Marcus Blaze decision preview: Will he pick Penn State wrestling? Lions are among 3 finalists
Wednesday is decision day for star Class of 2025 wrestling recruit Marcus Blaze. The Perrysburg, Ohio senior is down to Penn State , and Ohio State . He will announce his decision at 7:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 13 inside of his high school's gymnasium, the Perrysburg Wrestling Club announced on Tuesday.
Blaze is the top uncommitted prospect in the current recruiting cycle, according to MatScouts. He is No. 3 on the outlet's 2025 big board and No. 2 in its pound-for-pound rankings. Flo Wrestling puts him at No. 1 on its Class of 2025 big board and calls him the top pound-for-pound high school wrestler in the country. Blaze, who has a list of accomplishments that might not fit on a piece of paper the length of a CVS receipt, recently finished as the 61-kilogram runner-up at the Senior World Team Trials despite being just 17 years old. He also won bronze at the U20 World Championships in September at 61 kilograms (134 pounds). Previously, he won U17 World gold.
Blaze has won three straight Ohio state titles, most recently doing so at 132 pounds. He projects as a 141-pounder in college, though as always, that can change as he continues to grow.
"He's special. He's generational," Perrysburg coach Scott Burnett told The Sentinnel-Tribune in March . "We have to enjoy him. He's a great human being. He's a leader.
"He's got some really big goals — he wants to be an Olympic champion, he wants to build off his 17U World Championship (won in Istanbul, Turkey last summer), he loves our team, and he loves our program."
Penn State hosted Blaze for an official visit in late September. Back in May, he cut his list to Penn State, Michigan, Cornell, Michigan, Ohio State, Purdue and Iowa. Now, only the Lions, Boilermakers, and Buckeyes remain, of course. Check back to Blue-White Illustrated early Wednesday morning to learn who Blaze picks.
Entering Wednesday, Penn State has Class of 2025 commitments from New York's PJ Duke, who, like Blaze, is one of the top two or three recruits in the country, New Jersey's William Henckel, State College Area's Asher Cunningham, Wyoming Seminary's Nate Desmond, and Central Mountain's Dalton Perry. The Nittany Lions signed the No. 1 Class of 2024 in the last cycle. It aims to do so again. And, while it may not need Blaze to do so from a mathematic perspective, it's still pushing as hard as possible to land him.
