Evans to Iowa

Brands & Co. Add to Monster Class

The sweepstakes for one of the nation’s top recruits is over, as our #1 184lb prospect, Mike Evans, verbally agreed to an Iowa Wrestling scholarship late Tuesday night.

Evans has transferred to the renowned wrestling program at Blair Academy for his final prep season after a standout career at Cumberland Valley. Most recently, he took home double All-American honors in Fargo this July by placing 5th in Greco and 3rd in Freestyle. Last season, he won the Beast of the East crown at 171lbs.

He joins an incoming Iowa recruiting class that just may be the best in the country. Previously, the Hawkeyes received verbals from 5 wrestlers in TOM’s Top Prospect rankings, all of which are Intermat Top 100 recruits.

And the six standouts couldn’t have come at a better time as the Hawkeyes, who will bid to three-peat this season, will experience a high turnover rate at the end of this season. Nine seniors graduate, and previous commitment, Ethan Lofthouse will serve on a Mormon mission.

Coupled with last season’s recruiting haul, which TOM ranked 6th, Iowa should be back in the hunt for hardware sooner rather than later. The ’09 class featured 4 wrestlers which appeared in our Top Prospect Rankings including #1 Derek St. John. The Hawkeyes also added transfer Tyler Clark (ISU) this year.

Evans’ recruitment has been a twisting, turning event. He was rumored to be considering several schools at one time or another. Ohio State was said to have an early lead. Other schools in which there was some level of mutual interest included Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Michigan. Recently, Missouri was thought to be a major player for his services. In the end though, it was Brands and Schwab who sealed the deal, receiving the word via a phone call Tuesday night.

To get a closer look at the state of Iowa recruiting, and the roster status after this season, we list the comers and goers here:

Graduating After This Season:
133: Dan Dennis
141: Dan LeClere
141: Joey Slaton
149: Brent Metcalf
165: Ryan Morningstar
174: Jay Borschel
184: Phil Keddy
197: Chad Beatty
Hwt: Dan Erickson

On Campus (The 2009 Class)
125: Tyler Clark (Tr.-Iowa St.)
125/133: #4 Tony Ramos
141/149: #7 Dylan Carew
157: #1 Derek St. John
174: #5 Ethan Lofthouse

Future Hawks (2010 Verbals)
141: #2 Josh Dziewa, PA
2x Super 32 Champ, Fargo Junior National FS Champ

141: #8 Jake Ballweg, IA
3x State Champ, Fargo FS, 4th

149: #2 Anthony Baldosaro, NJ
State Champ, Fargo Cadet National Freestyle Champ

157: #4 Nick Moore, IA
3x State Champ, 2x Dvorak Champ, Double Cadet AA

184: #1 Mike Evans, PA

Hwt: #3 Bobby Telford, DE

By Willi Saylor, Editor