The #17 overall recruit in the Class of 2021, Dean Peterson committed to Princeton in October of 2019, but today he announced he would be making a last-second decision and flipping to in-state rival Rutgers.

The 2X New Jersey state champion announced his decision via Instagram.

Peterson missed out on the opportunity to become a 3X NJ state champ and 4X finalist this year when he sat out of the season and underwent surgery to fix a deviated septum and other issues with his nose that were affecting his breathing. Prior to that, Peterson defeated West Virginia commit Jordan Titus at FloWrestling’s Who’s #1 to earn the #1 spot at 126 lbs.

Watch Dean Peterson defeat Jordan Titus at Who’s #1 2020 below.

Peterson will join a Rutgers class that features Kyonte Hamilton, Michael Cetta, Joey Olivieri, Dylan Weaver, and Anthony White, along with collegiate transfers Greg Bulsak from Clarion and Nicholas Raimo from Arizona State. This class (excluding transfers) originally earned Rutgers an honorable mention in the 2021 recruiting rankings, but the addition of Peterson would surely put them in the top-10.