Penn State has gained what is expected to be a major contributor to its lightweight portion of the lineup for the 2025-26 wrestling season as the school announced today that it has officially signed Japanese U20 World Champion Masanosuke Ono.
Ono confirmed to Flowrestling that he has enrolled at Penn State and will wrestle for the Lions next year, expecting to fill the 133 or 141 lineup spot.
The Japanese Ono was the Junior and Senior World Champion in 2024 and has been living in State College for some time to train. Penn State wrestlers from past and present were by his side as he prepared for his match against Spencer Lee last month, which he won.
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Coming off of its 12th NCAA team title in the last 14 seasons, Penn State is already making moves to bolster its lineup and fill voids left by seniors.
With Beau Bartlett moving on from the team after another All-American performance this past weekend, 141 seems like an ideal spot for Ono to fill immediately. However, there is also the potential that he moves down to 133, giving Braeden Davis a chance to either Redshirt or consider a move to 141.
As Ono has several high-profile wins against Lee and future teammate Marcus Blaze, he will likely be able to grasp the concepts of folkstyle relatively quickly. It will also benefit both him and Blaze, who will also compete internationally.
Japanese wrestlers are making their way to the States to compete at the collegiate level. The 2024 Olympics showed the Japanese teams are incredibly robust and talented as they managed to be the overwhelmingly dominant team in Paris. Rin Sakamoto joined the Oklahoma State Cowboys this past year and wrestled in the dual vs. Iowa:
Where Ono will ultimately end up in the lineup for the Lions next year depends on a number of different things, including which weights are most comfortable for both him and Davis. However, this move only bolsters the idea that Penn State's reign will continue as it set another NCAA team scoring record last weekend in Philadelphia.
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