Takedown Report

Ranking Individual Transfers for the 2025-26 Season

The news in the offseason never seemed to stop and much of it centered around the transfer portal. While there are gripes about it (and many are understandable), it does add an element of intrigue around each collegiate season. Plenty of familiar faces have traded singlets over the past few months.
The transfer portal isn’t just limited to a few select teams. The five teams atop InterMat’s preseason tournament rankings all had at least one major addition via the portal. Other teams hope to crash that party, potentially led by additions of their own.
This year’s crop of transfers was about as good as any ever. There were two national champions who switched teams. How about a four-time All-American transfer? Or some young stars with multiple years of eligibility remaining. Yes, yes, and yes. All of the above were in and out of the portal this offseason.
And since everyone loves a good set of rankings. We’ve ranked the wrestlers that have swapped teams via the portal leading into the 2025-26 season. The criteria for these rankings were potential impact on the upcoming season and beyond. Wrestlers who have more than one year of eligibility jumped over some more accomplished wrestlers with only one year remaining.

1. AJ Ferrari: Nebraska (from CSU Bakersfield)
Even up a weight class, Ferrari will be a national title contender at 285 lbs. The 2021 NCAA champion, returned to college wrestling with Bakersfield and finished third in the nation at 197 lbs. The returning NCAA runner-up Cornhuskers could roll out a lineup that includes seven returning All-Americans and two past NCAA champions. There’s also a chance that Ferrari could have another year of eligibility after the 2025-26 campaign.

2. Rocco Welsh: Penn State (from Oklahoma State)
Going from Zack Ryder to Rocco Welsh, Penn State has a wrestler who has made the NCAA finals once (in his only previous appearance at nationals). He still … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/ranking-individual-transfers-for-the-2025-26-season-r100552/

October 15, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | ncaa, sports