2027 Big Board Key Names:
1. Melvin Miller (PA) (McCourt) : We don't have a shot at this kid unfortunately. Would be shocked if he goes anywhere other than whatever school Bassett ends up at
2. Joey Bachmann (PA) (FCA): We have gotten visits from FCA kids over the past two years (Botero, Weidemoyer, Effendian, Singer) but nobody has committed. I would hope we could get a potential visit out of Bachmann but I am not too optimistic on that.
5. Saleh Tsarni (MD) (Bullis): A projected 165/174 who has really stormed onto the scene I would love to be on on his recruitment especially as he is in a longterm area of need but nothing concrete makes me think there is a connection here.
17. Landon Sidun (PA) (Norwin): Sidun has kind of fallen in these rankings after not competing at Fargo and MFF out of S32. However I think that is a major mistake as this kid is an absolute animal. He has taken 3rd and 4th at Cadet Trials in back to back years and won States and Powerade last season at 114 going 42-2 overall. He also took 3rd at Beast of the East (at 120) where he beat Dillard who won PIAA states and was a Cadet Bronze Medalist this season. He is a WPIAL kid who trains at the PWC and I have seen attending matches. He should absolutely be the person Gavin calls at midnight on June 15th, 2026 and we should work hard as possible for a quick commitment from this kid.
21. Greyson Music (PA) (McDevitt): Music took the world by storm at PIAAs last season when he upset Louie Gil in the state semis to make the finals as a freshman. Kid is an absolute gamer who consistently makes huge jumps. He also has a big frame and went from 120-132 from season to offseason. I could see him being a middleweight by the time he graduates.
31. Gabe Ballard (PA) (Northampton): This kid is underrated in these rankings in my opinion. He is an absolute beast who took 3rd at beast and 4th at States at 114. He nearly beat Sidun at States losing 9-8. He took 3rd at Fargo over the Summer. I don't know where he will end up at weight wise but I would guess it is 133 and up based on his competition weights this offseason. Pitt has struggled to establish a connection to this District 11 are but this would be a great start for that.
34. Nick Singer (PA) (FCA): Singer took a huge fall in this ranking, through little fault of his own. He won NHCSA and took 3rd at Fargo, he also couldn't make the stacked FCA lineup and may struggle to make it again this year. He is still an absolute stud. His older brother visited Pitt but committed to Lehigh. Lehigh is really stacked in this 165-197lb weight range I would project Singer to fall in and I think he may look elsewhere. This is where a joint Bachmann and Singer visit would be great for the program with hopefully a chance to land Singer.
37. Zach Aquila (OH) (Brecksville): From not far from Pitt, he is a kid who is at 150 already and could end up really anywhere weight wise. Took 2nd at NHCSA and 4th at Fargo. This is the type of Ohio kid we are hoping Rosselli helps us improve our pull with.
48. Dom Morrison (PA) (Hatboro): Hatboro has a really weak schedule and Morrison doesn't wrestle full time as I believe he still plays soccer as well. He won states at 106 as a freshman and had a great ETR tournament. He is a kid who I think is going to keep making jumps throughout HS and even bigger ones once he gets to college and is wrestling full time with a better room and schedule.
63. Kai Vielma (PA) (Connellsville): Although his older brother is a WVU commit, Vielma is the kind of WPIAL kid we have to at least make a real effort on to make the jumps we need to make as a program. He had a good season at 132 this year and I could see him growing to a 149-165 type like his brother.
76. Hunter Snyder (PA) (Latrobe): I think he is being underrated by this big board. He is a former Fargo runner up and took 6th at states this year at 172. As a freshman mind you. His 6th place finish doesn't showcase how he big State Runner up Bodie Morgan the week before at WPIALS and barely lost to him in the semis before completing the semi slide. He didn't have the greatest off-season but I would expect him to come out this year up at 189 and make some noise. I don't know where to project him long term. Could see anywhere from 184-HWT being his weight destination. Either way a kid who has done this much as a freshman and is from Latrobe, where your assistant coach is an all time legend and is a local kid, has to be a kid we get to seriously consider Pitt.
89. James Whitbred (PA) (State College): Whitbred is a kid who went 0-2 at States, then went out and took 5th at Fargo in free and second in Greco. He has a frame to grow and is already competing at 145 after being 133 last season. Could see him ending up in that 57-65 range. He already trains with the PWC and that makes me believe he is someone we should seriously be interested in. Establishing the RTC and building connections with athletes who want to train there is crucial to recruiting and it means that athletes who commit will already have an idea of the staff's coaching style which can help with retention in the transfer portal era.
Overall these are not all kids who are going to have an interest in Pitt and the staff may write some of them off (I bolded the 5 names I felt were most realistic for the Panthers to go after). But for our recent mediocre recruiting classes (in terms of ranking and tbd on actual results) we will need to make a big splash in this class. Especially as it lines up with our mass exodus of wrestlers in 2027 to graduation/eligibility ending ( likely Vinnie, Finn, Keslar, Stout and Pitzer at least).
