Wolverines Finalize Nationally Ranked Recruiting Class

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan wrestling program has landed a consensus top-10 recruiting class, according to all major wrestling media outlets. Head coach Joe McFarland's recently finalized the 12-man class, which combined for 17 state titles over their high school careers and is ranked No. 3 by InterMat and No. 9 by Flowrestling and The Open Mat.

The Wolverines' 2017-18 freshman class will include JT Correll (Easton, Pennsylvania), Andrew Davison (Chesterton, Indiana), Jelani Embree (Eastpointe, Michigan), Ben Freeman (Walled Lake, Michigan), Ameen Hamdan (Clarendon Hills, Illinois), Reece Hughes (Brighton, Michigan), Nick Lombard (Monroe Township, New Jersey), Drew Mattin (Delta, Ohio), Jack Medley (Chesterfield, Michigan), Zachery Nemec (Hoffman Estates, Illinois), Luke Ready (Brighton, Michigan) and Layne Van Anrooy (Roseburg, Oregon).

The class includes four wrestlers listed among the top 60 national recruits by InterMat and FloWrestling, while five are ranked among the top 20 at their respective weight classes. It is the Wolverines' fifth top-10 recruiting class in six years.

"We're excited about this entire class," said McFarland. "It's a big class that fills a lot of our needs and embodies the type of student-athletes we want here at Michigan. They're all high-character individuals, committed and hard-working wrestlers who want to win championships and are serious about their academic pursuits. Those are the kind of student-athletes that have found a lot of success in our program."

Correll took fourth place at the 2017 National Prep Wrestling Championships and claimed PAISAA state runner-up honors at 195 pounds while taking a postgraduate year at Wyoming Seminary. He previously wrestled four years at the prestigious Blair Academy, where he contributed to three national team championships. He posted a career prep record of 113-22. He also earned varsity letters in football and lacrosse at Blair, serving as the lacrosse team captain and earning Academic All-American honors. He will wrestle at 197 pounds at Michigan.

Davison is ranked No. 8 nationally at 195 pounds and as the No. 52 overall recruit by InterMat and No. 57 by Flowrestling. He captured an Indiana state title at 195 pounds as a senior (2017) and was a two-time state placewinner for Chesterton HS, claiming fifth place as a sophomore (2015). He boasted a 125-4 record over the last three seasons, including a 46-0 senior year. He was a four-time Fargo All-American in the international styles, including a cadet Greco-Roman winner in 2015, and posted three top-six finishes at UWW Cadet Nationals. He is projected to wrestle at 197 pounds at Michigan.

Embree is ranked No. 4 nationally at 182 pounds and as the No. 29 overall recruit by InterMat and No. 28 by Flowrestling. He was a two-time Michigan state champion, winning at 171 pounds (2016) and 189 pounds (2017), and a three-time state placewinner for Warren Lincoln HS, taking third place as a sophomore (2015), with a near-perfect 128-1 record over the last three seasons. He qualified for the 2015 Cadet world freestyle team but did not compete due to injury and, last summer, was a Fargo double All-American with top-six finishes in freestyle and Greco-Roman. He will likely wrestle at 184 pounds at Michigan.

Freeman is ranked No. 7 nationally at 138 pounds and as the No. 37 overall recruit by InterMat and No. 34 by Flowrestling. He was a four-time Michigan state champion for Walled Lake Central HS, claiming back-to-back titles at 125 pounds (2014, '15) before winning at 135 pounds as a junior (2016) and 140 pounds as a senior (2017). He posted a career prep record of 163-1, including a 120-0 mark over the last two seasons. He is already a four-time Fargo All-American -- and set to compete again next week -- and placed at UWW freestyle nationals four times, claiming junior runner-up honors last summer at 63kg/138.75 pounds. He will wrestle at 141 or 149 pounds at Michigan.

Hamdan was an Illinois state placewinner, claiming fourth at 132 pounds at Marist HS before finishing his career at Hinsdale Central. A second-generation Wolverine wrestler, Hamdan's father, Jehad, was an All-American at 190 pounds in 1995. He is projected to wrestle at 149 pounds at Michigan.

Hughes captured a Michigan state title at 140 pounds as a junior (2016) and was a three-time state placewinner, claiming fourth place at 145 pounds in an injury-hampered senior season (2017) and placing third as a sophomore (2015). He posted a 145-13 record over the last three seasons. He contributed to a Hartland HS team state championship in 2016 and top-four finishes in each of his prep seasons. He is projected to wrestle at 157 pounds at Michigan.

Lombard took fifth place at 145 pounds at the single-division New Jersey state tournament as a senior (2017) at Monroe HS, where he was teammates with fellow Wolverine Sal Profaci. He posted a 120-18 career prep record, was twice a regional runner-up and captured two county titles and three district crowns. He also claimed a state freestyle title in 2016. He will wrestle at 141 or 149 pounds at Michigan.

Mattin is ranked No. 18 nationally at 126 pounds by InterMat. He was a three-time Ohio state champion at Delta HS, winning at 106 pounds (2015), 120 pounds (2016) and 126 pounds (2017), and a four-time placewinner, taking third as a freshman (2014). He compiled a 180-10 career prep record. He captured the 120-pound title at the 2017 NHSCA Senior Nationals and was a five-time Fargo All-American, reaching the 113-pound junior freestyle final in 2015. He is projected to wrestle at 125 pounds at Michigan.

Medley was a four-time Michigan state placewinner for Anchor Bay HS, claiming third as junior and senior (2016, '17), most recently at 119 pounds, and taking seventh place as a freshman and sophomore (2014, '15). He compiled a 216-18 prep record. He is a four-time district and three-time regional champion. Medley will wrestle at 125 pounds at Michigan.

Nemec claimed third place at heavyweight at the 2017 Illinois state championships at Fremd HS, posting a 42-3 record with 32 pins. Off the mat, Nemec was a starter on the offensive and defensive lines on Fremd's football team. He will wrestle heavyweight at Michigan.

Ready was a two-time Michigan state champion at Brighton HS, capturing back-to-back titles at 215 pounds (2014, '15), after claiming fourth place at 189 pounds as a sophomore (2013). He posted a 142-11 career prep record, including a near-perfect 41-1 mark as a senior. He also claimed Cadet freestyle runner-up honors at 220 pounds in 2014. He will wrestle heavyweight at Michigan.

Van Anrooy is ranked No. 2 nationally at 160 pounds and as the No. 31 overall recruit by InterMat and No. 38 by Flowrestling. He was a four-time Oregon state champion at Roseburg HS, winning at 138 pounds (2014), 152 pounds (2015) and 160 pounds (2016, '17). He boasted a career prep record of 171-9, including a perfect 49-0 mark as a senior. He earned top-four finishes in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at UWW Cadet Nationals (2015) and is a Fargo All-American. He will likely wrestle at 157 pounds at Michigan.

In addition to the incoming freshmen, the Wolverines will welcome another newcomer in the form of graduate transfer Kevin Beazley (Highland, Michigan), who claimed NCAA All-America honors at 197 pounds last season for Old Dominion.

• Wolverines Ink Eight Recruits During Early NLI Signing Period (11/22/2016)
• Beazley Joins Wolverine Program as Graduate Transfer (5/1/2017)