Penn State Wrestling Flips New Jersey State Champ Jayden James James, one of the nation’s top high school prospects of the 2026 recruiting class, switches his commitment from Virginia Tech to Penn State.
Penn State wrestling is on some kind of run. The Nittany Lions won their fourth straight NCAA Wrestling team title Saturday, received a commitment from Japanese world champ Masanosuke Ono on Monday and flipped one of the United States’ top high school recruits Tuesday.
Jayden James, a New Jersey state champion who initially committed to Virginia Tech, announced that he will join Cael Sanderson’s roster at Penn State instead. James posted his commitment graphic on Instagram, highlighting another major recruiting win for Penn State wrestling’s 2026 class.
James, a junior at Delbarton High, was named the NJ.com 2024-25 wrestler of the year after winning the 150-pound title at the NJSIAA wrestling championships. James went 43-0 last season and pinned his way through the state tournament. James is FloWrestling’s second-ranked wrestler at 150 pounds and has won a title at the Beast of the East tournament.
James, who committed to Virginia Tech in 2024, has won two U16 freestyle titles at the U.S. Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D. He has one more season of high school eligibility and projects in the middle of Penn State’s lineup, where Tyler Kasak (157) has two more seasons after placing third at NCAAs the past two years.
The recruiting additions underscore how potent Penn State’s lineup should continue to be. Ono is a unique addition, the defending world champ at 61 kg freestyle who enrolled at Penn State this winter and will compete for the Nittany Lions next season. Penn State also has received commitments from three of FloWrestling’s top six wrestlers in the nation. That includes No. 1 overall Marcus Blaze, an Ohio national champion.
As he said after Penn State won its 12th national championship in 14 tournaments, Sanderson never stops looking to the future.
“I mean, we’re just constantly thinking ahead, and just everything’s preparation for the next thing,” Sanderson said after Penn State won its fourth straight NCAA wrestling title. “So we don’t really kind of stop and reflect a whole lot. Obviously we’re learning as we go and we’ll continue to do that. That’s the name of the game.”
