Penn State wrestling show: Breaking down the latest recruiting news, Lions' 2025-2026 schedule

Penn State wrestling is a month and change away from kicking off its 2025-2026 season. The Nittany Lions now have a complete list of dates and opponents to look forward to during the remainder of the preseason. And, they are staying busy on the recruiting trail, too. We cover all of that, and more on this week’s Blue-White Illustrated wrestling show and podcast with host Thomas Frank Carr and reporter Greg Pickel.

This week’s episode starts with a look at the future beyond this year. The Lions received both good and bad recruiting news over the first couple of weeks. Starting with the latter, standout Johnstown, Pa., Bishop McCort wrestlers Bo Bassett, a top Class of 2026 recruit, and Melvin Miller, who is ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2027, are going elsewhere. Both picked Virginia Tech back on Sat., Oct. 4. The duo figured to be a package pair and that’s exactly how it played out. They committed to the Hokies after visiting Blacksburg during the final weekend of September.

From there, the show moves on to good news. Penn State now has two commitments in the Class of 2027. New York standout and KD Training Center product Gavin Mangano picked the Lions back on Sept. 29. He is No. 5 in MatScout’s latest 138-pound high school wrestling rankings. Two weeks later, he was joined in the Class by Norwin, Pa., native Landon Sidun. He is No. 14 in MatScout’s pound-for-pound rankings and No. 1 at 120 pounds. While Mangano could end up anywhere from 148 pounds to perhaps even as big as 174 at the college level, Sidun could very well be a career 125-pounder and figures to never get any bigger than 133, if he even gets that big.

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“If you see me in person, I’m not a big guy,” Sidun told BWI in August. “I’ve been wrestling around the same weight for a while. My family, everyone’s small. I’m bigger than my mom, I’m close to my dad’s size, so I’d say I’m almost maxed out. I see myself as a ’25 pounder, but I would never say to someone like, ‘Hey, I’m going to be a four-year 25. But I would never see myself wrestling above 33. But, to me, there’s a good chance I’m gonna be a four-year 25.”

Be sure to check back to the Blue-White Illustrated wrestling page later this week for a full interview with Sidun.

Last but not least, the show concludes with a look at the Penn State wrestling regular season schedule. If you haven’t seen it, we have it broken down by month below:

November

14: vs. Oklahoma (at the BJC)

23: Army Black Knight Invitational

December

5: at Drexel

7: vs. Lehigh

13: at Wyoming

20: vs. Stanford, vs. North Dakota State at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals

January

10: vs. Rutgers

16: at Iowa

18: at Northwestern

23: vs. Indiana

25: at Maryland

30: vs. Nebraska (at the BJC)

February

6: at Michigan

13: vs. Ohio State (at the BJC)

20: vs. Princeton

Penn State will also host the 2025-2026 Big Ten Championships at the Bryce Jordan Center. The two-day event will take place March 7-8. The NCAA championships are in Cleveland this year. It will be held March 19-21.