Sammy Sasso Hired

[Justafan]

I didn't know sports industry was a major.

[FloridaGuy]

>>>>>>> Excellent addition to the coaching staff and can also help recruiting. He obviously knows what it takes to succeed in the toughest wrestling conf and should really help our trio of middle weight NQs (Griffen/Roz/Brigs) improve.

Sonny Sasso is a young talent, but his current Flo #17 ranking at 197 is only slightly higher than Davis #19.

I’m all for Sonny, or any of the other local talents at far off locations, transferring to Lehigh, but I like the current team and the incoming/committed recruits.

[martinsilvestri]

"sports industry" is probably a relatively good major for a d1 coach to have in the NIL era to be honest.

Sasso's hiring is a win, not mainly because of potential transfers, but because of the need to improve local recruiting over the coming years. you want better local recruiting? hiring sammy sasso is how you do that. in addition to his own local notoriety as an athlete, he's been heavily involved in youth coaching for a long time and you will often encounter people who talk about what a great kid's coach he was.

these are young guys who are coming up now. they idolize him... parents (who are sometimes a barrier) know him...

another great thing with Sasso is his brief return post-injury which removes any doubts that he can still train and be active in the room at at least a top-20 level himself, which is more than many coaches can say.

i realize there's been some speculation about getting cruz in the spot but that would be years out and there are many uncertain variables with all that. one sasso in the hand is worth two bachmann's in the bush, if you know what i mean. getting sasso is a big +1 for mr. Gibson in my book

[legger]

**** Pat should assign Sonny to teach Griffen his techniques for turning opponents shots into offensive scoring opportunities.

[HFO]

I didn't know sports industry was a major.

It's a minor too!

[whiz wit]

A posting by Sammy on the widely read facebook Wrestling Report group site:

"Mannnn exciting times in the Lehigh Valley. My first day on the job is Monday, and I just finished the recruiting paperwork, so who is gonna keep the ball rolling, and be my first commit at Lehigh."

I think this kid's going to be an asset.

[LUEngineer]

Sasso hire was truly a great fit for both parties.

Bachmann would be a great start on the recruiting side & ability to work out with potential new phenom Van Hovan in addition to expanding Griffen repertoire.

I also like Ballard from Northampton as great local fit for Lehigh when recruiting opens. While we could look to be over stocked with lightweights, all these kids are going to outgrow their current weights and spread out over the lineup.

Lehigh is a special place for wrestling talent versus the Midwest factories & hopefully Sasso can speak to that.

[Lvg123]

People are excited on the boards for the Sammy hire. He is very well liked in the wrestling community. He will definitely help recruiting. Kids love him.

I like Ballard as well. I think he is a 49 in college. He is in the same weight class as Bassett at Fargo.

[HFO]

Sammy is great with younger kids. Will lead to a boom of even more taking up wrestling. Clinics will be packed.

D11 wrestlers (Seniors 2026) to look at. It is not particularly deep this year. Most have verballed already.


Class Dist Gr Wt Wrestler School Sect Dist Reg State Record
AAA 11 Sr 114 Kai, Wilmont Whitehall -- 1 2 1 35-3 He came on during tournament season. Undersized who could grow into like a Mario Stuart.
AAA 11 Sr 121 Salamone, Nicholas Easton -- 1 2 1 33-7 UVA commit
AAA 11 Sr 127 Dillard, Keanu Bethlehem Catholic -- 1 1 1 35-2 LEHIGH commit
AAA 11 Sr 133 Campbell, Jack Nazareth -- 2 1 6 40-9
AAA 11 Sr 133 Wagner, Trey Northampton -- 1 2 5 36-7 Air Force Academy commit
AAA 11 Sr 152 Campbell, Cade Nazareth -- 1 1 5 40-7
AA 11 Sr 172 Fugazzotto, Luke Northwestern Lehigh -- 1 2 7 50-5 George Mason commit
AAA 11 Sr 189 Sumpolec, Dominic Notre Dame-Green Pond -- 2 2 5 36-13 George Mason commit
AAA 11 Sr 189 Zuercher, Brayden Nazareth -- 1 1 4 40-4

Only 3 left are all Nazareth and they project D1 backups.

The next year Class of 2027 is even thinner.

Class Dist Gr Wt Wrestler School Sect Dist Reg State Record
AA 11 Jr 107 Chunko, Carter Saucon Valley -- 1 2 2 39-6 Would have to grow into 125.
AAA 11 Jr 114 Albanese, Emilio Emmaus -- 2 1 3 40-7 Would have to grow.
AAA 11 Jr 127 Ballard, Gabriel Northampton -- 2 2 2 39-11 Should be an elite recruit. 133-149 potentially in college.

Class of 2028
Class Dist Gr Wt Wrestler School Sect Dist Reg State Record
AAA 11 So 107 Emili, Nico Bethlehem Catholic -- 2 2 7 37-10
AAA 11 So 107 Wenrich, Brayden Northampton -- 1 1 2 44-6
AA 11 So 127 Santoro, Matthew Saucon Valley -- 1 3 8 43-11

All will be very elite by senior year. See how much Emili and Wenrich grow. No guarantee Santoro comes to LEHIGH, but it is a very very high probability.

So D11 is very flat the next 3 years. Lehigh will need to expand and recruit D1, 2, 3, 4 and NJ hard the next 3 years. Faith Christian, Wyoming Seminary, Blair, Malvern Prep and Delbaron should be more reliable pipelines over next 3 years until more D11 wrestlers emerge.

[FloridaGuy]

>>>>>>>Close to a third of FLo’s top 100 Big Board rankings for ‘27 are PA/NJ. Plenty of talent in our prime recruiting states even if D11 is a little light.

That being said, I’d like to see Lehigh add more aggressive national recruiting with continued strong PA/NJ recruiting. Lehigh basketball, football, girls wrestling, all recruit nationally.