NC State wrestling on path to nationally ranked classes in 2020, 2021

The college wrestling season came to a screeching halt just after NC State wrestling had claimed its second straight ACC title and the brackets for the NCAA Championships came out.

The good news for NC State is it didn't have a single senior on its roster, and it still managed to sign a class full of potential future stars on the mat. Six of the nine senior prospects that inked during the fall won 2020 state titles, and the group has combined for a total of 21 high school state championships and countless other All-America honors, including several national titles.

When FloWrestling did some early recruiting class rankings in October, NC State checked in at eighth nationally on the strength of six pledges who were among the outlet's top 200 overall recruits at the time — and then the Pack added one of the 10 top-50 prospects who were uncommitted then.

It's safe to assume the Wolfpack will finish with its third straight top-20 class, and the depth should give the program its third top-10 group in the last five years per Flo.

We break down how next year's group of freshmen finished their prep careers and the Wolfpack's hot start to the 2021 recruiting class below:

The numbers Scott put up in his last two years of competition would be impressive from any state, but he comes from the sport's richest breeding ground in Pennsylvania. He finished his prep career with 105 pins (normally 100 wins is a landmark), four district championships, four regional crowns, two state titles and a 151-6 career ledger.

The son of a wrestling coach went 79-0 over his final two years and picked up an astounding 62 pins during that time, including 26 straight at one point late in his senior year, a streak that ended in the state semifinals. The wrestler he beat for his state title is a fellow top-100 recruit ranked in the top 10 nationally at the weight (No. 7).

Scott even entered a college open tournament this fall and placed second, dominating his first three foes (by pin, 14-0 major decision and 20-5 technical fall) and then losing via the riding time point to Clarion sixth-year senior Brock Zacherl, who was one win away from All-America honors at the 2018 NCAA Championships.

Scott is the highest-rated newcomer on the FloWrestling big board (No. 19 in the 2020 class regardless of weight class) and finished the campaign ranked second in the land at 152 pounds by the outlet. As those rankings infer, he's talented enough that he could possibly step right into the Wolfpack's loaded lineup at 149 pounds as a true freshman.

Longtime wrestling recruiting insider Willie Saylor had this to say about Scott:

Trumble was the latest addition to the class, but he was a big one. At the time of his commitment in October, he was the fourth-best uncommitted prospect according to FloWrestling's big board. Like Scott, he's another pinner with a ton of potential.

The big man moved up to 220 pounds, and then heavyweight, this year because it was best for his team, Nebraska powerhouse Millard South. He still dominated despite being much smaller than most of his competition and pinned his four state tournament foes in less than three minutes combined. Those opponents lasted an average of just 43.3 seconds before Trumble put them away en route to his second straight undefeated campaign and third state title.

Ranked No. 43 on Flo's big board and as the fifth-best heavyweight nationally, Trumble could make an immediate impact at 197, but the spot won't be given to him with former blue-chip recruit and a hopefully healthy Nick Reenan for his fifth year.

One college head coach has called Trumble a "physical freak."

While not as highly ranked as Scott and Trumble on Flo's final big board, the Danbury, Conn., native was the most highly regarded prospect in the class for much of the cycle before finishing at No. 46 overall. Still, he's a stud recruit and despite NC State returning a former All-American in Tariq Wilson at 141, he could compete to make an instant impact in the lineup.

The younger brother of Kevin Jack, who is now NC State's recruiting coordinator and tied the school record with three All-America honors during his NCSU career, was one of the first prospects to pull the trigger in the class, committing way back in Oct. 2018. He wasn't a top-100 recruit at that time, but he blew up with some big performances and has now settled into his current spot. The Wolfpack coaches have always been very high on Jack, who is an incredible offensive wrestler in neutral.

Jack was the first from his high school — which, in addition to his brother, produced the Wolfpack's breakout redshirt freshman Jakob Camacho, this year's 125-pound ACC champion — to win a National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) wrestling championship, and now will look to top his predecessors' accomplishments once again.

This season, Jack competed at 138 pounds (where he wrapped up the season fifth nationally), won his fourth straight state title and was named that meet's Most Outstanding Wrestler. He then went on to win his third New England championship, becoming just the second from Connecticut to ever do so and earning automatic entry into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame as a result.

The rest of the 2020 class appears in alphabetical order:

Kai Bele, projected 174 from New York

Back when he committed in Oct. 2018, he was ranked No. 13 on FloWrestling's junior big board. He has since dropped out but still brings a strong resume to Raleigh that includes a pair of Florida state championships (at 182 pounds as a junior) and several national titles. When Flo's big board went to 250 in Aug. 2019, the Buffalo native was still listed at No. 143.

He did not compete at the high school level this past year but was actually in Raleigh, where he graduated from Athens Drive High School and worked out at the Wolfpack's Regional Training Center, so he will have a nice head start on his classmates.

Donald Cates, projected 157/165 from Durham, N.C.

Cates was the first in the class to pull the trigger, and the two-time North Carolina state champion burst onto the national scene in 2018, when he placed third at the Freestyle National Championships in Fargo, N.D., annually one of the toughest tournaments in the country. That made him the highest-placing cadet from North Carolina in seven years.

Since then, he has continued to rack up national honors and even competed at a few college open tournaments this year. He posted winning records at both the Franklin & Marshall Open and Appalachian Open — no easy task. He enjoyed his best performance against college competition at the Wolfpack Open in the fall, where he took third at 165 pounds, losing only to future teammate Thomas Bullard, who was ranked nationally all year on the college level and earned the No. 10 seed for the NCAA Championships. Cates was named The Open Mat's national high school wrestler of the week after that showing.

Cates was ranked No. 151 in the 2020 class by Flo on its Aug. 2019 big board but didn't make the final top 100.

A.J. Kovacs, projected 157/165 from Connecticut

Kovacs won a 2019 state title in New York but is originally from the Wolfpack breeding ground of Danbury, Conn., where he won his first two state titles. He made the move to Iona Prep in New York to improve on his academics and, like the other Danbury products that made their way to NC State, trained at the Empire Wrestling Academy club.

In April 2019, he made a national statement by winning FloNationals, with every victory coming by technical fall and in less than three minutes. In the finals, he topped the highly touted Cael Valencia, Flo's current No. 3 overall wrestler in the 2021 class.

This past high school season, the 152-pounder bonus-pointed every New York grappler he faced until losing in the state finals. Though Kovacs was not included on Flo's latest big board, he was listed No. 92 overall in the Jan. 8 update.

Anthony Noto, projected 125 from New York

Noto capped off his career this season by winning his fourth straight New York state championship and was named the meet's Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second year in a row. He competed at 120 pounds as a senior and wrapped up high school with an overall ledger of 174-6.

He comes from another hotbed recruiting area for the Wolfpack in New York state. He's also earned All-America honors at prestigious tournaments like Fargo Freestyle Nationals, the Super 32 in Greensboro, N.C, and U.S. World Team Trials. Three times, he has been named the All Greater Rochester Wrestler of the Year.

In Aug. 2019, he was listed No. 148 on Flo's big board but didn't make the final top 100. He did finish the campaign ranked ninth nationally at his weight class by the outlet.

Dylan Reinert, projected 174 from Pennsylvania

Reinert was one of the biggest unknowns when he committed to NC State, but he backed up the Wolfpack coaches' evaluation this postseason in a big way. While competing in a loaded state tournament field at 170 pounds that featured several nationally ranked competitors, he upset two from the top 10 en route to placing third, topping 2021 recruiting target Trey Kibe for the bronze.

Reinert was his school's first four-time state qualifier and made huge improvements while competing in the toughest prep wrestling state, going from not placing his first two years to seventh as a junior and third this year. Though he still didn't crack Flo's top-100 big board, he wrapped up his senior season ranked eighth nationally at 170 pounds and with a 164-21 career record.

Joe Roberts, projected 165 from Illinois

Another who continued to progress throughout his prep career going from sixth in the state as a sophomore to third in 2019 and first this past season at 152 pounds. He climbed to the top of the podium with an upset over a fellow senior who is headed to wrestle at Illinois and was a former top-100 national recruit.

In addition to winning the crown in state's largest classification as a senior, Roberts was a leader for a powerhouse program in Montini Catholic.

The Pack is also off to a hot start in its 2021 recruiting. In addition to being right in it with several high-level prospects, they already have four top-100 pledges.

Here's a breakdown of their four current commits:

Brock Delsignore from New York

A product of Journeymen Wrestling Club, which is run by Wolfpack head coach Pat Popolizio's brother Frank and has produced numerous NCSU wrestler, and Shenendehowa High, which produced current NCSU freshman Kiernan Shanahan and is also home to 2021 recruiting target Stevo Poulin, who is a bonafide blue-chip recruit. Frank Popolizio is also an assistant at the school.

Delsignore went from wrestling at 145 pounds as a sophomore to 182 this year, but he still managed to place at the state tournament for the first time, finishing second. That was after he made a national statement in the fall at the Journeymen Classic, where he picked up several wins over nationally ranked foes. He has started on his school's varsity team since seventh grade and has a career record of 183-24.

He is currently ranked by Flo as the No. 78 overall prospect in the 2021 class. He should move into the national rankings once the current seniors are taken out (same with the other Wolfpack commits not in the national rankings for their weight class).

Derek Fields from Ohio

The younger brother of current redshirt freshman Matt Fields did not get to compete at the state tournament after it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he had a pair of nationally ranked wins en route to his district title.

He's also a former Fargo All-American, is currently ranked 13th at 152 pounds by Flo (that's regardless of class — he'd be No. 2 at the weight if all seniors were taken out) and checks in at No. 72 on Flo's junior big board.

Jake Null from New York

After finishing as the state runner-up in his sophomore year at 160 pounds, Null returned to the weight this year and went undefeated to win his high school's first-ever state wrestling title.

Another Journeymen Wrestling product, Null is 155-18 as a varsity wrestler, boasts 91 pins and is ranked No. 93 on Flo's junior big board.

Skylar Smith from Texas

Smith comes from a state not really known for its wrestling but is actually the highest-ranked NCSU commit on Flo's junior big board, checking in at No. 31 overall.

He is a three-time Texas prep state champion, has earned several All-America honors at national championship tournaments such as Super 32 and was the 2019 runner-up at the National Prep Championships. He finished sixth at 132 this year at Prep Nationals and was nationally ranked for much of the year at the weight.

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