Japanese World Champion Says He Will Wrestle for Penn State Next Season

Masanosuke Ono, a 2024 world wrestling champion from Japan who recently trained in State College, made a significant statement Monday, two days after Penn State wrestling won its fourth straight national championship. Ono announced on FloWrestling Radio Live that he will compete for the Nittany Lions next season.

Ono, 21, already is one of the most accomplished young freestyle wrestlers internationally and joins a roster that returns seven All-Americans, including NCAA champs Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 pounds) and Levi Haines (157 in 2024). Penn State broke its own scoring record Saturday at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, where the team had 10 All-Americans, eight of whom finished in the top 3.

"Penn State will help me and Penn State is the best in the world," Ono told FloWrestling Radio Live host Christian Pyles in an interview from Japan. Ono also posted a signing announcement on Instagram. He recently enrolled at Penn State and is listed in the university's student directory.

"I signed to Penn State University to wrestle for the Nittany Lions!" Ono wrote in his Instagram post. "I am excited to learn folkstyle and to compete for PSU! I will work to become an NCAA champion and I am eager to work with Coach Cael [Sanderson], Coach Cody [Sanderson], Coach Nick Lee and Coach [Casey] Cunningham. I love State College and the culture in the wrestling room at Penn State. I am excited to compete for all the great PSU wrestling fans!"

Ono won the 61 kg men's freestyle weight class at the 2024 World Championships at age 20, announcing himself as one of the top young wrestlers internationally. He outscored his opponents 55-2 at the tournament last October, defeating 2020 Olympic champion Zaur Uguev of Russia and defending world champion Vito Arujau, a two-time NCAA gold medalist at Cornell.

Ono also won a Japanese national championship in 2024 and the U20 world title at 61 kg, defeating Penn State recruit Marcus Blaze in the semifinals. In February, Ono defeated former NCAA champ Spencer Lee at an exhibition sponsored by FloWrestling.

Ono spent time recently training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and posted often about it on Instagram. He trained with Penn State senior Beau Bartlett, a three-time NCAA medalist at 141 pounds. Bartlett said he had been "stealing his moves a little bit."

"He's a really funny guy. He's awesome, really, really smart," Bartlett said of Ono earlier this season. "I love being able to wrestle him. I understand why he's a world champ."

It's unclear in which weight class will compete for Penn State. He wrestled internationally at 61 kg, which is about 134 pounds. The Nittany Lions have a lineup vacancy at 141, where Bartlett has wrestled for four seasons. At 134, sophomore Braeden Davis is an NCAA All-American, having placed fifth at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia.

College wrestling, known as folkstyle, has different rules than international freestyle wrestling, which Ono said he will learn. In his interview on FloWrestling Radio Live, Ono also made a prediction.

"I will be an NCAA champ, 100 percent," he said.

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