When Will Koy Hopke Make His College Commitment?

An update on Koy Hopke's recruiting process and when he plans to make his college commitment.

Apr 13, 2023 by Jon Kozak

When Will Koy Hopke Make His College Commitment?

2022 U17 world champion Koy Hopke is the #1 ranked heavyweight in the country and the #4 overall ranked wrestler in the class of 2024. We recently caught up with Koy Hopke for an update on his recruiting process.

Wrestling Or Football?

When we spoke to Hopke last July, he was still exploring the opportunity to pursue football in college rather than wrestling or even competing in both sports. However, after going through the process and visiting different institutions, Hopke concluded that he has “more opportunities in wrestling” that exceed those in football. On top of that, most of the coaches that he spoke with shared their desire for him to focus on only one sport rather than trying to do both on the next level. For those reasons, Hopke has decided to focus solely on wrestling.

Koy Hopke’s Top 4 And Commitment Timeline

After 9 months of the recruiting process, Hopke has narrowed down his decision to 4 teams. Hopke’s not ready to publicly release his top 4 yet because he still has official visits left to take. So far, he’s only taken official visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin. However, he shared he’s excited to make his commitment and will likely commit some time in the early summer.

How Does NIL Influence Things?

Now that athletes are able to make money off of their “Name, Image, and Likeness”, that’s been the driving conversation around recruiting or transferring. But how has that influenced Hopke’s process? According to Koy’s dad Byron, “NIL is a part of every school we’re looking at.”

The prospect of making money was surprising for Koy because originally the goal was just to earn a scholarship. Now, the prospect of NIL money has added different layers to Koy’s recruitment. First, Koy shared, “It’s cool…and a little more rewarding.” However, he also shared it has added more pressure and stress to the process.

The Hopkes also wanted to make it clear that none of the coaches at the programs they are interested in have had conversations with them directly about NIL. Instead, the NIL conversations have all been with the “boosters” attached to the programs.

What Have The Hopkes Learned In The Process?

Throughout the process, Koy has made it a priority to include his parents as much as he could. They’ve been a part of the meetings and attended the official visits with Koy. The Hopkes are a tight-knit family and it’s clear they’re making this important decision together.

After that, Koy shared that the coaches' home visits helped narrow down his top schools and helped him decide where he would take his in-person visits. From there, he was looking for a culture he wanted to be around for the next 5-plus years. “Who do they have at heavyweight?” and “Will there be good practice partners?” are two other questions that helped guide him toward his desired school of choice.

Byron shared that he learned part of what makes Koy a special recruit are the things outside of wrestling. He said, “Results are results but so much more plays a role in the recruiting process.” Personality, character, and grades are all things Byron mentioned that coaches consider when pursuing a recruit. He also highlighted the fact that Koy scored a 34 on his ACT which has opened up even more doors for him academically at the institutions he’s interested in attending.

What’s Next For Koy?

Along with making his commitment, Hopke will look to make another world team this Summer. After winning the U17 world championships last year, Hopke will now attempt to make a U20 world team. Hopke has opted out of competing at the US Open at the end of April but will instead enter the U20 world team trials in early June. This will be a great opportunity for him to test his skills against the best high school grads and college freshmen in the country.

Koy Hopke's recent win over #4 Navarro Schunke at the 2023 Folkstyle Nationals: