Behind Aden Valencia's Commitment To Stanford
Behind Aden Valencia's Commitment To Stanford
A breakdown of Aden Valencia's commitment to Stanford and a summary of his recruiting process.
Aden Valencia has committed to wrestle at Stanford University after his graduation in 2024. Valencia is currently ranked #10 in the 2024 Big Board and carries high accolades as a CIF state placer (3rd in 2021) 2021 Fargo runner-up and winner of the 2021 Cadet Greco World Team Trials. We were able to talk with Aden and hear his thoughts on the recruiting process, his recent commitment, and his immediate competition plans.
Why Stanford?
When entering the recruiting process, Aden looked for his school of choice to fit the following categories - a high-quality education, an RTC where he could train after college, and a quality coaching staff with great partners. For Valencia, Stanford perfectly checked all of those boxes. He plans on studying business at Stanford and said he couldn’t imagine a better business program. He also spoke highly of both the former and current coaching staff in how they have helped develop an RTC where he can train post-collegiately to win world and Olympic medals. Valencia also said he has complete confidence in head coach Rob Koll’s ability to build a program and bring in the right wrestlers to help them win a national title.
Valencia's win for 3rd at the California state tournament:
Stanford Has Always Been #1
On top of the above reasons, Valencia noted how Stanford has always been a place that felt like home. Along with wrestling, Valencia has been training Judo since he was 4 years old and he began his first Judo lessons on campus at the Stanford Judo Club. Only 45 minutes from where Valencia grew up, Aden was on campus every week and that familiarity helped make Stanford the clear, #1 choice throughout Valencia’s recruiting process.
Though Stanford was #1, Valencia said there were other great options he strongly considered. Cornell, Michigan, and Arizona State were the other top programs Valencia was looking at before ultimately choosing Stanford.
The Opportunity To Build
Along with “checking all the boxes” and being close to home, the opportunity to be a part of building something new at Stanford was appealing to Valencia. He felt many assumed he would be interested in attending a more “established program” such as Penn State, Ohio State, or Iowa - programs that have all won NCAA team titles in the past 10 years. Instead, Valencia finds the opportunity to help build Stanford into a title-winning team a more appealing challenge. He also mentioned that the same opportunity of building something new was a primary reason for his sister Nyla committing to the newly established University of Iowa women’s team.
Aden Valencia's win to make the 2021 Super 32 Finals:
How Valencia Fits In The Cardinal Lineup
Last summer, Valencia entered the Cadet World Team Trials at 48kg (106 pounds) where he won in Greco-Roman and finished second in Freestyle (at 51kg - 112lbs). However, he didn’t compete at worlds due to hitting a major growth spurt. By Fargo, just a few months after trials, Valencia competed at 120 pounds. Because of that, Valencia said it’s hard to predict where he’ll wrestle at the next level for Stanford but that 133 or 141 is most likely for him.
Looking ahead, 133 for Valencia makes the most sense for the Cardinals starting in the 2025-2026 season after their current starter, Jackson DiSarario (a 2X national qualifier) graduates. Along with Valencia coming to campus in 2024, Stanford will welcome an impressive class in 2023 with Big Boarders #53 Zach Hanson (141/149) and #84 Jacob Joyce (125/133) already committed. Joyce, Valencia, and Hanson should give the Cardinals an incredible lower-half of their lineup for years to come.
What’s Next?
After struggling with injuries over the past few months, Aden is ready to compete and is currently training to take the mat at Fargo in a few weeks where his goal is to win at 126 pounds. He said a title this year is a major goal for him after finishing runner-up at last year's tournament. His other goals for the upcoming season are to win Super 32 and make the U20 world team next season. Off the mat, Valencia said his grades are very important to him and academics are a major focus moving forward in order to assure his acceptance into Stanford.
Valencia's win to make the Fargo finals in 2021: