Blue White Illustrated

W ith the early signing period having ended on Nov. 16, Penn State is set to bring in a three-member freshman class in 2017. And head coach Cael Sanderson has already gotten a jump start on a blockbuster Class of 2018. Next year the Nittany Lions are set to welcome Nick Lee of Indiana and Richie McClanahan of Florida, while the most recent announcement came from Brady Berge of Minnesota. A projected 149-pounder and two-time state finalist from Evansville Mater Dei, Lee is the No. 6 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country according toFloWrestling.com. He had been ver- bally committed to Penn State for more than a year, having announced for the Lions last fall with his younger brother. McClanahan, of J.R. Arnold High in Panama City Beach, chose PSU less than one month before signing day. He was a Florida state champion as a sophomore at 126 and finished third in 2016 at 132. Mc- Clanahan projects as a 141-pounder in college. Berge, meanwhile, is ranked as the No. 9 pound-for-pound wrestler in high school and the seventh-best senior. He is a three-time state champion for Kas- son-Mantorville. Projecting at 165 pounds or greater in college, Berge is considered by Flo to be the top 160- pounder in the nation. In addition to PSU, he took official visits to Minnesota, Oklahoma State and Iowa, the university at which his father and high school coach wrestled. While the current class finished strong with the unexpected addition of Berge, the '18 class is shaping up to be one of Sanderson's best. He had already secured a commitment from Joe Lee, the younger brother of Nick. Joe won his first state championship this past winter as a soph- omore for Mater Dei, pinning his 145- pound opponent in the final round in 41 seconds. Joe com- mitted the same day as Nick, in September 2015. Flo considers him to be the No. 11 145-pounder in the country. Two more standout prospects – both of whom are ranked among the top 10 in the junior class – also joined the fold last month. Roman Bravo-Young of Sunnyside High School in Tucson, Ariz., has been part of a team that has won 31 of the state's past 33 team titles. He hopes to continue that type of success in college, having an- nounced Oct. 22 that he plans to continue his wrestling career at Penn State. Ari- zona State, Oregon State, North Carolina and Nebraska were Bravo- Young's other four finalists. "Any wrestler growing up who always watches wrestling, even right now, what's the best school? Penn State," Bravo- Young said in an interview with FloWrestling on the day of his announcement. "And then imagine one of the best coaches talking to you every day and saying, 'I want you to wrestle in that Penn State singlet and be on a win- ning team.' That just excites me. I know it's the best for me. It's a little ways from home, but I'm willing to do whatever I have to do to be the best I can be." With an 83-0 career record, Bravo- Young is ranked No. 5 overall in the 2018 | Lions' next two classes taking shape Lee, McClanahan, Berge set to arrive next year, while 2018 class is already looking strong CLASS ACTS Wittlake (left) and Bravo- Young are both among the top five high school juniors in the nation. Photos via Twitter

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