I'm posting a topic that I'm not qualified to really speak to. Iowa has a reputation for taking non-top recruits and making them into NCAA champs. In the past I didn't follow HS wrestling closely enough to know how the NCAA stars had done in HS. I believe that I read that the Brands were only like #4,5 or so in HS national rankings and obviously had great college careers. I do know that Dake was "only" #4 (wouldn't any of us have died to be only ranked #4 in HS?) his Sr year in HS and as a true freshman won the NCAA title! I saw that Ramos was only #4 coming out of HS and he's not doing too badly! I don't know what McDonough was.

Do you know of any wrestlers that became NCAA champs that weren't ranked in top 10 coming out of HS? I'm sure there must be a number of them. Do you know of teams that had a number of NCAA champs/finalists among wrestlers that weren't, say, top 3 in HS?

I don't even think Daniel Dennis was a state champion at any point in his HS career and he was seconds away from an NCAA title. I couldn't imagine that he would have been ranked highly at all. But I'm sure a true Iowa fan would know for sure.

If that's true--Dennis would be one more example of the Iowa program making NCAA champs out of less than blue-chip recruit material. I believe Jessie Whitmer would have been in that boat as well. I think he only had one crack at his title (his senior year).

Josh Glenn 2007 NCAA champion at 197 from American University....not anywhere near a top ten recruit coming out of Johnson City HS

Mike Cannon deserves mention even though he was not a national champion or runner-up.
Three time All-American at three different weights, 3rd at 184 as a senior. Likely would have been national champion had he
not run into that freight train named Kirk Smith. Lightly recruited out of Chopticon HS...doubtful he was in the top 50.

PS: Hopefully further down the road we can add Kendric Maple OU to this list. I don't know his HS story or ranking, but I do know only
two schools recruited him seriously. Kudos to Jack Spates.

Not sure what Johnny Thompson was coming out of high school, he was third at Senior Nationals. OSU only began recruiting him after whiffing on Foley Dowd. Chris Pendleton wasn't a top recruit either.

We will see how Blake Rosholt ends up, I would say he has already done better than being teched in his last high school match (by Chris Perry) would have led you to believe.

Id say that anyone who is recruited to a top program should by default be considered the equivalent of "highly ranked." To consider Steinhaus, maple, or anyone recruited to Iowa to not be a great high school wrestler is is kinda ludicrous.
To me it would be more impressive for someone from a smaller school, surrounded with less talent in the room to make the podium.