It’s been five years already since Jacori Teemer was recruited by Arizona State and now the three-time Pac-12 champion and two-time All-America enjoys being a Sun Devil recruiter.

“I just tell them how it is,” Teemer said. “I talk about Zeke’s (coach Zeke Jones) system, our training system, obviously show them around campus. But other than that, I bring them around the team and show them what it's like, how we are, because we're pretty much family, we're pretty close with everyone. 

“So just like that, keep it 100 with them about how Zeke is because sometimes coaches tell you one thing and then show you another when you get there. So I tell them how it is, to be honest, and they like it. I think most recruits like that.”

Coming out of Long Beach, New York, as a five-time state champion and the top recruit at 126 pounds in 2018, Teemer liked ASU’s pitch. 

“I believe it was a great decision for me,” he said. “What led me out here was my visit. It was a loaded coaching staff before and even with the coaching changes, they still have a loaded coaching staff.

“When I got here, it was (Olympic medalist) Jamill Kelly and (NCAA champion) Chris Pendleton and Zeke and (NCAA All-America) Lee Pritts, and now it’s Pritts, Zeke, (three-time NAIA champion) Eric Thompson and (Olympian) Frank Molinaro. A loaded coaching staff, the team was great and welcoming … it was like a family. And obviously the weather is just beautiful all year-round, so they checked off all my boxes.”

Not all the boxes have been checked; Teemer is pursuing a NCAA gold medal. In 2021, he lost in the second round but won five straight on the backside before falling by a point to Northwestern’s Ryan Deakin to place fourth. A year later, he made the semifinals before losing to Deakin again and tumbling to sixth place.

One of the favorites in 2023, Teemer tore a pectoral muscle in the preseason and did not compete. 

“It was a six- to eight-month recovery period and I was cleared at the six-month mark … six and a half,” Teemer said. “It was pretty quick for me; I was actually cleared right before nationals but, obviously, I didn’t have any (qualifying) matches and stuff like that.”

Now, he’s ranked fourth behind Penn State’s Levi Haines, Iowa’s Jared Franek and Nebraska’s Peyton Robb. He wrestled about 50 seconds in ASU’s season-opener against Lock Haven at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and ended up in concussion protocol. A few weeks later he made the finals at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and fell 6-4 to Robb.

Jones said Teemer proved he was back in full force. 

“He hadn't had a lot of competition, so I think that showed up in the finals,” Jones said. “He's just going to continue to get better and better as he competes. For Jacori, it’s just being consistent day in and day out, match in and match out, not taking a moment to pause when he's wrestling. 

“If he stays laser-focused in each and every one of his matches, that's what I think Jacori needs to do — and I think he will. He knows what to expect. He knows what a season's like. He knows what it's like to wrestle somebody good. He knows what it's like to wrestle in a tough environment. He's done it all. Now he needs to put it all together in a consistent manner and he'll be ready.”

Teemer, who began a master’s program in sports management this fall, can win his fourth and final Pac-12 title this season. With an extra COVID year awaiting him, he can win his first Big 12 title next season as the Sun Devils will shift conferences.

“We dual the top Big 12 schools every year anyway,” Teemer said. “We do Iowa State, we do Missouri. And we've been trying to get Oklahoma State but that never happens. I feel like it'll be better for us in the Big 12; we get more (NCAA) allocations so that's gonna play a big role and help us a lot to get more kids to nationals.”

Big 12 travel won’t be a factor because the Sun Devils routinely head east, west, north and south each season. 

“It's definitely something you become accustomed to when you're in college,” Teemer said. “We have a lot of East Coast guys now and (Zeke) tries to go to a lot of East Coast tournaments early on … get us close to home. But other than that, for duals, we don’t really travel that far, unless we have Lehigh. Other than that, quick trips.”

It’s the trip to Kansas City in late March that counts the most, and Teemer is ready for him and his team — which has four wrestlers ranked among the top five — to shine.

“We’re loaded; we’re coming in for another trophy,” he said. “We just have to say healthy. I feel like we could go top three for sure at nationals if everyone stays healthy. 

“And there’s a lot of young guys at my weight that I have to put in check. Yes, I'm looking forward to it. These young guys are hungry, so I'm looking forward to scrapping with all of them. And we'll see what happens in March.”