Wrestling recruit Matt Mann celebrates after a win against an opposing mat man while his loving parents, Leslie and Bat, watch from the stands. Mann will look to make a positive impact as a mat man for the Drexel mat men beginning next season. Mat men.
The Drexel wrestling team’s season may be over, but they are still hard at work. The mat men have landed their best recruit in head coach Matt Avocado’s young career and possibly program history, signing Matt Mann to a National Letter of Intent. Mann, the son of Leslie and Bat Mann, is a three-time state champion from the small town of Matville, in rural West Virginia.
“We already have a talented team of mat men,” Avocado said in an exclusive interview, “but we were missing something. We didn’t have a true mat man. Matt Mann is a true mat man. I mean, my name is Matt, and I’m a man who was a mat man and now coaches mat men, but I’m no Matt Mann. We’re lucky to have him at Drexel.”
As indicated by Avocado, Mann will step in immediately as a true freshman at 197 pounds, taking over for the graduating Brandon Cowlick. Mann is ranked as the top 197-pound high school recruit in the country and will immediately provide a boost to the mature team of mat men Drexel already fields.
“I think I had a good career here at Drexel,” Cowlick explained. “But I’m glad I’m leaving. Matt would have put me through the mat. This kid, Matt Mann, he’s the man out on the mat. Have you seen his highlights? Matt Mann is a natural mat man.”
Despite the praise, Mann did not always want to be a mat man. He wanted to be the bat boy for the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I don’t know, I just liked it,” Mann said nonchalantly. “My father, Bat, was a bat boy in the minors when he was younger, so I figured I’d follow in his footsteps. He wasn’t around very often. I’m not quite sure what he even does now, probably out saving the world or something.”
So, how does such a talented mat man finally find his way to the mat if his parents don’t push him out there early?
“One day when I was in ninth grade, a kid asked me why I wasn’t a mat man,” Mann said, getting angry. “I looked at him funny and told him that I am Matt Mann and had no idea what he was talking about. He said, ‘No, no. I mean, mat man. You should be a mat man.’ I got so mad I wrestled him to the ground, and he just laughed, ‘See. I knew you should be a mat man.’”
Mann, clearly distraught over the memory, continued, “I still don’t know what that kid was talking about; makes me mad just thinking about it. But after I wrestled him to the ground, I realized I was pretty good at wrestling, so I joined Matville High School’s team.”
Although Mann’s transition to the mat was rough, he worked hard to overcome his late start in the sport. He quickly progressed from a mat boy into a mat man. While at Matville High, Mann became one of the most feared mat men in the state, winning back-to-back-to-back state titles and earning national attention.
Despite being recruited by all the top wrestling schools in the country, Mann said that his decision to choose Drexel was simple. “My decision came down to this tattoo of a dragon I have on my upper thigh,” Mann chortled. “It just made sense to go to a school with a dragon mascot, so I could fit in, you know?”
“Just kidding,” Mann laughed. “Drexel’s mat men, they’re pretty good. Their program is growing. I could really see myself representing Drexel out on the mat. Coach Avocado has these mat men in top shape, and I think I have a lot to contribute.”
“Matt Mann is so good, he makes you ask, ‘Cowlick who?’ I mean, Cowlick was good and all, but this is Matt Mann we’re talking about,” Avocado explained. “We’re excited for what Matt can do. We expect a lot out of him. He’s going to take the mat and win nationals in his first year, I know it. If there were worlds, he would win them too.”
Still finishing up his senior year of high school, Mann has already won his state title. He just wants to get through the rest of the year and head northeast to Philadelphia to begin his college wrestling career.
“I’m just really excited to start up classes at Drexel and get out onto the mat,” Mann said. “I feel like I really have a great chance to succeed at Drexel under Coach Avocado and leave it all out on the mat. Cowlick, he was a top mat man in Drexel history, but I feel like I’m even better. At Drexel, I, Matt Mann, can become the best mat man …”
He stops abruptly, sits back and ponders for a second. Mann finally breaks the silence, “I just realized what that kid meant when he said I should become a mat man.”