A banner reading “Duty, Honor, Country” hangs at James Wagenseller’s California home.
Wagenseller has lived by West Point’s motto for as long as he can remember. The Poway (Calif.) punter has known since the sixth grade that he wanted to attend West Point and commissioned as an officer.
The opportunity was afforded to Wagenseller Tuesday when he received his first offer from Army. After speaking with his parents and brother, who is in the Army ROTC at Norwich University, Wagenseller called Army coach Jeff Monken and special teams coach Sean Saturnio with his college decision.
Wagenseller’s commitment will continue his family’s long tradition as a fifth generation member to serve in the military. The family’s history dates back to the Revolutionary War. Wagenseller’s father, Ward, is a major in the Army.
“This has been a dream of mine since I was a kid,” Wagenseller said. “Since I was a little kid, he (his father) always talked about West Point and how prestigious it was and how it is the best school for me to go to. We watched all the football games and have West Point items all over my house.”
Wagenseller received a message from Saturnio, gauging his interest, a few weeks ago. He answered “Yes,” and stayed in contact with Army until the offer.
“I knew as soon as I got offered that I would say yes because I have always dreamed of this,” Wagneseller said. “(My family and I) all agreed this is an offer I couldn’t pass on.”
Army is recruiting Wagenseller to punt and handle kickoffs. Wagenseller is averaging 44 yards per punt this season. He booted three punts for an average of 51 yards and placed all three inside the 20-yard line against Ramona earlier in the season.
Wagenseller visited West Point when he was in the seventh grade. He plans on attending his first Army-Navy game in December at MetLife Stadium and visit West Point again that month.
“I am honored to carry on the long family tradition of serving my country,” Wagenseller said.
2022 Army football commits (59)
DE Amir Ali, 6-2, 235, Holy Cross HS, San Antonio, Texas: First offer – Army
OL Henry Appleton, 6-3, 275, Denton Ryan HS, Denton, Texas: Other offers – Air Force. Helped Denton Ryan to Texas 5A state title as junior.
RB Donovan Baker, 5-10, 190, Woodberry Forest (Va.) HS: Other offers – Navy.
K Charlie Barnett, 6-2, 185, Westlake HS, Austin, Texas: First offer – Army
CB Josh Baskerville, 6-1, 170, Don Bosco Prep, West Point, N.Y.: Baskerville’s father, John is 1990 West Point graduate and the Deputy Head of the Department of Foreign Languages at the academy.
DE Jack Bousum, 6-5, 225, St. Mary’s HS, Annapolis, Md.: First offer – Navy
OL Ned Brady, 6-4, 245, New Canaan (Conn.) HS: Other offers – Navy, Boston College, Rutgers, Syracuse, Buffalo
K Anderson Britton, 5-10, 155, Heritage HS, Ringgold, Ga.
OL CJ Brooks, 6-1, 277, Warner Robins (Ga.) HS: First offer – Army.
S Caden Brungard, 6-1, 190, Western Wayne HS, Lake Ariel, Pa.: Other offers – Air Force
RB David Clerk, 5-9, 160, Centennial HS, Burleson, Texas
S Connor Clinton, 6-1, 190, Casteel HS, Queen Creek, Ariz.: Other offers – Navy, Arizona, Arizona State
DL Mason Davis, 6-2, 260, Denton Ryan HS, Denton, Texas: Other offers – Air Force, Hawaii, North Texas. Helped Denton Ryan to Texas state 5A championship
WR Michael Davis, 6-1, 205, Denton Ryan HS, Denton, Texas: First offer – Army. Caught touchdown pass in Denton Ryan’s Texas 5A championship win.
OL Sam Dec, 6-4, 250, Nease HS, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.: Other offers – Navy, Air Force, Marshall, Appalachian State, Florida International, Georgia Southern, UConn, Western Kentucky, Georgia State, Colorado State, Troy, UMass.
DE-TE David Dunston, 6-3, 230, William Penn HS, New Castle, Del.
RB Omari Embree, 5-8, 170, Warren Woods Tower HS, Detroit, Mich.: Other offers – Central Michigan. Ranked 58th best player in Michigan by 247 Sports
OL Paolo Gennarelli, 6-3, 280, St. Charles North (Ill.) HS: Other offers – Wyoming
QB Sylas Gomez, 6-2, 185, Central Catholic HS, San Antonio, Texas: First offer – Army.
DE Caden Harman, 6-3, 240, Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth, Calif.
DL Kody Harris, 6-2, 295, Middletown (Del.) HS: Other offers – Navy, Air Force. Visited Army, Navy and Air Force.
QB Cale Hellums, 5-11, 185, Tomball (Texas) HS: First offer – Army. Rushed for 1,796 yards junior year.
DL Marc Hernandez, 6-4, 315, Bell HS, Hurst, Texas: Other offers – Air Force
CB DJ Hill-Smith, 6-2, 177, Little Rock (Ark.) Central HS: Other offers – Arkansas State
DE-TE Nate Holt, 6-6, 240, Unionville (Pa.) HS
QB Ja’Mar Jessie, 6-1, 195, Navasota (Texas) HS: First FBS offer – Army
OL Kendrick Kirby, 6-3, 270, Calhoun (Ga.) HS: Other offers – Air Force, Memphis, Arkansas State, Marshall.
DT Bridger Knee, 6-2, 250, Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tenn.: Other offers – Ball State, Utah State
DE Joey Knight, 6-3, 230, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Conn.: Played 2021 spring season at Wellesley (Mass.) before transferring to Choate Rosemary Hall
OL Tyler Lee, 6-2, 285, Tomball (Texas) HS: Other offers – Air Force, Tulsa, Marshall, Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas State
WR-S Collin Matteson, 6-foot, 175, Oklahoma Christian School, Edmond, Okla.
OL Luke McCurdy, 6-3, 267, Park City (Utah) HS: Other offers – Navy, Nevada
WR Elo Modozie, 6-3, 195, Bartram Trail HS, Jacksonville, Fla.
OL Nick Moore, 6-4, 275, Northwest HS, Cincinnati, Ohio: Other offers – Navy, Marshall
DB Ryan Nolan, 5-10, 170, Gainesville (Fla.) HS: Other offers – Navy
OL Lane Parks, 6-5, 275, Yukon (Okla.) HS: Other offers – Air Force, New Mexico, Texas State. Ranked No. 29 in The Oklahoman’s Super 30 for 2022 season.
FB BJ Phillips, 5-11, 215, Guyer HS, Denton, Texas: Other offers – Navy, Air Force.
LS Jack Pirinelli, 6-1, 240, Blessed Trinity HS, Roswell, Ga.: First offer – Army
DE-LB Donovan Poe, 6-2, 230, Long Beach (Calif.) Poly HS
LB Steven Powers, 6-foot, 200, Franklin HS, El Paso, Texas: First offer – Army. Second offer – Navy.
QB Glenn Rice, 5-11, 180, Lancaster (Texas) HS: Other offers – Air Force.
QB Larry Robinson, 6-foot, 175, Saline (Mich.) HS: Ranked the 81st best quarterback in 2022 class and top QB in Michigan by 247 Sports. Other offers – Navy, Central Michigan.
FB Hunter Roddy, 6-foot, 220, Chaparral HS, Murrieta, Calif.: Other offers – Navy
LB Holden Sapp, 6-2, 215, Benedictine Military School, Savannah, Ga.: Other offers – Middle Tennessee State. 2020 Region III Class AAAA defensive player of year with 102 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.
OL Ryan Scott, 6-3, 250, Blessed Trinity HS, Roswell, Ga.: First offer – Army
DT Brady Small, 6-3, 285, St. Augustine Prep, Richland, N.J.: Other offers – Navy, Kent State
RB Corey Singleton, 5-11, 205, Catholic HS, Baton Rogue, La.: First offer – Army. Other offers – Navy, Air Force
DE-LB Dillon Stowers, 6-4, 235, Liberty Christian Academy, Lynchburg, Va.: Other offers – Navy
LB Andon Thomas, 6-1, 200, Liberty Hill (Texas) HS: First offer – Army. Other offers – Air Force.
TE Toby Thompson, 6-4, 240, Cherokee HS, Canton, Ga.: Other offers – Air Force
K David Vaughn, 5-11, 160, Coffee HS, Douglas, Ga.
DE Maurice Veney, 6-4, 235, Roman Catholic HS, Philadelphia, Pa.
WR Neo Vossschulte, 6-4, 190, Episcopal Academy, Newtown Square, Pa.
WR Tyler Vroman, 6-3, 180, Lowell (Mich.) HS: First offer – Army
P James Wagneseller, 6-3, 191, Poway (Calif.) HS
RB Dakoda Wagner, 6-1, 210, Flagler Palm Coast (Fla.) HS
RB Isaiah West, 6-1, 204, Georgetown Prep, North Bethesda, Md.: Other offers – Navy
CB Curtis Whiting, 5-11, 181, Hackensack (N.J.) HS
TE Cooper Wilkinson, 6-3, 235, New Smyrna Beach (Fla.) HS: Committed during visit on June 6.
LB Christian Yousefzadeh, 6-4, 225, Creekside HS, St. John’s, Fla.: Other offers – Georgia Tech
Commits by state: Texas (15), Georgia (8), Florida (5), California (4), Pennsylvania (4), Michigan (3), Delaware (2), Maryland (2), New Jersey (2), Oklahoma (2), Virginia (2), Arizona (1), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (1), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), New York (1), Ohio (1), Tennessee (1), Utah (1)
Commits offered by Navy: 16
Commits offered by Air Force: 13
