Brothers Nick and Joe Lee first saw Penn State's campus this summer when they boarded a plane to University Park. They returned again this past weekend, this time making the 12-hour drive from Evansville (Ind.) to get another look.

For them the trip was worthwhile. Nick and Joe, who are arguably the top two ranked wrestling prospects in Indiana's Class of 2017 and '18, respectively, announced via social media once they returned home that they had verbally committed to wrestle for the Nittany Lions.

"We visited before and we are big fans of the coaching staff," said Nick. "Great guys and they have the same values as us. The Penn State community is very similar to the community at Mater Dei high school, which is where I'm from in Indiana. We were up there and we talked with the coaches. My brother and I felt that Penn State was the right personal fit for us."

Nick enters his junior year ranked No. 3 in the country at 132 pounds by FloWrestling.com. He won a state title as a sophomore and currently holds a 68-1 career record.

Although Joe is younger, he is heavier than Nick. Flo ranks him as the No. 9 138-pounder in the country. Joe is the only sophomore ranked among the top 15 at 138 after a runner-up finish at states as a freshman.

Joe chose Penn State for most of the same reasons as his brother Nick. The coaches, definitely, and both have early aspirations of studying pre-med or a similar field. The setting of the college campus caught their eye, too.

"It was just a really good looking campus. That's what we were looking for," Joe said. "I've been to a few other college campuses. Not to knock on any others, but Penn State was my favorite."

It was Nick's, too. Nick declined to name the other Division I programs that were under consideration -

"(The coaches) know who they are and we have tremendous respect for their consideration and time," he said - but PSU had long been their top choice.

It's why they both announced their verbal commitments so early in their high school career. Nick becomes the first in PSU's Class of 2017, and Joe follows suit by becoming the first in '18. Nick can't sign his letter of intent until November of next year; Joe not until November of '17.

With three years of high school remaining, Joe saw no reason to wait before letting everyone know which school he aims to attend.

"I decided now because at that point, and this is probably going to carry out throughout my whole high school career, I just couldn't imagine myself going to any other college," he said. "If I'm going to go to Penn State, why not just do it now? While Nick is doing it, we might as well just commit together. We've always done stuff together. We help make decisions for each other, so I just thought it was the right idea and went with it."

It's still too early to accurately project college weight classes for either. Nick likely won't go any lighter than 141, and the taller Joe is only growing. Despite being listed at 138 in preseason rankings, there's a chance he wrestles his sophomore season at 145.

So where they fit into future Penn State lineups remains to be seen. As Joe said, "Anywhere Coach Sanderson needs me, I will be there for him."

Nick agrees - whatever the coaches decide is where he'll go. Because in the end, Cael Sanderson, Cody Sanderson and Casey Cunningham are the main reasons why they chose PSU in the first place.

"That's not to say there aren't great people at other programs, but the people at Penn State stood out," Nick said. "Great people, great values and that was the big thing for us. Obviously, the outstanding wrestling program that has continued there (was, too)."