Brendin Yatooma: Kind-Hearted Wrestler

Brendin Yatooma eyes Michigan State opponent Kael Winder during the Michigan State Open in November. Yatooma won 4-2. Photos by Lon Horwedel

By Steve Stein

Brendin Yatooma’s athletic resume is impressive. He’s also an impressive human being. Just ask Aaron Babicz, the longtime athletic director at Novi Detroit Catholic Central High School.

Yatooma graduated from Catholic Central in 2020 after being an outstanding football player and wrestler for the Shamrocks. He also served as senior class president at Catholic Central and was a board member for the Caleb White Project, a not-for-profit run by students from across the Detroit area that works to alleviate homelessness.

“I’ve known Brendin for a long time,” Babicz said. “He’s an old soul who has always been mature for his age and is kind-hearted. He’s stoic, but he has a great sense of humor. And he has a blue-collar work ethic he got from his parents.”

Yatooma, 21, is a senior academically at the University of Michigan and a member of the nationally ranked Wolverines wrestling team, with two years of eligibility remaining after this season. He makes his way back to Catholic Central often, especially during the off-season for wrestling, and occasionally acts as a mentor and sounding board for current Shamrocks athletes.

“I love to see Brendin come back to our school because he’s a servant leader,” Babicz said. “I’ve seen him encourage a kid who just missed a tackle or lost a tough wrestling match.

“He exemplifies the Catholic Central culture. I miss having him around, but he makes us appreciative of the work we do with kids.”

Brendin Yatooma takes down Northern Illinois’ Carter Grewe during the Michigan State Open in November. Yatooma won 5-1. Photos by Lon Horwedel

Culture is one of the main reasons why Yatooma chose to attend U-M at the end of an exhaustive recruiting process. “U-M was most similar to what I was used to at Catholic Central,” he said. “There’s a family culture and a winning culture there. You’re more than just a Division I athlete.”

In addition to choosing a college while he was being recruited, Yatooma had to choose a sport. He was a three-year starter and two-time All-Catholic League linebacker in football at Catholic Central. He had 88 tackles and four sacks in his senior season.

He also was a two-time individual state champion wrestler for the Shamrocks, winning titles in the 215-pound weight class in 2019 and 2020, and a contributor to four team state championships. He went 162-26 in his Catholic Central wrestling career, including 49-1 as a senior, and he had 97 career pins.

Yatooma received football offers from Central Michigan University and several smaller schools. He chatted with U-M coaches about possibly playing football and wrestling there.

“That would have been too tough,” Yatooma said. “Wrestling practice starts in November, so there would have been an overlap of seasons. Plus, I have a tough major (economics).”

In the end, Yatooma chose U-M and wrestling. “It was tough to give up football,” he said. “I’d been playing football since I was in first or second grade. I missed football a lot in my early years at U-M. Now I’m content with my decision.

“Looking back, I just didn’t feel the pull for football like I did for wrestling. I felt it was God’s calling for me to wrestle.”

Yatooma will graduate from U-M this spring with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He said he plans to stay at U-M and wrestle for at least one more year so he can pursue a master’s degree in management in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business before he embarks on a career in the financial world.

Yatooma has been bit by the injury bug a couple times during his U-M wrestling career. After being a starter last season and competing for U-M in the Big Ten tournament, he’s been battling an elbow injury this season and had competed in only five matches through mid-January. His collegiate career record at the time was 14-27.

Yatooma went 2-2 and finished in fourth place at the annual Michigan State Open on November 11. He defeated Michigan State’s Kael Wisler 4-2 and Northern Illinois’ Carter Grewe 5-1.

A star in the classroom at Catholic Central, Yatooma has continued his academic success at U-M. He was a Michigan High School Athletic Association Academic All-State selection in 2020, and he was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team the last two years.

Yatooma said wrestling has helped his academics through the years. “Wrestling teaches you to be disciplined and make sacrifices when you need to,” he said.

Yatooma’s parents are Adam, a key account executive for Google, and Tara. He has a younger brother Logan, 19, a former Catholic Central lacrosse player who’s now a freshman at Michigan State University. The family lives in South Lyon.