College Wrestling Recruiting

Zahid Valencia – Arizona State University

How to get recruited and wrestle in college

You’re a high school wrestler, maybe one of the best at your school, but that might not be enough to get you recruited. Being able to compete at the collegiate level is hard to do and you must excel both in your sport and in the classroom and be sure to get your name out there to college wrestling coaches.

Wrestling coaches have small budgets for recruiting so having an online profile and proactively getting your results out there is the best way to maximize your recruiting opportunities. Wrestling programs don’t have the same budget as football programs for example where there are scouts and recruiters around the country. Don’t wait for a coach to find you, go find programs and schools that suit you and contact the coach.

There are 371 men’s wrestling programs nationwide: 76 Division 1 wrestling colleges, 59 Division 2 wrestling colleges, 105 Division 3 wrestling colleges, 59 NAIA wrestling colleges, 42 NJCAA wrestling colleges and 30 other colleges outside these divisions.

NCAA

Competing in NCAA DI wrestling can be very rewarding. Few things are as thrilling as competing at your dream school in front of screaming crowds against the top wrestlers in the country. The intensity is high and the competition is fierce. But keep in mind that roster spots are never secure and leisure time is next to nonexistent. Athletes’ schedules are packed with practice, gym sessions, travel, study hours and volunteer work. This includes weekends and the off-season. The D1 college wrestler is truly dedicated for four years.

Intercollegiate Wrestling has long been a very respected and important NCAA sport. College wrestling has traditionally been a men’s sport, but more and more women are starting to take up wrestling. At this time there are only 3 NCAA schools that have women’s wrestling as a scholarship sport.

There are 76 Division 1 schools that have wrestling programs. 9.9 scholarships are allocated per team with the average roster size being 32. The 59 NCAA Division 2 colleges can offer 9 scholarships per team.

There are 19 division 3 colleges that wrestle at intercollegiate level but no athletic scholarships can be awarded at the DIII level.

NAIA

43 colleges affiliated with the NAIA offer wrestling scholarships. 11 of these schools have active women’s wrestling programs but there are no scholarships. For men there are 9 wrestling scholarships per school. Both the NCAA and NAIA class wrestling as an equivalency sport which means scholarships can be broken up into partial scholarships.

NJCAA

40 Junior colleges sponsor intercollegiate wrestling, of these two have active women’s wrestling programs. There are 16 scholarships per program for men only.

Evan Wick – University of Wisconsin

Here are some things that you can do to increase your chances of being recruited

1. Get Good Grades. As we mentioned earlier, good grades are essential. Do not let your academics slip. Roster spots are limited so if you can’t meet the NCAA’s eligibility requirements then you won’t get onto the wrestling coach’s team roster.
2. Attend Camps. Most college programs offer wrestling camps. Be sure to attend the camps at the schools you’re most interested in. This is a great way to showcase your skills and get to know the coaches.
3. Create a Recruiting Profile. Get your name and results out there to college wrestling coaches! Recruiting is YOUR responsibility