Tyrone star Kyle Scott committed to wrestle at the University of Pittsburgh before his senior season started.

But after finishing second at 189 pounds at the PIAA Class 2A Championships in March, he decided to flip his college choice further south to Virginia Tech.

Scott, who shared the Mirror’s Wrestler of the Year award with Altoona state champion Gavin Ciampoli, decommitted from Pitt on May 6. Not long after that, he chose to wrestle for the Hokies, who are coached by Tony Robie.

“I really don’t have a definite answer,” Scott said of why he flipped from Pitt to Virginia Tech. “Obviously I know a lot of people down there, so that kind of played a role in it. Also, I kind of switched my thought of living in the city. I didn’t really want to live in the city. Blacksburg kind of reminds me of State College a little bit. It’s beautiful down there, and it kind of reminds me of a mini-State College.

“Obviously their team in incredible. I think this team is going to be a top three contender (for the national championship) in the next five years. That’s where I want to be.”

Scott, who is moving to Blacksburg on Saturday, will be joining Bishop McCort three-time state champ and Class 2A Outstanding Wrestler of the PIAA Championships Bo Bassett at Virginia Tech. Bassett had a very public split with Iowa before signing with the Hokies.

Scott often worked out with Bassett and the Bishop McCort wrestlers at The Compound wrestling club and hung out with them in the postseason.

“Obviously, he’s one of my really good friends,” Scott said of Bassett. “That played a little bit of a role, but ultimately it was my decision. I reached out to the coaches. I talked with (Bassett) about it, and he kind of helped me. It was nice.

“I know some guys on the staff too. They just signed Ty Walls. He was (Tyrone grad) Braden’s (Ewing) old coach at Brown. I kind of have a little bit of a relationship with him. So that’s pretty nice. I’ve met Robie and (assistant Jared Frayer) before. They’re all great people.

“I have nothing but positive things to say about them and the Pitt coaching staff. That’s what made it so hard.”

Pitt also lost two-time Belle Vernon state champ Elijah Brown, who flipped to Penn State earlier than Scott. Scott decommitted from Pitt in a phone call to head coach Keith Gavin.

“It was probably the hardest phone call I’ve ever had to make,” Scott said. “It was about 2 minutes long. He was not happy. He was pretty upset. It had to be done. It took me about a week-and-a-half to flip from school to school.”

Scott went 46-1 with 19 technical falls and 17 falls as a senior, with his only loss being a 4-1 to Faith Christian Academy’s now four-time state champion Adam Waters in the state finals.

A three-time state medalist who placed eighth as a sophomore in Hershey and fourth as a junior, Scott’s career is certainly on the rise.

As a senior, he won his first Laurel Highlands title in addition to his first District 6 and Southwest Regional title. He broke A.J. Schopp’s school and Blair County career wins record in his first bout at the state tournament. Scott finished with a career record of 163-27.

Scott is hoping to continue that rise at Virginia Tech.

“The goal has never changed,” he said. “I want to be an Olympic champ and obviously win NCAAs. If I keep the path I’m going on I think those goals are definitely in sight. I’m going to work my butt off every day. That’s what the coach expects, and that’s what I expect from myself.”

Scott said he’ll likely wrestle at 184 instead of moving up to 197. He doesn’t know if he’ll redshirt his freshman season with the Hokies, who went 11-3 overall and 6-0 in the ACC and won their second straight conference title.

“It’s going to be hard,” he said. “The depth chart is really solid. I’ll just find out when I get there. I’m working really hard now, and I’m going to be working harder down there.

“I’m super excited. I couldn’t be more happy to be with this group of guys. When I was down there, it already felt like home, which is also great.”