Waynesburg grad Welsh transfers to Penn State
Associated Press
“I’m excited to be a Nittany Lion.”
That was the final statement Rocco Welsh provided during his appearance Sunday evening on the BASCHAMANIA wrestling podcast.
The 2023 graduate of Waynesburg Central High School entered the transfer portal on Thursday, and after several days of speculation, the former Ohio State product announced his intention to return to his home state and compete under Cael Sanderson and the four-time defending NCAA Division I champions at Penn State University.
“Being in the room with all those really good partners, and the coaches, obviously, is a confidence thing for me,” Welsh said. “There are guys there that are accomplishing stuff that I want to accomplish, so I know it can be done there.”
Welsh, who won two state championships and appeared in four finals during his high school career with the Raiders, was second in the country as a true freshman for the Buckeyes in the 174-pound weight class. Ironically, Welsh’s 2-0 setback came at the hands of the Nittany Lions’ Carter Starocci, who won his fourth NCAA title.
Starocci won an unprecedented fifth national championship on March 22 at 184, which is the weight Welsh plans on competing at this upcoming season. Welsh has three years of eligibility remaining.
The starting spot at 184 won’t be handed to Welsh, and he will most likely have to beat out Zack Ryder, but after having a conversation with his club and high school coaches, the determination was made that wrestling every day with the best in the country can only make Welsh better.
“I think we all kind of agreed that if I want to be the best wrestler in the world and accomplish my goals, if I can’t make a starting lineup, I’m not on the right track,” Welsh said. “It will be a crowded room, but I think that’s going to help me grow. It’s going to be awesome, and I look forward to getting better every day.”
Welsh made his decision Saturday evening, and although he is leaving Columbus, he stated he doesn’t have any hard feelings towards Ohio State or anyone involved with the program.
“I love those guys at Ohio State, and I have a ton of respect for those guys and it is still one of my favorite places on earth, but my heart wasn’t in Columbus anymore,” Welsh said. “Me and my family talked, and they said, ‘If your heart’s not there, maybe you want to go somewhere else.’
“It has been a tough year. I was planning on going at 174, then some stuff happened, and I ended up going up to 184, and then I just decided to redshirt because I wasn’t a full-sized 184 yet. I had the redshirt to burn, and that’s what I did. It was just tough to watch everyone else compete and not be able to.”
Welsh is looking forward to moving to State College, and stated on the BASCHAMANIA podcast that he wants to head to the central part of the state as soon as possible.
The opportunity to train with Sanderson and company provided Penn State with an edge in what school he wanted to wrestle for.
“We had a meeting with the coaches and staff at Ohio State, and we were talking about bringing in new partners and stuff like that,” Welsh said. “I understand it can be super hard to bring people in all the time, so it’s nothing negative towards them (Ohio State), but I feel like, in order to be my best, I have to be in a room with the best partners.
“Not everyone does that. Some people can get it done with no partners, but for me, I feel like I need to be in the room with the best guys that are just pushing me.”
Welsh will be competing in freestyle this summer at 174.