Wrestling Adds Max Wright, Has Full Eligibility

Rutgers is adding another hammer to the upper-weight depth.

Max Wright, committed to the Scarlet Knights today via twitter and will be arriving on campus this Fall. He is expected to wrestle at 184 or 197 pounds.

Wright came over from the Air Force Prep Academy where he bounced between the two weights and will have five years to complete four competitive seasons. Since Nick Gravina and Matt Correnti are expected to be at 184 and 197 this season, Wright could be in line for a redshirt and the compete for a spot in 2019-20 at one of the two weights with 2018 recruit Billy Janzer and Correnti.

“I chose Rutgers because I have a goal of being an All-American and I need to surround myself with teammates that have the same goals,” Wright said. “They have a great wrestling program that’s on the rise and I felt that it was the best place for me to achieve my goals in all aspects of life.”

As a high school senior, Wright finished third in the state of Ohio and finished with a career record of 153-35. He was also a pinning machine, finishing with 94 career wins by fall.

News seems to never elude head coach Scott Goodale’s program as they have been consistently adding to their continually improving program. One thing that Rutgers has sorely lacked in the last few seasons is depth at the upper weights. While Gravina has been steady in his time on the banks, 197 and heavyweight have been revolving doors.

Once former heavyweight Billy Smith graduated, it has been Razohnn Gross, Ralph Normandia and others filling the hole. 197 was supposed to be Correnti’s spot, until a redshirt in 2017-18 made way for Kevin Mulligan. Correnti would bump to heavyweight but has since come back down to 197 and Mulligan is currently no longer with the program.

Wright coming into Piscataway will only strengthen the depth behind Gravina and Correnti in case of injury or if Wright simply shines in the room during the preseason.

He is also the second wrestler this offseason to change their singlet to scarlet. Christian Colucci transferred after two years at Lehigh and is the favorite to win the heavyweight slot in the lineup.