Yeah that’s what I have always thought as well…which is why I found it interesting
Portal April 1st
- Thread starter sdvike
- Start date
Brian Swaw tweeted this too.. not sure how much he actually knows but he is Illinois’ wrestling commentator.Okay, absolutely no inside info here, but I have been seeing Hunter Garvin to Iowa as a possibility from multiple Twitter accounts. Obviously no clue if it’s accurate, but something to think about
He will jump to 141 where they have a need and finally not cut much weight. He may be dangerous at that weight.
If he does with his brother at Pitt and Pletcher and Lou on staff I could see him there at 133
Does Baily want to go to 133? I am sorry if this has been addressed but I cant read through all the fighting and keep track of the actual topics.
It does seem like he could do well at 133.
It does seem like he could do well at 133.
You go to the Learing Center in Minneapolis?
Brain Swaw is actually really rooted in the wrestling community, outside of Illinois, and in the known with some of this insider information. So if he is also saying this then this is something to look into… Would be great if this is true that he is considering Iowa!
In Cleveland, I heard Garvin to ISU many times. To be fair, last year I heard Garvin to Michigan was a done deal, and...
No inside info here but just wanted to provide context for those that dont know on Garvin
He is from Iowa City, but wrestled with Big Game Wrestling Club - who's coach supposedly has a beef with Brands - and is on friendlier terms with DSJ and Metcalf.
This is why people say Garvin "hates" Iowa - maybe he does, maybe he doesnt - it has just been dot connecting by many. Iowa City is home - so fingers crossed
He is from Iowa City, but wrestled with Big Game Wrestling Club - who's coach supposedly has a beef with Brands - and is on friendlier terms with DSJ and Metcalf.
This is why people say Garvin "hates" Iowa - maybe he does, maybe he doesnt - it has just been dot connecting by many. Iowa City is home - so fingers crossed
A kid from Iowa city and he hates Iowa? That is odd and would prefer isu. Dam
I'm in engineering but a lot of what I do is data analysis. @fivewords can probably vouch for my sports data stuff.
Okay, absolutely no inside info here, but I have been seeing Hunter Garvin to Iowa as a possibility from multiple Twitter accounts. Obviously no clue if it’s accurate, but something to think about
Perhaps if you linked said accounts we could help you evaluate their credibility. Guessing very low, and not really worth bringing up…but hey it’s the offseason and we don’t have a lot going on.
Likewise. But it’s funny what a chance and a few $$$ might do to an opinion.
Yes, a guy with poor conditioning will benefit significantly from cutting 8 more points to a weight he left behind years earlier. It’s a great recipe for success.
Ok, I'm sorry. I haven't been on in awhile. I saw someone else mention that. I will go back to reading.
Depends. Is it a Buchanan type 5th year senior or a Rocky Elam? I’d take another BuchananAgree 100% with this. I would much rather see Harvey wrestle full time and develop next year than a 5th year senior who only came here for.
Spooner is like the unofficial Mod of this board - he has no actual powers - but he does gatekeep fandom and discourages people who dont follow religiously from asking honest questions and trying to learn more
The key to getting on Spooner’s good side is to create a duplicate thread. He loves those!
Elam tore his leg up at B12s. Let's not pretend that he mailed it in this year.
Elam effectively was Buchanan until he seriously injured his knee in a match at B12s. He beat Endene, Merrill, Novak twice, and multiple R12 guys during the season. He was really wrestling well until the injury.
Maybe your point is that he had an injury history?
I've used some of the analysis to try to back door into guys that we should be looking at in the portal.
I'm starting at 133 just because that's a class that Iowa could be looking at. I've scrubbed the list to remove guys that have either bumped too far up to think about making the cut back to 133 or guys that I think will never in a million years hop in the portal. There are a handful of names that I don't think will go in but COULD go in under the right circumstances. I'll try to list those out below. Of the names on this list, there may only be 2-3 that actually jump in.
Let's go ahead and get the "unlikely to jump but maybe could" out of the way.
I'm starting at 133 just because that's a class that Iowa could be looking at. I've scrubbed the list to remove guys that have either bumped too far up to think about making the cut back to 133 or guys that I think will never in a million years hop in the portal. There are a handful of names that I don't think will go in but COULD go in under the right circumstances. I'll try to list those out below. Of the names on this list, there may only be 2-3 that actually jump in.
| Year | Name | Class Rank | Hometown | Home State | Current School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2025 | Marcus Blaze | 1 | Perrysburg | OH | Penn State |
2025 | Anthony Knox | 4 | Saint John Vianney | NJ | Rutgers |
2025 | Seth Mendoza | 6 | Mt. Carmel | IL | Missouri |
2025 | Tahir Parkins | 29 | Nazareth | PA | Rutgers |
2025 | Ronnie Ramirez | 30 | Walnut | CA | Oklahoma State |
2025 | Nathan Desmond | 31 | Wyoming Seminary | PA | Penn State |
2024 | Kyler Larkin | 18 | Valient Prep | AZ | Arizona State |
2024 | JJ McComas | 22 | Stillwater | OK | Oklahoma State |
2024 | Matty Lopes | 38 | Blair Academy | NJ | Lehigh |
2023 | Cael Hughes | 9 | Stillwater | OK | Oklahoma State |
2023 | Marc-Anthony McGowan | 21 | Blair Academy | NJ | Princeton |
2023 | Vinny Kilkeary | 34 | Greater Latrobe | PA | Ohio State |
2023 | Zan Fugitt | 38 | Nixa | MO | Wisconsin |
2023 | Braeden Davis | 42 | Dundee | MI | Penn State |
2023 | Tyler Knox | 56 | St. John's Prep | MA | Stanford |
2022 | Ryan Crookham | 11 | Notre Dame | PA | Lehigh |
Let's go ahead and get the "unlikely to jump but maybe could" out of the way.
- Marcus Blaze-Penn State is going to have a log jam at 133. Ono has two years of eligibility left and I don't see any way that they don't wrestle him at 133 the next two years. Blaze will take a redshirt next year and in 2027-28 will probably have to bump to 141 if he wants to wrestle. Things get a bit log jammed in 2027-28 between 125 and 149. Penn State has done a great job managing those, but there's zero question that they are going to lose some dudes in those weight classes. The real trigger here could be 1) does Joey Blaze jump in the portal? and 2) does Marcus want to wrestle with him? That's unlikely to happen at somewhere like Oklahoma State where they're starting to logjam at the lower weights (especially with the Raney's coming in) and they appear set at 157/165. It also probably eliminates Ohio State (Davino at 133). Iowa could be a good landing spot for both with solid partners around their weights. Extremely unlikely to happen, but not so outlandish that it wasn't worth noting.
- Kyler Larkin-I think there's a 50/50 chance that the Larkin's leave Arizona State. If they do, they're looking for a home at two different weight classes and there are some bottlenecks at some of the likely landing spots.
- Ryan Crookham-I don't think he enters the portal but I do think that a change of scenery would be good for him. He will also have two years of eligibility left (med-redshirt in 24-25 and in 25-26).
- Tyler Knox-nothing out there specifically indicates that he is leaning towards leaving, but I won't be shocked to see Stanford lose a handful of guys that performed well at the NCAA's this year. I also think it's pretty clear that Knox is capable of making the podium, but the quality of the Stanford room may not be good enough to push him higher than the 6-8 range.
- Tahir Parkins/Anthony Knox-One of those two is going to bounce either this year or next. There's no way that Parkins commits to Rutgers if they had Knox in the bag. Knox is a delayed entry and will technically be a true frosh next year so they can spread out some of the eligibility...I just don't see both sticking around to see how it works out.
- Ronnie Ramirez/JJ McComas/Cael Hughes-Oklahoma State is going to lose at least one of these guys this cycle and may actually lose all of them. None of them are beating out Jax Forest at 133 and aren't capable of dropping down to 125. They're dealing with Sergio Vega at 141 and the Raney's arrive on campus in June.
- Vinny Kilkeary-He dropped down to 125 but I think he's more of a 133 naturally. However, he's not going to beat out Ben Davino at 133 or Nic Bouzakis at 125. Kilkeary has two years of eligibility left and Bouzakis still has 1. I'm not sure that the guy wants to wait to start until he's a senior and he just doesn't have other options if he stays at tOSU.
- Braeden Davis-I will be absolutely shocked if he's not in the portal about 30 seconds after it opens up. It's pretty clear that he's not exactly in the best place with the Penn State coaching staff. I think he's burned some bridges and needs a fresh start. He's extremely volatile and I think it's pretty clear that he needs someone to help keep him on the straight and narrow.
My guess is that Tyler Knox with stick with Standford until he gets a degree "in hand" (like Real Woods), and then he might seek a final year somewhere else with stronger competition and coaching, if he still has eligibility. He might pursue a grad degree at that time as well. Just a guess. There's not a lot of guys from New England on the national stage with his talent.
This is a perfect example where Spooner is right, but delivers his point in a 100% ******* way. So - nice work.
Same analysis concepts but looking at 165. Once again, I've scrubbed the list to remove guys that have either bumped too high to make the cut or guys that I don't think there's any way that they hop in the portal. Once again, I think there may only be a handful of the guys from this list that jump into the portal. It's a much, much smaller list.
"Unlikely to jump but could...maybe...under the right circumstances":
Guys that I think will portal this cycle or next:
| Year | Name | Rank | High School | State | Current College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2025 | Ryan Burton | 14 | Saint Joseph Regional | NJ | Virginia Tech |
2025 | William Denny | 16 | Marist | IL | NC State |
2025 | Tyler Eise | 17 | Gilroy | CA | Nebraska |
2025 | Kollin Rath | 19 | Bethlehem Catholic | PA | Missouri |
2025 | Dominic Bambinelli | 23 | Mill Creek | GA | Missouri |
2024 | Joseph Sealey | 6 | Wyoming Seminary | PA | Penn State |
2024 | EJ Parco | 46 | Los Gatos | CA | Stanford |
2023 | Joey Blaze | 18 | Perrysburg | OH | Purdue |
2023 | Ty Watters | 24 | West Allegheny | PA | West Virginia |
2022 | Hunter Garvin | 15 | Iowa City West | IA | Stanford |
"Unlikely to jump but could...maybe...under the right circumstances":
- Will Denny/EJ Parco/Hunter Garvin-With Hidlay moving back to NC State from Stanford, I think there's a pretty good shot that there is some movement between the two schools. Some of the Stanford kids may be looking to go to NC State, meaning some of the NC State kids will bail OR some of the Stanford kids will leave but not necessarily follow Hidlay.
- Kollin Rath/Dominic Bambinelli-Mizzou has done a pretty good job splitting them up and maybe they're okay with that. I do wonder how Rath is going to handle 157 as he continues to physically mature though.
Guys that I think will portal this cycle or next:
- Joey Blaze-I think he's ready for a change of scenery. I won't repeat the stuff I wrote with his brother, but they're just as valid here. If he's looking for a spot with his brother, Iowa has openings and solid training partners at both weights. If he's just looking for a landing spot for him without his brother, Iowa still has good training partners for him in the room.
- Ryan Burton-I think he's getting the PK treatment at Va Tech. I think he's a 165 pounder that's being pushed up because they've got a quality 165 pounder (and 157 pounder and 149 pounder). It was easier to push him up then pushing all of them down. Sergio Desiante still has another year of eligibility left and he's been a R16 guy the last two years. That wouldn't be the end of the world, stepping in as a rSO...but they're bringing in Melvin Miller (1), Mario Carini (17), and Maximus Fortier (48) and all 3 are going to be guys that are 165 or 174. There's no way he's beating out Miller at 165 if he can't beat out Mac Church at 165 currently and 174 is going to get packed in that room.
- Joseph Sealey-Getting squeezed out at Penn State. Mesenbrink has owned that weight and will own it for another year. I think there's a pretty good shot they slide PJ Duke up the year after.
You're probably right...a degree from Stanford is always going to be a degree from Stanford. What I don't know is how close he actually is to a degree. Stanford uses quarters instead of semesters and they have course and credit unit requirements for graduation. It's not worth going in too deep, but the average student pulls somewhere in the ballpark of 15 credit units/quarter. 3 years just going autumn, winter, and spring would have him in the ballpark of 135 credit units. If he's been enrolled in summer courses the whole time, he may be close to that 180 number this spring. I honestly don't know.
And he may just absolutely LOVE being at Stanford independent of wrestling...and I can think of worse places to get a bachelors and masters from.
I have always liked how Kannan Webster wrestles. Will be a JR. I'd be happy if he crossed state lines although I don't know if he would be big enough to go 165 so if he is still 157 then Ryder would have to stay. Probably not realistic but does he stay in Champaign with Peota out?
If only Iowa wrestlers got that same leeway.
Regardless of what happens, I appreciate the effort you put into these write-ups. Thank you.
Hes been trained by Medlin since he was a kid. Medlins kid is also heading to IL. As long as Medlin is on IL staff Webster isn't going anywhere. His dad wrestled at Mizzu
Garvin will go 74 next yearYeah that’s what I have always thought as well…which is why I found it interesting
He was actually on the first cut of the list. He met almost all of the criteria that I had identified for guys that are likely to AA post-transfer. The only reason he didn't make the final list is because I couldn't think of any reasonable or realistic circumstances that would get him into the portal.
I would be surprised if Norman doesn’t go 184 then, because he’s pretty heavy. That would be a killer lineup for Stanford…
125 - Provo
133 - Knox
141 - Consig.
149 - Valencia
157 - Cardenas
165 - Parco
174 - Garvin
184 - Norman
197 - Pasada
HWT -
Respectfully, as a wrestling fan, I do hope that none of them leave unless they can’t get into Stanford graduate program.
Go get Blaze brothers and Larkin brothers and call it done.
DeLuca
Larkin
Blaze
Block
Larkin
Blaze
Arnold
Ferrari
Ludington
Kueter
DeLuca
Larkin
Blaze
Block
Larkin
Blaze
Arnold
Ferrari
Ludington
Kueter
We just really need a 133/165. Also, AJ going back to 197 makes me wonder if he will leave or stay at Nebraska..
No insiders here on the board that is hearing some stuff with Iowa?? HAS TO BE SOME RUMBLINGS?! lol.
No insiders here on the board that is hearing some stuff with Iowa?? HAS TO BE SOME RUMBLINGS?! lol.
Larkins probably 141/157 next year maybe 141/165 even. Blaze isn't leaving Penn st
What a line up if they all came though. Really fun time of year to talk about this stuff. Are the Larkin Brothers in play for Iowa?
I've not heard talk of him considering 133 for Pitt, but that would make sense. I have heard 2 possible scenarios if he stays at Ohio St. 1) Bousakis moves to 141, 2) Bousakis to 133 and Devino to 141. Personally, I don't see Devino at 141. My opinion is Bouzakis stays at Ohio St and wrestles 141.