When junior Rylan Rogers steps onto the mat, his focus on his competition is clear. Known by his coach for his discipline and strong work ethic, Rogers has stood out on the men\u2019s wrestling team since transferring from the University of Michigan in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Originally from Coeur d\u2019Alene, Idaho, Rogers\u2019 wrestling journey started early.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His cousins wrestled at Oklahoma State University, and he grew up attending their matches. He said it was natural to get into wrestling after watching them and following their example.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By middle school, the sport became a priority for Rogers instead of just an extracurricular activity.<\/p>\n
He began traveling across the country for competitions and training. But he said wrestling wasn\u2019t very popular in Idaho, and the same opportunities weren\u2019t offered as what was on the East Coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For high school, Rogers attended Blair Academy in New Jersey, which hosts one of the nation\u2019s top wrestling programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a big move, leaving home as a (first-year) in high school, but it gave me some of the best partners and coaches in the country,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cThat\u2019s when my wrestling career really jumped levels.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rogers was a two-time state champion and received the National Prep title in 2020 for Blair Academy. He became a sought-after recruit for college.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When narrowing down his offers, his final list included the University of Michigan, The Ohio State University, North Carolina State, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Pennsylvania. He chose Michigan, his dream Big Ten school for both its elite academics and athletics.<\/p>\n
But after two years in Michigan, Rogers felt the school was more transactional than he expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said it was important to him to have a coach that cared about him as a person, whether he won or lost. That desire led him to join the transfer portal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Coach Pat Santoro said Rogers stood out when he saw his name and that the two had a great conversation when they met.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The feeling was mutual for Rogers. When he visited Lehigh\u2019s campus, he felt he fit right in.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Santoro) is honestly one of the best humans I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cI knew he was the kind of guy who\u2019d care about me no matter what, which was exactly what I was looking for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since transferring to Lehigh, Rogers has grown under Santoro and assistant coach Brad Dillion, who he said has become instrumental in refining his wrestling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rogers said one of Dillon\u2019s greatest strengths is understanding situations and technique.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the Big Ten, Rogers said there\u2019s an emphasis on grinding harder, but at Lehigh, they focus on playing smarter and finding the balance between training and recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That philosophy has benefitted Rogers, who competed in the 174-pound weight class at Michigan after completing a tough cut. He\u2019s now moved to the 184-pound weight class this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Santoro said the difference in Rogers since that change has been clear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s explosive, disciplined and really passionate,\u201d Santoro said. \u201cHe\u2019s that guy who\u2019s always asking to do extra work studying wrestling. He is a great teammate, the kind of person who makes people around him better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fifth-year Max Brignola said Rogers is a great role model who always brings energy to the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny, I can\u2019t even think of him as a Michigan guy anymore,\u201d Brignola said. \u201cHe is totally a Lehigh guy who fits right in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This fall, Rogers captured the Princeton Open title, defeating a top-20 opponent in the finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Along with the win, Rogers said this was validation he\u2019s on the right track and gave him confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he said his success has not changed his perspective. After dealing with injuries and setbacks last season, he has learned to take a more grounded approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a long time, wrestling was my whole identity, but I realized there\u2019s more to life than wins and losses,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cNow I just focus on having fun and giving my best effort. The rest will take care of itself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the team, Brignola said Rogers has become someone the younger athletes look up to not just for skill, but for his attitude and positivity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At his core, Santoro said Rogers is a passionate person who loves his sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat passion \u2014 for wrestling, for his teammates, for life \u2014 that\u2019s what makes him special,\u201d Santoro said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When junior Rylan Rogers steps onto the mat, his focus on his competition is clear. Known by his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5877,153,155,154,30182,9728],"class_list":{"0":"post-53743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-4-minute-read","9":"tag-bethlehem","10":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","11":"tag-bethlehem-news","12":"tag-mens-wrestling","13":"tag-profile"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}