Bo Bassett is currently the number-one ranked wrestler in the class of 2026. He had many options for where to commit to college including the University of Oklahoma and Ohio State. Even with the variety of options, he chose the University of Iowa, and some of his fans were not happy about his decision.
Bassett has been wrestling since he was in 3rd grade and has won many big tournaments including Super 32, The Walsh Jesuit Ironman, and the 2021 Cadet World Championship.
These are some of the biggest tournaments for wrestlers to participate in and are very difficult.
Many people thought that he would end up committing to a different school, and were blindsided by his decision to attend Iowa.
Throughout Bassett’s recruitment, there were many speculations that he would commit to Penn State or Oklahoma State. But many theorized that he would only go to Iowa if they paid him a good amount of money and rumors started to spread even more.
“From what I’ve heard, he is getting paid 5 million dollars, so I think that is a smart choice,” TJHicks (12) said.
He thought that going to Iowa was the best decision based on what he planned to accomplish in his wrestling career like going to the Olympics . It makes a lot of sense on why he would commit to Iowa if the rumors of him being paid are true.
According to this youtube livestream “It was a long process for me and it didn’t come down to my decision or my parents decision or my coaches or anything like that but it really came down to my faith,” Bassett said.
Fans believe that Iowa is a bad program for wrestlers because of their reputation of not treating their wrestlers well.This can be bad for many wrestlers because they can get injured and may even quite the sport because they are not treated well
While Iowa is a good school, they focus on winning more than the well being or improvement of their wrestlers.
“I think it is awesome but it is also pretty bad because I feel that Iowa is not doing good things with their program,” Kayson White (9) said.
The Iowa Hawkeyes need to focus on the well being of their wrestlers because anything can happen when someone is on the mat. Bassett making this risky decision could determine how the rest of his career goes.
Yes, he may receive a large amount of money but going to Iowa could result in him getting injured. This decision may be a gift or a curse. However, viewers will not know until he attends college in 2027. He still has to wrestle his senior year.
