Takedown Report

Transfer portal, NIL creates an offseason whirlwind of change for college wrestling

Iowa, Iowa State among the notable players this spring
Transfers have made an impact for a long time. Many college wrestling programs have benefited from wrestlers, needing a new home or a fresh start.
The ability to move from one NCAA Division I program to another has become easier without penalty or sacrifice to eligibility. The Transfer Portal and Name, Image and Likeness era has allowed student-athletes to maximize their worth and for schools to solidify lineups.
The offseason has been a whirlwind of moves that has benefited some of the top programs and creating a greater divide between college wrestling’s haves and the have nots.
University of Iowa is coming off a fourth-place team finish, placing behind Penn State, Nebraska and Oklahoma State. All but Nebraska have been busy this spring.
The Hawkeyes have gained from the transfer portal, adding the likes of former Penn State and University of Northern Iowa national qualifier Brody Teske, North Dakota State All-Americans Jared Franek and Michael Caliendo, former Oklahoma wrestler and 2024-25 125-pound starter Joey Cruz and multiple All-Americans Stephen Buchanan, Kyle Parco and Jacori Teemer.
Buchanan, who wrestled at Wyoming and Oklahoma, capped his career with a national title in his first finals appearance in March.
Who’s next? Iowa needs an upgrade at 125 and 141, receiving little postseason production from either weight. Parco, Teemer and Buchanan exhausted their eligibility and left holes. Some key replacements were quick to make the move. University of Arkansas-Little Rock duo of Nasir Bailey and Jordan Williams announced their commitment to Iowa on social media. Former Rutgers 125-pounder Dean Peterson followed with his decision to join the Hawkeyes. Bailey is the most compelling for Iowa. He placed fourth at 133 as a freshman, … more at … https://www.thegazette.com/hawkeye-wrestling/transfer-portal-nil-creates-an-offseason-whirlwind-of-change-for-college-wrestling/

April 23, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2025 NCAA Wrestling Championship Eligibility Tracker

Tracking the eligibility for every qualifier at the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships.
Is it too early to start thinking about the 2025-26 college wrestling season? While the 2025 NCAA Tournament just completed last weekend (and it was incredible), many wrestling fans are already wondering how next year will look for their respective team. The extra year of eligibility given in the 2020-2021 season can make it challenging to track who’s returning and who’s out of eligibility. Because of that, we put together the below list of every National Qualifier with their remaining eligibility. We also broke each weight down to show you how many champions, All-Americans, and qualifiers (from this year’s NCAA Championships specifically) are eligible to return.
With some of these wrestlers, I took some liberties in giving them an extra year with the caveat that they could be eligible for a medical redshirt. This does not necessarily mean they will 100% for sure be given a medical and/or that they would even try. 

AJ Ferrari is a unique case in that he had one season cut short and then took two years off. He believes that he will get a medical redshirt for the 2022 season, a normal redshirt for the 2023 season, and an Olympic redshirt for the 2024 season, giving him three more years of eligibility. That is definitely possible, but I’m not 100% certain it will come true, so I put him down as 2/3 years of eligibility left.

125 – The Champ, 6 All-Americans, 27 Qualifiers Eligible To Return

… more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14039510-2025-ncaa-wrestling-championship-eligibility-tracker

April 23, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment