Nasir Bailey, a senior at Rich Township High School, is not only looking to defend his state championship this season, but he’s also looking to complete an incredible career grand slam, winning the title in each of his four years of school.
Bailey, the reigning champion in the 132-pound division in Class 3A, says that his love of wrestling boils down to one simple thing: his skill at the sport.
“If I was the best basketball player, I’d play basketball – but I’m not,” he said. “I’m the best wrestler, so I wrestle.”
Needless to say, the accolades and trophies more than back up the talk. He won a state title as a freshman at T-F North in 2020. During the COVID pandemic, he transferred to a school in Texas and won a state championship as a sophomore.
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Earlier this year, he transferred again, this time to Rich Township, and took home the Class 3 IHSA crown.
“He’s a winner, and that’s 100% true,” his coach Mark Duda said. “He’s a complete winner.”
Bailey’s path to wrestling glory was boosted by his remarkable family. His grandfather, uncle and his two brothers all won state championships in the sport over the years.
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“If they won state, I couldn’t be the only one not to win state,” he said. “I feel like I always want to match the standard, or to be better than it.”
His mother says that the youngster got into the sport at an early age, putting on gear and walking around their home in a wrestling stance when he was just five years old.
His father echoes those sentiments, and drew parallels to another prodigy in another field.
“He’s like Bobby Fischer,” Bilal Bailey said. “We’re talking to him about wrestling, and he’s like 10 steps ahead of us. We’re having these conversations, and he’s already figured it out before we said it.”
Nasir believes strongly in the power of intention and belief, and he didn’t mince words when asked about how he sees his final high school season progressing.
“It’s (a fourth state title) gonna happen,” he said. “If I don’t speak it into existence, then nobody will.”
