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Insider: State Power Rankings
Willie Saylor, Editor
The debate rages all the time: who are the best wrestling states in the country? We order them, we banter back and forth. We argue what events matter most and what indicates a good wrestling state.
Should you evaluate historically, over a certain period of time, or just assess each state’s current status? Should you value quality or quantity? Top flight stars or the difficulty in the path to win a state title?
There are a million ‘yeah, buts,’ as in California beat PA at Flonationals: ‘yeah, but, PA didn’t send all their best guys.’ New York beat New Jersey in their All Star dual: ‘yeah, but an All Star Dual doesn’t account for depth.’ Illinois wins all the Freestyle/Greco events: ‘yeah, but they have the best participation rates.’ Ohio has so many studs. 'Yeah, but they never wrestle in the off season.'
Perhaps there will never be a clear cut answer as to who’s the best and what the criteria should be. With states evolving and ever-changing talent pools rising and ebbing, it’s a debate that has to be re-examined periodically.
Here’s my take, based on witnessing national tournaments, pouring over results, evaluating talent, and analyzing data from All American lists (the past) and recruiting class rankings (the future).
10. Missouri
Missouri might check in as a surprise state, but their talent and future stars more than justifies a place in the top ten. From the lightweights through the middle and including this year’s #1 HWT prospect, the Show Me State currently exhibits not only national level talent, but incredible depth.
While Missouri doesn’t have the historical record that other state might have (they are 17th in All-Time AA’s), their ranking here reflects how strong they are right now. They populate the 8th most individuals ranked from the Senior Class down to JR High.
9. Oklahoma
The Sooner State had always been a staple on the high school wrestling hot bed list. But in recent years, with state policy and budget cuts debilitating their infrastructure, their talent pool has ebbed. Folks in Oklahoma had to go back to the drawing board.
And apparently, it’s working.
The Oklahoma youth programs are teeming with talent. Between their JR and Soph, classes, they have more ranked individuals than anyone except for Pennsylvania. A true renaissance for the nation’s #2 state in all-time All Americans.
8. Minnesota
Minnesota produces a bumper crop of DI talent every year. The problem is, they all go to one school. Heaven only knows how many AA’s they’d have if they spread out, or if Minny had multiple DI programs.
The Land of Lakes sits in the Top 10 of every category relevant to evaluating a state’s prowess. Over the last ten or fifteen years, they’ve probably outproduced our #7 team, but Michigan is hot right now.
7. Michigan
Like Missouri, Michigan is probably also a surprise. Frankly, it was to me.
But there’s no denying the talent they currently have.
Michigan is top 10 in all relevant ranking categories. What’s more is that the quality is superb. They have five kids ranked in the Top 30 of either the Sr. or Jr. class.
Michigan might not be going away for a while, either. Their depth is building with great youth programs and state leadership.
6. New York
Having New York on the list might not be a surprise. Having them this high probably is. The Empire State’s numbers are a little skewed for a few reasons. They’ll have less ranked kids because 1) their in-season by-laws prevent them from competing in marquee events and 2) they have more depth than they have superstars, so New Yorkers don't immediately come to mind.
What’s not debatable is their production at the next level. They always have kids in the hunt at NCAA’s. For every Kyle Dake that NY produces, there’s five or six more that reach the podium every March. Last year, NY’s six All Americans were second to only PA and Ohio.
5. New Jersey
With talents like Molinaro, Rey, Russell, Burroughs, and Caldwell, NJ has lead the country in National Titles the last few years. By most accounts, at the high school level, they had a down year in 2011-2012, but they currently have the second most ranked wrestlers in the country.
A couple of years ago, I might have had NJ above Illinois. But Jersey’s depth has taken a hit the last two years. That’s not a referendum on the state as a whole; it’s a cyclical thing, and they’re on their way back up. Their youngsters are among the best in the country with 18 Garden State wrestlers appearing on our underclassmen Big Boards.
4. Illinois
With Zane Richards, Sam Brooks, Max Schneider and a host of top flight upper weights, Illinois produced a fabulous crop of DI commitments last year. They’re down a little bit right now in terms of ranked individuals, with 13. But they’re young and they’re deep.
We all know how they completely dominate the international styles. Illinois is in the midst of a FS/GR run that’s unprecedented. Of the eight titles to be won at National Duals and Fargo, Illinois won five of them in 2012.
Their infrastructure and state support is second to none. Meaning they won’t be going away any time soon.
3. California
The Golden State is undergoing a renaissance. They’ve always produced both quality and quantity. And though the dwindling number of DI programs within the state probably hurts their college AA totals, California was still among the national leaders last year with six.
They had a great SR class last year. And while this year’s senior crop takes a dip, the cupboard is fully loaded with Juniors and younger.
2. Ohio
With one of the richest wrestling traditions in the country, Ohio keeps churning out talent like a machine. The top flight kids that come out of Ohio are not only accomplished, they’re polished and ready to produce right away, as evidenced by three freshmen AA’s in St. Louis.
Although their 3-class state system waters down the state tournament, they have incredible depth. Their youth programs are strong, ensuring great crops of future studs. In fact their next batch of talent will be a force to be reckoned with; they have the most (13) ranked kids on our Freshmen and JR High Big Boards.
Both historically and currently, Ohio is a wrestling mecca.
1. Pennsylvania
In almost every conceivable metric, PA takes the cake. College All Americans, both all- time and on a per year basis over the last decade favor the Keystone State.
PA has both quantity and quality; both elite level studs and incredible depth. While they may be susceptible to having their #1’s knocked off by a particular state in a given year, no one can deny their consistency. PA kids make up a higher percentage of ranked kids at the high school level annually. Currently, with their 45 ranked individuals (not counting Fredy Stroker or JR Wert), PA accounts for 15% of the nation’s Top 20 kids.
College coaches seem to agree. Of the DI commitments this year, 16 come from PA. Ohio is second with 11.
And there’s no sign of slowing down. PA leads the way on both our JR High and Freshmen Big Boards with 13 youngsters of national recognition.
Honorable Mention:
Oregon, Georgia, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Utah, Florida
HM Notes:
Oregon - Produces a solid crop year-in, year-out. They’ll never overwhelm, but they are a model of consistency.
Georgia - You’ve heard me rave about their progress before. They’re the monsters of the south. Their grassroots model of development makes them a force to be reckoned with and a true Top 10 threat in the future.
Colorado - The don’t have a whole heck of a lot of depth. But they’re 13th all time in NCAA All Americans. One of the more quietly productive states.
Iowa - You’re probably wondering why I don’t have them in the Top Ten. If it was based entirely on history, they might be in. Last year’s class was incredible. This year, the Hawkeye State is down. Really down. All their studs have graduated, and outside of a handful of underclassmen, even their top guys have no national record to speak of.
All Class Ranked Wrestlers by State:
1. Pennsylvania - 45*
2. New Jersey - 22*
3. California - 21*
4. Ohio - 21*
5. Michigan - 16*
6. Minnesota - 15*
7. Illinois - 13
8. Missouri - 12*
9. Indiana - 11*
10. Oklahoma - 10
11. Virginia -10*
12. New York - 9*
13. Georgia - 8
14. Oregon - 6
15. Iowa - 5
*Brooks Black and Patrick Coover (NJ) counted for PA; John Jay Chavez (ID), counted for CA; Matt Kolodzik (NJ) counted for OH; Tate Robinson (MO) counted for TN; Mark Hall (MN) counted for MI; Nicky Hall (PA) counted for NY; Garrett Ryan (PA) counted for AZ; Michael Johnson, Jr. (PA) counted for IL; Myles Martin and Jack Clark (MD), counted for NJ; Chaz Tucker (NJ), counted for MA; Mason Manville (NJ) counted for VA; Austin Myers (KY) counted for OH; Nathan Boston (KY) counted for IN.
Top 100 SR’s by State:
1. Pennsylvania - 20
2. New Jersey - 8
3. Ohio - 7
4. California - 6
5. Illinois - 5
5. Virginia - 5
5. Minnesota - 5
5. Missouri - 5
9. Michigan - 4
10. GA, NY, IN, NM, NV - 3
Class-Ranked Individuals (SR/JR/SO/FR/JH):
1. PA - 54 - (20/14/7/7/6)
2. OH - 28 - (7/6/2/7/6)
3. NJ - 26 - (8/6/4/5/3)
4. CA - 22 - (6/8/2/3/3)
5. OK - 22 - (2/9/7/2/2)
6. IL - 21 - (5/6/3/5/2)
7. MI - 20 - (4/6/3/4/3)
8. MN - 17 - (5/5/2/3/2)
9. MO - 16 - (5/4/3/3/1)
Several tied with 12
Current DI College Commitments by State:
1. PA - 16
2. OH - 11
3. NY - 8
4. Michigan - 7
5. Virginia - 5
6. CA - 4
6. NJ - 4
6. Minnesota - 4
9. Wisconsin - 3
9. Georgia - 3
Top 20 States in DI All Americans (All Time)
State Individuals Medals
1. Pennsylvania 368 602
2. Oklahoma 294 531
3. Iowa 258 463
4. Ohio 189 326
5. Illinois 179 312
6. California 156 247
7. New York 154 240
8. New Jersey 142 242
9. Michigan 118 207
10. Minnesota 94 151
11. Oregon 76 129
12. Colorado 59 88
13. Wisconsin 52 86
14. Indiana 45 71
15. Virginia 42 65
16. Washington 36 53
17. Missouri 31 45
18. Kansas 30 51
19. Florida 27 45
20. Maryland 26 39