CAREER
Athletic: 2X All-American (2nd – 2026, 2nd – 2024)… Big Ten Champion (2026)… First Team All-Big Ten (2026)… 2X Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (11/8/2023, 1/22/2026)
Academic: NWCA Scholar All-American (2026)
2025-26 • JUNIOR SEASON
Season: Was a force to be reckoned with in his first season at Penn State, finishing as an All-American and national runner-up at 184 pounds… Secured his first Big Ten Championship crown at 184 inside the Bryce Jordan Center… Went 24-1 overall with a 15-0 dual record and 8-0 mark in Big Ten opportunities… Outscored opponents in dual meet points, 59-0… Had one pin, six technical falls and four major decisions with three wins in tiebreakers and an additional win in sudden victory.
Oklahoma (11/14): Posted a rousing Nittany Lion debut, booking a 19-4 tech fall (5:28) over Anders Thompson in the BJC. Black Knight Invite (11/23): Went 2-0 with a tech and a major to win the BKI crown. Drexel (12/5): Majored Ethan Wilson, 13-3, in Philadelphia. Lehigh (12/7): Downed No. 23 Rylan Rogers, 4-2. Wyoming (12/13): Downed No. 12 Eddie Neitenbach in Laramie. Collegiate Wrestling Duals (12/20): Picked up tech fall over NDSU’s Andrew McMonagle, 19-4 (6:17), and a 5-1 decision over Stanford’s Abraham Wojcikiewicz. Rutgers (1/10): Had an impressive 13-3 major over No. 15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh in Rec Hall. Iowa (1/16): Registered a quick escape in the tiebreaker to post a thrilling 2-1 (TB) win over No. 1 Angelo Ferrari at Iowa. Northwestern (1/18): Notched a 22-7 tech fall over J.D. Perez (5:27). Indiana (1/23): Posted a 15-9 win over No. 15 Sam Goin in PSU’s 48-0 shutout victory inside Rec Hall. Maryland (1/24): Pinned Sepanta Ahanj-Elias at the 3:52 mark. Nebraska (1/30): Majored No. 6 Silas Allred, 14-5, notching four takedowns in a BJC Dual. Michigan (2/6): Dominated No. 7 Brock Mantanona, 8-1, in Ann Arbor. Ohio State (2/13): Used a late takedown to post a thrilling 7-6 win over No. 8 Dylan Fishback in front of a sold out Bryce Jordan Center crowd. Princeton (2/20): Posted a 21-6 tech fall (4:11) over Xavier Giles in the dual finale. Big Ten Championships (3/7-8): Won his first Big Ten individual title in the Bryce Jordan Center… Downed No. 2 Angelo Ferrari of Iowa, 3-2 (tb1), No. 7 Brock Mantanona of Michigan 8-5 (sv) and No. 4 Max McEnelly, 2-1 (tb), in the finals. NCAA Championships (3/19-21): Became a two-time All-American and two-time national finalist with a 4-1 showing in Cleveland… Opened the tournament with a tech fall and a major… Beat No. 8 Silas Allred and No. 5 Brock Mantanona to advance to the finals... Lost a close 4-3 bout to No. 3 Max McEnelly of Minnesota in national finals.
2024-25 • SOPHOMORE SEASON (AT OHIO STATE)
Season: Moved up to 184 pounds in his sophomore season... Went 12-0 while wrestling unattached at Ohio State... Won three open tournament titles... Earned a Bronze Medal at the 2025 Zagreb Open in February of 2025.
Clarion Open (11/3): Went 4-0 against collegiate competition with a pin, a tech fall and a major decision to win the tournament title. CSU Open (12/7): Won the title with a 4-0 record against collegiate wrestlers highlighted by three techs and a pin. F&M Open (1/10): Won his third open crown of the season with four wins against collegiate competition including a pin, two techs and a major.
2023-24 • FRESHMAN SEASON (AT OHIO STATE)
Season: Became true freshman All-American, advancing to the national finals at 174 and eventually losing to Nittany Lion Carter Starocci, 2-0, in title match... Went 24-5 overall including a pin, five techs and five majors, also adding two wins and a loss against non-collegiate competition... Placed third at the Big Ten Championships.
Clarion Open (11/5): Won the Clarion Open title in his first collegiate event, going 4-0 with a tech and a pin. CSU Open (12/9): Posted a 3-0 mark. Northern Iowa (12/19): Downed No. 22 Jared Simma 4-1 in his dual debut. North Carolina State (12/19): Beat Alex Faison, 9-6. Cornell (1/5): Posted a 20-4 tech fall over Benny Baker. Illinois (1/12): Lost a tough 2-1 decision to No. 5 Edmond Ruth. Maryland (1/19): Majored Dominic Solis, 14-4. Wisconsin (1/21): Posted a 7-3 win over Max Maylor. Michigan (1/26): Dropped a close 2-1 bout to No. 2 Shane Griffith. Penn State (2/2): Lost a 4-2 match to No. 1 Carter Starocci. Rutgers (2/4): Beat No. 23 Jackson Turley, 4-3. Indiana (2/11): Majored Nick South, 14-5. Michigan State (2/16): Majored DJ Shannon, 14-4. Big Ten Championships (3/9-10): Placed third at his first Big Ten Championships with a 4-1 mark… Downed Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy, Purdue’s Brody Baumann, Maryland’s Dominic Solis and Rutgers’ Dominic Turley but lost a 4-1 (sv) match to Edmond Ruth. NCAA Championships (3/19-21): Became an NCAA national finalist and All-American as a freshman, going 4-1 in his first trip to the national tournament… Opened the tournament with a 4-2 win over No. 27 Danny Wask of Navy... Won three straight 4-1 (sv) bouts to advance to the national finals as a freshman over No. 11 Austin Murphy of Campbell, No. 3 Edmond Ruth of Illinois and No. 7 Lenny Wolak of Columbia... Met Nittany Lion No. 1 Carter Starocci in finals, falling 2-0 in the title match.
HIGH SCHOOL
Was a four-time Pennsylvania state finalist at Waynesburg Central High School, as well as a two-time state champion... Was a two-time Ironman Champion, Super 32 Champion and Pan American Games champion in 2021… Earned three Fargo All-America honors, finishing as a Fargo Finalist in 2022… Was additionally a Powerade Open champion and U.S. Open finalist that year as well.
PERSONAL
A native of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, Rocco Welsh is the son of Natalie and Denny Welsh... He has three siblings, two brothers named Dominick and Anthony as well as a sister named Talia.
CAREER STATISTICS
|
Year |
Overall |
Duals (B1G) |
TRN (B1G/NCAA) |
F |
TF |
M |
PTS |
|
2023-24* |
24-5 |
8-3 (5-3) |
16-2 (5-1/4-1) |
1-0 |
5-0 |
5-0 |
29 |
|
2024-25* |
12-0 |
0-0 (0-0) |
12-0 (0-0/0-0) |
3-0 |
6-0 |
2-0 |
0 |
|
2025-26 |
24-1 |
15-0 (8-0) |
9-1 (3-0/4-1) |
1-0 |
6-0 |
5-0 |
59 |
|
Career |
60-6 |
23-3 (13-3) |
37-3 (8-1/8-2) |
5-0 |
17-0 |
12-0 |
88 |
* - AT OHIO STATE