Domenic Munaretto is currently the #1 ranked 113-pound high school wrestler in the country,  the #6 ranked recruit in the class of 2026, and projects as a 125-pounder in college. Munaretto also won a U17 world title in 2022 and will again represent Team USA at U17 Worlds this summer. On June 15, college coaches were able to contact the class of 2026 and because Munaretto is a top recruit, we recently spoke to him about his first few days of recruiting and his plans moving forward. Check out the below article to see a breakdown of Munaretto’s early days of recruiting. 

Watch Domenic Munaretto's win to make the U17 Freestyle World Team:

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Day 1 Of Recruiting For Munaretto - Hectic But Exciting

Like many of the other top recruits, Munaretto planned on staying up until midnight to receive calls from coaches. Dom said the first call actually came at 11:00 pm (Central Time) from the University of Indiana an hour ahead in the Eastern Time Zone. After Indiana, the calls kept coming and Munaretto said he took about 5 calls total before he went to bed for the night. Overall, Munaretto said he talked to at least 15 different programs on the first day of recruiting.

When I asked Munaretto how he would describe his first day he said it was, “exciting, but hectic.” He said he had been looking forward to being recruited for a long time and tried to keep an open mind heading into his first day. He said it was cool for him to talk to every coach who called - especially those he watched wrestle growing up. One conversation that stood out to Dom was with Illinois assistant coach Austin O’Connor. Munaretto said he watched O’Connor win Midlands 5 years ago, had been a fan of O’Connor since, and was excited to be recruited by someone with his college accolades.

How Many Visits Will Munaretto Take?

Last year, the NCAA lifted the limitation on how many official visits prospective student-athletes can take. Previously, recruits could only take 5 official visits but now they’re able to take as many as they want. Munaretto said he’s looking forward to taking at least 5 visits and will likely take more. However, he also said he wants to evaluate each visit to make sure it’s worth taking and that he's not taking a visit for the fun of it. 

Does Munaretto Want To Stay Close To Home?

As an Illinois native, Dom sees an advantage in staying close to home and he’s absolutely considering wrestling for the University of Illinois. However, Munaretto is staying open to all schools right now and is more concerned about finding the right fit for him than its proximity to home. 

Munaretto shared it’s most important that he finds a school that will help him become the best version of himself. Beyond that, relationships are important to Dom and he’s looking forward to seeing where he can develop great relationships with his coaches and teammates. To that point, Munaretto has trained with and has been teammates with several wrestlers who are already at some of the top schools in the country. For instance, Munaretto was high school teammates with Ben Davino who is heading to Ohio State in the fall and Munaretto has trained with Seth Mendoza who is a class of 2025 commit to Missouri. Munaretto said it’d be great to go to a place where he already has those close relationships but in the end, he’s committed to finding the school that will help him become the best wrestler and person he can be.

What’s Munaretto's Approach To NIL?

Athletes making money off their name, image, and likeness (NIL) has been one of the biggest stories in college sports over the past few years. This is a game changer - some college wrestlers become professional athletes with the money they’re making from NIL. So what is Munaretto’s approach to NIL? Dom said, “It’s important, but it’s not the main thing.” Munaretto is more concerned with focusing on becoming the best version of himself. He feels that if he does that, the money will follow the success he has on the mat. 

When Will Munaretto Commit? 

The simple answer to the above question - not anytime soon. Munaretto has a busy summer ahead and is currently training to compete in both Greco and Freestyle at the 2024 U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan from August 19-25. Then, after U17 Worlds, Munaretto will wrestle at Super 32 in the middle of October. That will leave him with a small window for visits in September and again before the start of his high school season. With that in mind, Munaretto doesn’t plan on committing early but he said he’d like to make his college commitment before the start of his senior year. 

Overall Recruiting Evaluation Of Dom Munaretto

Where do I think Munaretto will end up? I’ve been doing these recruiting calls for a few years now and sometimes you can get an early read on where a recruit is leaning. However, with Munaretto, I really think he’s wide open and won’t decide until he gets further into the process with home visits and officials. 

Munaretto is obviously an incredible wrestler, but what makes him a highly coveted recruit is that he has the potential to be a career 125-pounder. Because of that, I think he’ll be an All-American contender from his freshman year on and that will make him a target for all the blue bloods like Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Iowa, etc. However, it also seems like Illinois has its foot in the door early and, in my opinion, Munaretto should be a big target for the Fighting Illini. Illinois is one of the best wrestling states in the country and if they can keep their best talent home, then we could see Illinois start to insert themselves into challenging for team trophies at the NCAA Tournament. Again, it’s still early, but Munaretto is a guy to keep an eye on as the recruiting season unfolds and it will be huge news wherever he chooses to commit when the time comes. 

Hear from Munaretto after he made the freestyle world team: