Clemsen Announces 2021 Recruiting Class
11/11/2020 12:00:00 PM | Wrestling
"The 2021 class is a very special group," Clemsen said. "It's going to be one of the best classes in the country, and will continue to help us set a foundation that will forever change the trajectory of #TurtlePower and Maryland Wrestling. Nick [Brascetta] and Devin [Mellon] did an amazing job during a difficult time to help us build this class, and we can't wait to get these guys to College Park and mix them in with our current group of young men. The future is very bright!"
Gaven Bell (Huntington, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor HS), Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas/Allen HS), Adrien Cramer (Grayslake, Ill./Grayslake Central HS), Ethen Miller (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill HS), Sam O'Brian (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS), Kevin Schork (Richmond, Va./St. Christopher's School), and Jaxon Smith (Cartersville, Ga./Woodland HS) all signed their National Letters of Intent to attend Maryland and wrestle for the Terps.
Gaven Bell
Huntington, New York
Cold Spring Harbor HS
The Bell File: Attended and wrestled at Cold Spring Harbor High School in Cold Spring Harbor, New York...Helped lead Cold Spring Harbor to an undefeated conference season and qualified for the N.Y. state dual tournament...Amassed a career record of 173-50...Three-time county champion...4th place N.Y. State...All-time pin leader at Cold Spring Harbor...Third place at Eastern States...Also wrestled for Ascend Wrestling Club, where he was a 3x Nuway National Placer, 2x Flo All-American, and 2x War at the Shore placer
Clemsen on Bell: "Gaven's dad actually played lacrosse here at Maryland, so he's a legacy. Having another Terp come back and join the family is awesome. The Bell family got our class started – he was the first overall commit in the class of 2021. He came to camp, and Gaven really impressed us our first summer being in College Park. At the end of it, his dad and mom stuck around in the parking lot and we just visited for quite a while. We knew right then that Gaven wanted to be a Terp and we made it happen. It was a pretty cool way to get it going with somebody that really understands what being a Terp is all about."
Braxton Brown
Allen, Texas
Allen HS
The Brown File: Attended and wrestled at Allen High School in Allen, Texas...#6 ranked 113-pounder in country per FloWrestling...#33 ranked senior in the nation per FloWrestling Big Board...Helped lead Allen HS to a UIL Texas State Championship...Earned a career record of 139-8 at Allen...Three-time Texas state champion...Wrestled for Best Trained wrestling club...Brother, Logan, wrestles at West Point
Clemsen on Brown: "Allen has had a couple good wrestlers come through recently and I think Braxton is going to be the next one. He's somebody that as soon as we watched him on film, we saw a skillset that jumped out and we knew it could translate really well to Division I wrestling. It's going to be really exciting to have him as the sparkplug for our lineup, having a dominant 125-pounder goes a long way to having a really competitive team. Knowing you have a guy that can go out and get you started every Friday night or Saturday morning is big, and Braxton is going to bring that for us."
Adrien Cramer
Grayslake, Illinois
Grayslake Central HS
The Cramer File: Attended and wrestled at Grayslake High School in Grayslake, Illinois...#76 ranked senior in nation per FloWrestling Big Board...Amassed a 115-7 career record at Grayslake...Fargo Champion and All-American...Illinois State Champion...UWW All-American...Wrestled for Izzy Style Wrestling Club...Dad played football at Grand Valley State University
Clemsen on Cramer: "Adrien is an elite-level kid out of Illinois. He's been coached by one of the best club coaches in the country and has a foundation that will allow him to come in and compete at the highest level. I'm excited to get him on campus and see everything that he brings to our room from an athletic, physicality, and competitive standpoint."
Ethen Miller
Kansas City, Missouri
Park Hill HS
The Miller File: Attended and wrestled at Park Hill High School in Kansas City, Missouri...#8 ranked 145-pounder in country per FloWrestling...#28 ranked senior in the nation per FloWrestling Big Board...Helped lead Park Hill to runner-up finishes at the state tournament the past four seasons...Racked up a career record of 200-16...Runner-up at Ironman...Fargo Freestyle Juniors runner-up...NHSCA Champion and runner-up...Missouri State Champion...Also wrestled for Greater Heights Wrestling Club
Clemsen on Miller: "Really excited to have Ethen Miller out of Park Hill High School, one of the best high schools in the state of Missouri. I've known Ethen since he was basically a little kid. I'm pumped that I get to coach him in the best conference in America at one of the best public schools in the country. I think Ethen brings a level of toughness, a level of competitiveness, and a level of excellence that is really going to help propel our program in the future."
Sam O'Brian
Damascus, Maryland
Damascus HS
The O'Brian File: Attended and wrestled at Damascus High School in Damascus, Maryland...Helped lead Damascus to an undefeated 2019 season, winning the Maryland State Duals...Led Damascus to State Dual Championships in 2019 & 2020...Racked up a 71-18 career record...Regional Champion...Third place at Maryland State Championships...2019, 2020 All-State Academic Team...Also wrestled for the Maryland Maniacs Wrestling Club
Clemsen on O'Brian: "Sam is a big, strong guy that is going to bring a lot of competitiveness to our heavyweight group. He's just right up the road in Damascus. I made a pledge that I wanted to recruit the best kids in the state of Maryland and Sam's helping me keep my word on that. We're excited to have him join us. I know he's going to bring some great depth and is really going to do a great job in the classroom for us. He's one of the brightest young men I've ever recruited at any institution. I'm excited to see what rocket he builds, or what business he starts, or what venture comes from his leadership. His academics are just off the charts."
Kevin Schork
Richmond, Virginia
St. Christopher's School
The Schork File: Attended and wrestled at St. Christopher's School in Richmond, Va....Helped St. Christopher's to state championships in 2017-18 & 2018-19, runner-up at states in 2020...National Prep Third Team All-American...3x Virginia State Finalist...Virginia State Champ...Wrestled for Richmond Wrestling Club...Dad played football at Rhode Island
Clemsen on Schork: "Kevin's head coach at St. Christopher's actually wrestled for me at the University of Virginia, and I knew right away that he was a kid that we should be trying to make a part of our team. He's a true student-athlete, competes at a really high level, and is a dedicated student. He's been through a rigorous prep school at St. Christopher's and I know that he's going to be up for the challenges of taking on the academic load here at one of the best public schools in the country. I'm excited to get to coach Kevin and have him come up the road from Richmond."
Jaxon Smith
Cartersville, Georgia
Woodland HS
The Smith File: Attended and wrestled at Woodland High School in Cartersville, Georgia...#8 ranked 182-pounder in country per FloWrestling...#72 ranked senior in nation per FloWrestling Big Board...Helped lead Woodland to undefeated seasons and state championships in 2019 & 2020...Racked up a 100-1 career record in high school...Two-time Georgia state champion...Wrestled for club Level Up...Plans to become a civil engineer...Sister, Justice, played softball at Lincoln Memorial University
Clemsen on Smith: "The Dirty South is blowing up in the wrestling world. I've been recruiting the Atlanta area since my early years when I was just starting my coaching career. I think those relationships – along with Coach Brascetta's relationship with the southern wrestling community – allowed us to go down and get one of the best blue chip upperweights in the country. Jaxon is super athletic. He moves like a small guy in a big guy's body, and I can't wait to see that athleticism on full display for our team. He really helped initiate what's really going to be a highly ranked group of guys for us in this 2021 class."
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