo could start at 165 or 174.

As for Nebraska’s 2025 class, there are only two commits currently, but they’re both elite. Cade Ziola is currently ranked #2 at 190 pounds, while Tyler Eise is ranked #3 at 175 by MatScouts.

Other talented young wrestlers who project as quality starters in the future include redshirt freshman Alan Koehler at 125 pounds, true freshman Omar Ayoub at 141, and redshirt freshman Christopher Minto at 174 or 184.

Lineup Outlook for Bassett

That means that if Bassett does choose Nebraska, the possible lineup his freshman year in 2026-27 (with what we know now in recruiting) could be this:

125 - Alan Koehler (Jr.)

133 - Jacob Van Dee (Sr.)

141 - Omar Ayoub (So.)

149 - Ismael Ayoub (Sr.)

157 - Bo Bassett (Fr.)

165 - Antrell Taylor (Sr.)

174 - LJ Araujo (So.)

184 - Tyler Eise (R-Fr.)

197 - Camden McDanel (So.)

285 - Harley Andrews (Sr.)

This team could do some serious damage and would have replacements waiting in the wings at both 133 and 285 with both Lauridsen and Ziola.

I just get the feeling that Bassett is the kind of recruit Manning has been waiting for. He possesses everything Manning loves — great work ethic, high pace, a wrestling junkie, high energy and a positive attitude. I feel like Manning and Bassett would be two peas in a pod.