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Top Penn State wrestling recruiting target Melvin Miller puts the Lions in his top four

Greg Pickelby: Greg Pickel12 hours agoGregPickel
Syndication: Hanover Evening Sun
Bishop McCort's Melvin Miller takes down Faith Christians' Max Stein with six seconds left in the third period to claim gold at 152 pounds at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center on March 9, 2024, in Hershey. (© Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Penn State is one of four schools still in the running for the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2027. Johnstown, Pa., Bishop McCort star Melvin Miller put out his top four on Monday. Besides the Lions, he is also still considering  Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, and Nebraska. The junior cut Michigan and Ohio State from his list of options. Both schools were in his previous top six.

Miller, who is already a two-time Pennsylvania state champion, is the top junior on MatScout’s Class of 2027 big board. He is No. 4 on the outlet’s overall pound-for-pound high school big board and No. 1 at 165 pounds. He projects to wrestle somewhere in the middle-to-upper weight classes in college. Miller is the brother of highly-regarded Class of 2026 recruit Bo Bassett. Many believe the pair will end up at the same college. Bassett was previously committed to Iowa. But, he backed away from that pledge earlier this year. At the same time, Miller cut the Hawkeyes from his list of suitors. Both are coming off a weekend visit to see the Hokies in Blacksburg. Neither seemingly has a decision timeline in mind.

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Penn State wrestling Class of 2027 roundup

Miller is not the only recruit the Lions are targeting in the Class of 2027, of course. As a matter of fact, they landed their first commitment in the next cycle on the same day Miller trimmed his list. It came from New York standout Gavin Mangano. He figures to compete in the middleweights (somewhere between 149 and 174) at the next level. He works out at KD Training Center, which has sent numerous standouts to Penn State recently. That list includes two newcomers to the program this year: Freshman PJ Duke and transfer Rocco Welsh.

Besides Mangano and Miller, Penn State is very interested in Norwin, Pa., junior Landon Sidun. He was on campus for the White Out football game over the weekend. Perrysburg, Ohio has its next star in Grey Burnett. He has the Lions in his top three. And, State College Area High’s James Whitbread is a junior to know, as well, among others.

Visit the Penn State wrestling page at Blue-White Illustrated to learn more about the Lions, including their 2025-2026 schedule, which was announced on Sept. 29.