Class of 2017 Big Board

Final Class of 2017 Big Board

Our farewell to the class of 2017 begins now, with one final look at the senior big board. The top four is impregnable, as all four have won age level medals and nearly everyone in the wrestling community believes they have All American years ahead of them.

Nick Lee drops a bit after some losses (Zach Synon and Ben Freeman) that cast some doubt as to whether he can be an AA right away, which is the bar nowadays for rising seniors. The rest of the top 15 gets shuffled around a little, but the difference in those Tier 1 type guys is negligible. Louie DePrez might be the most interesting prospect in that top 15, a Super 32 champ who is very tough on top, but also the only high level guy going to a program that falls outside of the typical power schools.

Another big question is where to put Austin Desanto after he beat Spencer Lee? We settled on No. 17, and like DePrez he is going to a school outside of where most fans may think a top 20 guy "should" go. The Drexel coaching staff has a ton of faith in the kid who may have the best gas tank of any graduating senior.

The 15-35 group can roughly be described as your Tier II guys and is full of intriguing prospects. Anthony Mantanona has one of the highest ceilings of any senior and is a part of a massive group heading to Oklahoma. Zack Donathan is someone D1 coaches will be chasing after and may still be able to attend a D1 school next year. John Borst has been on an upward trajectory for three years and stays in-state as part of the new Tony Robie era.

Moving down the line, there are some still as of yet unsigned big men in Kevin Vough and Chei Hill, as well as some high upside guys both going to Arizona State in Kordell Norfleet and Navonte Demison.

Once you get past the halfway mark, any recruiting ranker is playing with fire. There are countless examples, not just in wrestling but in all sports, of athletes coming out of high school unranked or well below the national radar turning into a star. Gabe Dean comes to mind from the college class that just graduated.

The recruiting class rankings will hash out this group for each school and provide some context about how each school looks going into the future. I for one can't wait to look back in 5, 6, 7 years and see where each of these young men ended up.

Feel free to send all love and/or hatred to @wrestlingnomad on twitter or e-mail Daniel.lobdell@flosports.tv. I am always open for input to make these rankings better, more accurate and more fun for the fans.