Mirror photo by Andy Stine Coach Cael Sanderson talks to the media about his Nittany Lions on Tuesday.

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State may have had one of the best teams in college wrestling history last season. All 10 Nittany Lion starters were All-Americans, with two of them being national champions in Carter Starocci and Mitchell Mesenbrink.

Only once in history before Penn State did a full lineup back in 2001 when Minnesota accomplished the feat, but that team didn’t have any champions, and the Nittany Lions broke their own NCAA Championships points record.

“I think last year’s team was pretty dang good,” PSU coach Cael Sanderson said Tuesday at the first wrestling media availability of the season. “It’s just one of those years all you can do as a coaching staff is screw things up.”

So can the Nittany Lions top last year’s effort? It would be hard to do, but they will find out with seven of the 10 starters from last year returning.

It all starts Friday as the Lions open the season with a Bryce Jordan Center dual meet with Oklahoma.

“I think we have a great mix this year of young up-and-comers and veterans,” Sanderson said. “That’s a key to long-term success as a program. We’re excited about this team. We’ll find out where we’re at Friday and go from there.”

Oh yes to Ono

International wrestling sensation Masanosuke Ono announced he was coming to Penn State in March, and officially was placed on the roster recently at 133 pounds. Ono, a 2024 Japanese national champion in freestyle wrestling, has never competed in folkstyle wrestling before and will train this year in his redshirt season.

“I think he really likes it here,” Sanderson said. “It’s just one of those deals where he was coming in here to train. He came to a match and wanted to see if he could wrestle and it just kind of went from there. It was a lot of work on his part to make it happen.”

Things could change, but as of right now, Ono has one redshirt season and one year of eligibility in NCAA competition.

“He loves folkstyle,” Sanderson said. “He’s spending time getting better on the mat and he’s doing very well, and that’s just him. He’s just being a competitor and enjoying the sport. We’re grateful he’s on our team.”

More redshirts

Ono will not be the only notable name taking a redshirt season. Braeden Davis (141) and Tyler Kasak (157) are both likely going to sit this season out.

That would mean true freshmen Marcus Blaze (133) and PJ Duke (157) would likely be thrown into the fire in the starting lineup right away. Aaron Nagao (141) would probably get the nod in Davis’ spot.

Blaze and Duke were both heralded recruits out of high school with Blaze as a 4-time Ohio state champion. Duke won multiple state championships in New York.

Nagao, an All-American in 2023 at 133 pounds while at Minnesota, is still only a redshirt junior in eligibility after taking an injury redshirt last season.

“I feel great,” Nagao said. “I’m just grateful to be training again. I’m a lot happier.”

Buckeye turned Lion

Rocco Welsh redshirted last season at Ohio State, just a year after being the national runner-up at 174 pounds. He lost to Penn State’s Carter Starocci in the title match.

Welsh, a Pennsylvania native from Waynesburg, went into the transfer portal and chose the Nittany Lions. He’s projected to start at 184 pounds where he will step into Starocci’s spot last season.

“He had a lot of interest in Penn State,” Sanderson said. “We made a decision to get him, and he’s been a great blessing. He fits right in with our mentality. He’s a very humble kid, obviously extremely talented. We love him.”

Projected lineup

125 – Luke Lilledahl

133 – Blaze

141 – Nagao

149 – Shayne Van Ness

157 – Duke

165 – Mesenbrink

174 – Levi Haines

184 – Welsh

197 – Josh Barr or Connor Mirasola

285 – Lucas Cochran or Cole Mirasola