Impact Of A Scholarship: Mike Letts

Like many young kids, Mike Letts had a lot of energy. 

"I was just that kid with way too much energy," he said. "I would take a bite of food at the dinner table, get out of my chair, jump up and down and do a lap around the house in between every bite." 

Letts channeled that energy towards wrestling, a popular sport in his area. Growing up in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania, he understood the importance of the sport to his community in southeastern Pennsylvania. 

"Pennsylvania and wrestling are like Texas and football. It's that kind of a deal," he explained. 

But wrestling wasn't enough for Letts as an energetic teenager. He was a three-sport athlete, playing high school football, baseball, and wrestling. But as he got older, he began to find his passion for wrestling. 

"As I got older, other sports dropped, and I just kept filling that void with wrestling," Letts said. "One of the things that really attracted me to wrestling was seeing the results. The more work I put in, the better I got."

After becoming a state champion at Octarara High School in his junior and senior years, Letts developed into a nationally top-ranked recruit. His wrestling journey led him to College Park, initially partly because of his desire to escape the Commonwealth. 

"I just had to get out of the state," Letts said. "That was kind of the initial thought. Wanting to leave the state was big."

Upon arriving in College Park for his first recruiting visit, Letts was impressed with the coaching staff and facilities. As he began getting to know his new teammates, he knew he was meant to be a Terp. 

Once the season started, Letts began to succeed immediately on the mat. 

In 2006-07 — Letts' freshman season — he was ranked as high as No. 10 in the nation for his weight class, finishing tied for the team lead in wins. He posted a 31-7 record, leading the team with 10 major decisions and four technical falls. The freshman went undefeated in ACC action and won the ACC Championship at 174 pounds. Letts became the first true freshman to advance to the NCAA Tournament since 1990.

There, he won two matches, bringing to a close an incredibly successful freshman campaign. But for Letts, all the early accolades and success were not enough. Even as a freshman, the stink of losing at NCAAs left a bad taste in his mouth. 

"You're like, 'Wait, all these guys are still wrestling, and I'm not in the mix?'" he recalls. "I was happy to be having success. … But I was also pissed immediately following losing."

This lousy feeling gave Letts extra motivation, and he proceeded to post a 100-21 record in his next four seasons.

In his sophomore season, Letts began to assert himself as one of the nation's best wrestlers. He went 22-6 on his way to being an ACC champion, going a perfect 5-0 in ACC competition. This season included wins over the No. 20, No. 17, and No. 11 ranked wrestlers in the country. 

Some might say these stats could be tough to beat, but Letts was up to the challenge.

He redshirted his junior season and went 26-3, including winning his first 16 matches of the season. As a redshirt junior, Letts won the 174-pound title at the Buffalo Open.

By the time his senior season rolled around, Letts was more than ready to take the mantle of leadership.

In his final season with the Terps in 2010-11, Letts went 32-8, including six major decision wins and three pins. He won his second ACC Championship, won the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler award and placed seventh in the NCAA championships. 

All of the pain of losing his early years felt like an afterthought by the time he walked across the stage in 2011 with a degree in criminal justice.  

But none of this would have been possible had it not been for a generous scholarship. 

Out-of-state tuition was challenging for Letts' parents, and he knew a scholarship offer would be hard to turn down. 

"I probably wouldn't have gone there without the scholarship," he said bluntly. "If you're in a financial position where you can donate the money and help student-athletes get through there, you can really affect and just change someone's life for the better. It's awesome."

One major lesson Letts learned from his time at College Park is developing greater mental toughness, which he applies in his current career in the United States Navy. 

He was offered a leading job at the Naval Academy Prep School team, where he spent five years on the coaching staff. Afterward, he returned to the Annapolis training center, rejoining the coaching staff while serving as an instructor in the Physical Education Department.

"I knew I was still very much involved and still very much identified as a wrestler, so it was a good route for me. "I thought I would just go there for a year or two and figure out what I want to do. … It turned into more, which was great."

Letts is now based in Virginia Beach and is content with adapting to a family lifestyle. 

Currently, he is the Reserve Deputy Accessions Department Head with the Navy.

However, Letts still has fond memories of his time in College Park. 

"Just hanging with the guys, in the wrestling room, working hard, hanging out in the wrestling room having fun," Letts said. "Those are the moments you don't forget."