Within six days of adding Cal Poly’s Bernie Truax to the roster, Cael Sanderson added another All-American wrestler to his lineup.
Minnesota’s Aaron Nagao announced his transfer to Penn State wrestling Tuesday night on Justin Basch’s “Baschmania” podcast and live stream. Nagao will arrive in Happy Valley with three years of eligibility remaining.
“There’s something very, very special about [Penn State] that I can’t necessarily describe,” Nagao said on the podcast. “I felt a connection right away.”
Nagao competed in the 133-pound class as a redshirt freshman this past season at Minnesota and, following his transfer to Penn State, will likely compete for the spot left behind by Roman Bravo-Young.
In Nagao’s most recent campaign, the redshirt freshman recorded a 23-6 record as a starter, finished as a runner-up behind Bravo-Young in the 2023 Big Ten Tournament, and placed fifth in the NCAA National Championship with All-American status.
As a rookie in the 2021-22 season, Nagao finished with an 8-3 record and finished first in the ISU Last Chance Open with a 3-0 record by way of three bonus-point victories.
Before heading to Minnesota, Nagao earned two state championships at Esperanza High School in La Habra, California.
In addition to Truax and Nagao, Penn State has also landed former Cal Baptist wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink out of the transfer portal. A U-20 silver medalist and the No. 12 overall recruit for the class of 2022, Mesenbrink was 2-0 at the 165-pound weight class in his freshman season before returning home to his native Wisconsin in December.
