Ohio State now has nine Class of 2018 commitments from wrestlers ranked in the InterMat Top 100, as St. Paris Graham standout J.D. Stickley announced he'll wrestle in Columbus. The former Ohio high school champ announced his commitment via Twitter.
The Graham wrestling program is an NCAA pipeline if ever one there was, and Stickley comes from a wrestling pedigree: his father and uncle were both Buckeye wrestlers in the mid-80s, and three of Stickley's cousins and his older brother Justin are themselves current or former Big Ten wrestlers.
J.D. won an Ohio high school state title in 2017, and though he came up short of winning a second title in 2018, he is still ranked in the top 15 in the country at 138 pounds – No. 8 according to InterMat and No. 14 according to FloWrestling. InterMat considers him the No. 73 overall prospect in the class.
Ohio State also boasts the top-ranked wrestler in the weight in its recruiting haul in Quinn Kinner, so Tom Ryan and staff are building not only depth, but bringing in top-rated competitors who will push one another in "The Room" on a daily basis.
Stickley is the second 2018 Graham graduate to commit to the Buckeyes, as his teammate Rocky Jordan – younger brother of Buckeye starters Bo and Micah – is one of the centerpieces of the class. His older brother Justin is on the roster at Iowa at 133 pounds; cousins Ben and Isaac Jordan and Eli Stickley wrestled at Wisconsin, where Eli is a redshirt junior.
| Name | High School | Projected Weight | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden Mattox | Grove City Central Crossing | 157 | No. 38 |
| Malik Heinselman | Castle View (Colorado) | 125 | No. 48 |
| Jashon Hubbard | Steubenville | 157 | |
| Gavin Hoffman | Montoursville (Pennsylvania) | 197 | No. 11 |
| Kyle Gruber | Massillon Perry | 125 | |
| Rocky Jordan | St. Paris Graham | 165/174 | No. 30 |
| Sammy Sasso | Nazareth (Pennsylvania) | 149/157 | No. 9 |
| Quinn Kinner | Kingsway (New Jersey) | 141/149 | No. 36 |
| Alex Felix | Gillroy (California) | 141/149 | No. 75 |
| Josh Ramirez | Dubuque Wahlert (Iowa) | 174 | |
| Braedin Redlin | Allen (Texas) | 165/174 | |
| Kevon Freeman | Lake Catholic | 174 | No. 79 |
| J.D. Stickley | St. Paris Graham | 141/149 | No. 73 |
*Table Rankings according to InterMat as of April 25
