Penn State wrestling show: Previewing Lions' trek to Wyoming, reviewing latest recruiting wins

The No. 1 Penn State wrestling team will seek its 75th consecutive dual meet victory on Saturday night when it takes on Wyoming at 8 p.m. ET inside the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie. This will be the first time the Nittany Lions compete at the Cowboys’ home venue. And it’s what the first half of this week’s PSU wrestling show from BWI is about.

Host Thomas Frank Carr and reporter Greg Pickel kick things off with a brief recap of last weekend’s double dual weekend wins over Drexel and Lehigh. From there, they dive into the Wyoming dual. The best bout on the card, should it happen, will feature either returning All-American Josh Barr OR No. 8 Connor Mirasola against No. 4 Joey Novak at 197 pounds. After that bout, redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola, who is No. 11 in FLO’s new rankings, will be tested by No. 10 Christian Carroll.

All told, head coach Cael Sanderson’s team will be heavily favored to win. But a shutout is probably unlikely.

From there, Carr and Pickel dive into the latest recruiting news. Penn State wrestling is on a role in the Class of 2027. It’s most recent addition is Indiana junior Clinton Shepherd. He picked the Nittany Lions on Saturday afternoon.

Watch the Penn State wrestling show from BWI in the video player above, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

“After a lot of prayer I am proud to announce I’m committing to continue my academic and wrestling career at Penn State University,” Shepherd wrote on Instagram.

“Thankful for my family, coaches, and everyone who’s pushed me to get here also god for the guidance to put in my heart where I felt at home for the place I will pursue and chase my goals. Time to work!”

Shepherd is MatScout’s No. 6 Class of 2027 recruit. He is the outlet’s No. 3 wrestler in the country at 144 pounds. He projects to wrestle somewhere between 157-174 at the next level.

Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team made a massive recent surge in this recruitment. The Crown Point High standout put out a top eight in August that included only Iowa State, Cornell, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State, and N.C. State.

Penn State now has verbal commitments in the Class of 2027 from Norwin, Pa., star Landon Sidun, who is No. 2 on MatScout’s 2027 big board, in addition to Ohio star Grey Burnett (No. 4), New York’s Gavin Mangano (No. 8), State College Area’s James Whitbred, and New York two-time state champ William Soto. Soto and Sidun are also wrestlers who look likely to compete in the 125- or 133-pound weight classes. However, projecting college weights at this juncture can sometimes be a bit of a fool’s errand. But, for what it’s worth, Mangano projects in the middle weights and Whitbred in the upper weights.”

The show wraps up with a look at what the Lions must do to break Oklahoma State’s consecutive dual wins streak.