Oh Hello, Wrestling Edition: Shayne Van Ness Commits to Penn State

The Penn State wrestling program received a huge addition on Monday evening when Shayne Van Ness, the top-ranked recruit in the class of 2021, announced he had committed to the Nittany Lions.

Van Ness, a Blair Academy (NJ) product, chose the Nittany Lions over a final list of PSU, Cornell and Ohio State. Rutgers was the perceived favorite for Van Ness, whose father wrestled for the Scarlet Knights, and Princeton and Michigan both made pushes. He becomes the first Blair product to join the Nittany Lions since Ed Ruth.

The Open Mat and Mat Scouts both have the Jersey product as the top-ranked prospect in the country as well as the top-ranked 138-pounder in the country. Van Ness has won just about everything on the high school level, including Ironman, Beast of the East and National Prep championships. He will, however, likely, miss his senior season should it take place as he recovers from a broken tibia that requires surgery.

At the next level, Van Ness projects to 133 or 141 pounds. His pace and variety of attacks make him as good as any number of world medalists Penn State has landed in recently class, including fellow 2021 class member Alex Facundo who started the class for the Nittany Lions with his commitment in February.