Penn State wrestling looks set to add Masanosuke Ono to the lineup for the 2026-2027 season, and the only real question now is where he’ll fit.
Ono committed to Penn State in March 2025, and ever since then it has felt like a matter of time before the 2024 Senior World Champion landed in the Nittany Lions’ starting lineup. Last season, he redshirted, with an injury wiping out any chance of him competing without burning that year.
Now healthy, Ono backed that up over the weekend at the All Japan Corporate Wrestling Championships, where he won all four of his matches by tech fall. None of those bouts were close, and his next one figures to bring a much tougher test.
That next matchup comes at RAF12 in Cleveland on Aug. 22, where Ono will face a name Penn State wrestling fans already know well: Ohio State’s Ben Davino.
Davino wrestled Penn State’s Marcus Blaze three times last season at 133 pounds. Blaze beat him in the February dual meet at the Bryce Jordan Center, but Davino answered in the BJC again the following month at the Big Ten Championships. Then Davino won the season series in Cleveland during the national semifinals.
This time, Davino’s opponent will be another Penn Stater, only on the freestyle side. Ono’s freestyle weight is 61 KG, which is roughly 134 pounds, so if that holds he would line up at 133 for Penn State. There’s still a chance he could move up to 141 instead.
Either way, the talent level is obvious. Each of those guys could win a national title.
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