Transfer Portal 2026 + Other team movements

[backdrft76-1]

This year the Transfer Portal opens up on April 1 for 30 days.

PSU doesn't have any needs per se, and hopefully nobody is leaving. But there's always surprises.

Iowa will obviously be desperately opening up Bob's purse strings for a few weights and poaching from other teams.

Does DT & OK ST get any transfers? Their only loss is at HWT but have Ross incoming. Them and IA probably lose some non-starters to the portal.

OH ST and Nebby lose 3 starters each.

Brett Ungar (Cornell 133) is the only wrestler that I am aware of that made it known in advance that he is putting his name in the portal.

 

[BigFella235]

Of PSU guys, I’d guess that there may be some minor movement with some depth guys who are looking to take a swing elsewhere (e.g. David Evans, Dunbar, etc). Not advocating for him to hit the portal, but Davis wouldn’t surprise me if he hit the portal and left. Joe Sealey could too considering the logjam of people around his weight. As for incoming transfers, save for a guy like Welsh reaching out, I don’t imagine they’ll bring anyone in.

Iowa is probably the most certain to add via portal. I could see them taking a run at Valencia considering his sister is already there (albeit with an unofficially ended career).

OK State probably stands put if I had to guess. They’ve got plenty of talent to fill the ranks right now and they’re filling their only need area with Ross. They could take a one year rental for heavy if they don’t think Ross is ready to go right away though.

I’d imagine Nebraska adds or at least tries to. Wouldn’t surprise me if Fiat transferred out especially after he MFFT’d out when they were still in a close team race.

VA Tech could be a sneaky team to add via the portal. They’ve got several really good pieces in place and they’re really only a stud or two away from pushing for a team trophy.

Iowa State may need to add too. They’ll get Paniro back (hopefully healthy) next year and they’ve got Merrill coming in, but they’re losing Bastida, Elam, Poulin, etc to graduation.

 

[RockyChi]

OK State in theory would seem to be in need of a one year rental for HWT but no great options. Perhaps Pitt HWT? Braxton Amos would also be a fit.

AJ Ferrari burned his bridges probably but otherwise that would have been a good fit. Maybe it’s still possible? Nebraska has a good young heavyweight looking to get into lineup

But otherwise I think OK State thinks it’s just good enough in 165+ to not do anything. But thankfully they aren’t nearly good enough up top.

 

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

Penn State could use a true D-1 sized heavyweight, no? Mirasola is great but he's just not big enough for heavy and he doesn't have the frame to add 20-30 pounds of muscle. At least not over 1 off season...

 

[RockyChi]

Penn State could use a true D-1 sized heavyweight, no? Mirasola is great but he's just not big enough for heavy and he doesn't have the frame to add 20-30 pounds of muscle. At least not over 1 off season...

No, Cole is probably going to add around 5-7 pounds of good weight and come into season probably ranked in top 4.

And AJ is always 50% to not finish a season due to injury or arrests and he made it through this year.

Top 3 big gorillas who were like 7 year seniors graduated

 

[KJB32812]

OK State in theory would seem to be in need of a one year rental for HWT but no great options. Perhaps Pitt HWT? Braxton Amos would also be a fit.

AJ Ferrari burned his bridges probably but otherwise that would have been a good fit. Maybe it’s still possible? Nebraska has a good young heavyweight looking to get into lineup

But otherwise I think OK State thinks it’s just good enough in 165+ to not do anything. But thankfully they aren’t nearly good enough up top.

I have no idea why DT would want that guy anywhere near his program. The LT implications don't outweigh the possible ST ones.

 

[RockyChi]

I have no idea why DT would want that guy anywhere near his program. The LT implications don't outweigh the possible ST ones.

He probably doesn’t but that’s encompassed by statement of burning bridges and overall gist of my post.

But if they feel they have a puncher’s chance next year (I don’t think they do) AJ is a title contender. Outside of nonsense which doesn’t really make it a possibility it would be a good transfer

 

[Corby2]

No shock that backdraft doesn't understand how NIL works now . Nobody will be opening purse strings for big NIL $ now with NIL GO. They big $ will be rev share money which is a guarantee and doesn't have to cleared by NIL Go. He won't see this because he has me on ignore But he still creeps on what I say poor guy

 

[PSUbluTX]

But if they feel they have a puncher’s chance next year (I don’t think they do) AJ is a title contender. Outside of nonsense which doesn’t really make it a possibility it would be a good transfer

AJF said yesterday that he wanted to go 197 this season and took one for the team by agreeing to go 285 since Nebraska already had a guy at 197 (McDanel). Does AJF insist on a wrestle-off with McDanel (a sophomore) next season? Or maybe he likes his odds better at 285 next season now that he sees the "roided" out heavies are clearing out?

Or, as some here have suggested, does he call it quits now that he can't be a 4-timer? This seems highly unlikely to me. Unless AJF comes into a lucrative alternative to collegiate wrestling that satiates his need for notoriety I suspect he'll stick around as long as the NCAA will allow it and a team will put up with him.

 

[RockyChi]

AJF said yesterday that he wanted to go 197 this season and took one for the team by agreeing to go 285 since Nebraska already had a guy at 197 (McDanel). Does AJF insist on a wrestle-off with McDanel (a sophomore) next season? Or maybe he likes his odds better at 285 next season now that he sees the "roided" out heavies are clearing out?

Or, as some here have suggested, does he call it quits now that he can't be a 4-timer? This seems highly unlikely to me. Unless AJF comes into a lucrative alternative to collegiate wrestling that satiates his need for notoriety I suspect he'll stick around as long as the NCAA will allow it and a team will put up with him.

I’m sure he will stick around, it’s not like once he leaves he will be a doctor or a lawyer

At this juncture he’s probably too muscled up and I think he does have a better shot at HWT than 197 with Barr.

Status on Nebraska might be interesting as they have a guy waiting to be plugged in.

I thought AJ only had one year left and at best could have been 3xer. He can still get a medical RS due to driving himself off the road? How you get injured should matter. He didn’t burn himself doing charity work in a soup kitchen.

 

[poorwrestler]

Minnesota desperately needs a 133

 

[El_Jefe]

AJF said yesterday that he wanted to go 197 this season and took one for the team by agreeing to go 285 since Nebraska already had a guy at 197 (McDanel). Does AJF insist on a wrestle-off with McDanel (a sophomore) next season? Or maybe he likes his odds better at 285 next season now that he sees the "roided" out heavies are clearing out?

Or, as some here have suggested, does he call it quits now that he can't be a 4-timer? This seems highly unlikely to me. Unless AJF comes into a lucrative alternative to collegiate wrestling that satiates his need for notoriety I suspect he'll stick around as long as the NCAA will allow it and a team will put up with him.

He's a fabulist. IIRC he was gonna go HWT at North Carolina, and their 197 went 14-12 so not an obstacle for him.

He'll be back for 2027. It's the unlikely car wreck medical shirt that people think he won't pursue now that he can't be a 4x champ.

He also weighed around 225-230 this year, so he's gonna need to stay out of the weight room during the offseason if he wants to cut back to 197. This seems unlikely.

 

[Anon1683312534]

I have no idea why DT would want that guy anywhere near his program. The LT implications don't outweigh the possible ST ones.

DT has several guys with pretty big heads and AJ could help them get bigger heads.

 

[MacwoodFleetPSU]

Pretty happy with how the Gophers performed as a whole and obviously with McEnelly. I think Volk is fully capable of being a the 2nd best 125 in the country and I think could’ve given Lilledahl a better match than McGowan had, but he’s always good for a head scratcher like losing to Moran.

Gut wrenching loss for Vombaur in the blood round that I am sure he would’ve won if not for wearing what looked like a 20 pound knee brace the whole tournament.

Millard and Hopke had reasonable freshman seasons and I think they’ll make big jumps with healthy offseasons.

Andrew Sparks going out with an AA performance with wins over guys like Dee Lockett and Will Denny will be something I remember forever.

Then Max f****n McEnelly, obviously, is the man. I’m biased as they come, but I can’t see how even opposing fans can’t like him. He’s just a good kid and he wrestles hard. Two more years of him will be very fun.

NIL go is a joke and is likely to get struck down in the next few months anyways. Everyone works around it

 

[OzarkLion]

Minnesota desperately needs a 133

I could see them adding someone like TK Davis from GW. Maybe Eggum followed him on X and that's what the HW coach was talking about.

 

[District 4]

No shock that backdraft doesn't understand how NIL works now . Nobody will be opening purse strings for big NIL $ now with NIL GO. They big $ will be rev share money which is a guarantee and doesn't have to cleared by NIL Go. He won't see this because he has me on ignore But he still creeps on what I say poor guy

LMFAO

 

[District 4]

Does anyone know when the 30 limit roster thing happens. I thought this year was a push and it started next year?

 

[Sir Pin Alot]

Besides Sidun and Mangano, are there any other big guns,we are going after for 2027 or is that class pretty much done?

 

[Lil Nicky Scarfo]

Besides Sidun and Mangano, are there any other big guns,we are going after for 2027 or is that class pretty much done?

We also got top 10 big board guys Shepherd and Burnett. That class seems to be set. Our targets in 2028 fit seamlessly with the 2027 class for the most part as far as covering most of the remaining weight classes - guys like Hutcherson, Howard, Hazelett, O’Farrill and Hoare

 

[randyl]

Why wouldnt OK ST throw money at the younger, bigger Merrill ?

 

[Kingslayer]

AJF said yesterday that he wanted to go 197 this season and took one for the team by agreeing to go 285 since Nebraska already had a guy at 197 (McDanel). Does AJF insist on a wrestle-off with McDanel (a sophomore) next season? Or maybe he likes his odds better at 285 next season now that he sees the "roided" out heavies are clearing out?

Or, as some here have suggested, does he call it quits now that he can't be a 4-timer? This seems highly unlikely to me. Unless AJF comes into a lucrative alternative to collegiate wrestling that satiates his need for notoriety I suspect he'll stick around as long as the NCAA will allow it and a team will put up with him.

This makes no sense , If he was going to quit because he couldn’t be a 4 timer then he would have quit last year after he didn’t win.

 

[Corby2]

30 man roster will be phased in. Guys currently on roster will never count against it . Freshman this coming year will count.

 

[The Pitchfork Rebel]

Penn State could use a true D-1 sized heavyweight, no? Mirasola is great but he's just not big enough for heavy and he doesn't have the frame to add 20-30 pounds of muscle. At least not over 1 off season...

Cassar went from 197 to 230 plus.

The big problem with Cole this year was not finishing shots. I trust the coaches to work on that. Cael always stresses improvement.

 

[Lil Nicky Scarfo]

Why wouldnt OK ST throw money at the younger, bigger Merrill ?

From what I understand, there’s a major schism in that family and the brothers are not close

 

[HOA242n!]

Penn State could use a true D-1 sized heavyweight, no? Mirasola is great but he's just not big enough for heavy and he doesn't have the frame to add 20-30 pounds of muscle. At least not over 1 off season...

As has been stated many times, it's great in theory, but who are they going after? There isn't anybody with eligibility left who would be a significant upgrade, and Mirasola has 3yrs left.

 

[KH1984]

Besides Sidun and Mangano, are there any other big guns,we are going after for 2027 or is that class pretty much done?

Next year's (2026) class includes 2 top 20 wrestlers coming in:

2 James out of NJ...best wrestler in class not named Bassett (174)
20 Herring from Bishop McCort who is solid (149)

Lions secured 4 top 10 wrestlers in the 2027 Class

2 Sidun from Norwin PA (125)
3 Burnett from OH...Blaze teammate (133/141)
6 Shepherd from IN (149/157)
10 Mangano NY (141/149)

Simply re-loading!

 

[KH1984]

As has been stated many times, it's great in theory, but who are they going after? There isn't anybody with eligibility left who would be a significant upgrade, and Mirasola has 3yrs left.

Agreed

Ridiculous to consider dumping Mirasola for a downgrade

 

[tullfan68]

people keep talking about Cole speed but he isn't using it quit dancing around and get some TD!

 

[Lil Nicky Scarfo]

Next year's (2026) class includes 2 top 20 wrestlers coming in:

2 James out of NJ...best wrestler in class not named Bassett (174)
20 Herring from Bishop McCort who is solid (149)

Lions secured 4 top 10 wrestlers in the 2027 Class

2 Sidun from Norwin PA (125)
3 Burnett from OH...Blaze teammate (133/141)
6 Shepherd from IN (149/157)
10 Mangano NY (141/149)

Simply re-loading!

James is better than Bassett - everyone will see that pretty quickly

 

[WEAREPSU_LI]

Next year's (2026) class includes 2 top 20 wrestlers coming in:

2 James out of NJ...best wrestler in class not named Bassett (174)
20 Herring from Bishop McCort who is solid (149)

Lions secured 4 top 10 wrestlers in the 2027 Class

2 Sidun from Norwin PA (125)
3 Burnett from OH...Blaze teammate (133/141)
6 Shepherd from IN (149/157)
10 Mangano NY (141/149)

Simply re-loading!

Man, that 2027 class looks insane. I forgot how good it is.

 

[Random4598375]

Cassar went from 197 to 230 plus.

The big problem with Cole this year was not finishing shots. I trust the coaches to work on that. Cael always stresses improvement.

The biggest problem with Cole not finishing shots was typically strength. There was one match (Ghadiali maybe?) where he tried to pick his ankle and just could not move it. He looked like he was trying to pull an oak tree out of the ground. Many other times, he'd get under a guy and when he sprawled/put his weight on him, he lost the positional advantage. If he were on par with those other guys' strength or at least able to neutralize it instead of the strength disadvantage neutralizing his advantages, he would be a title contender. He obviously needs to hit the weight room hard this offseason, but I share the concern about whether he will ever be able to bridge that gap (because it's not a new issue, so hopefully he has been working on it but to little result so far). We'll see, I guess. As far as a transfer, if there were a legitimate title contender who would fit the culture who is knocking on the door, then sure, I guess, but I don't see anyone like that out there this offseason, so I'm perfectly fine rolling with Cole and seeing how it goes. As a technical wrestler, he is at least as good as anyone else at hwt.

 

[WV lion]

Next year's (2026) class includes 2 top 20 wrestlers coming in:

2 James out of NJ...best wrestler in class not named Bassett (174)
20 Herring from Bishop McCort who is solid (149)

Lions secured 4 top 10 wrestlers in the 2027 Class

2 Sidun from Norwin PA (125)
3 Burnett from OH...Blaze teammate (133/141)
6 Shepherd from IN (149/157)
10 Mangano NY (141/149)

Simply re-loading!

And it is unknown how good Herring got. Took nick Lee and kasak route.

 

[Random4598375]

And it is unknown how good Herring got. Took nick Lee and kasak route.

And Duke, too, right? The "blueshirt" route has seemed to work well for our guys so far.

 

[El_Jefe]

Next year's (2026) class includes 2 top 20 wrestlers coming in:

2 James out of NJ...best wrestler in class not named Bassett (174)
20 Herring from Bishop McCort who is solid (149)

Lions secured 4 top 10 wrestlers in the 2027 Class

2 Sidun from Norwin PA (125)
3 Burnett from OH...Blaze teammate (133/141)
6 Shepherd from IN (149/157)
10 Mangano NY (141/149)

Simply re-loading!

Also HWT Elijah Brown in 2026, top 30-ish.

Also some depth prospects in 2027: Will Soto (NY) 125, James Whitbred (State High) 157/165.

IMO we're done with 2027. Not much left in terms of guys we'd look at as potential starters. Maybe some more depth, though we can't take too many depth guys with the 30-man roster. And at this point, we'd probably wait to see if another Evans or Pierce emerges next winter.

 

[El_Jefe]

And Duke, too, right? The "blueshirt" route has seemed to work well for our guys so far.

Nope. Duke came to some workouts but did not spend his HS SR year in State College like Nick, Tyler, and Levi did.

 

[WEAREPSU_LI]

The biggest problem with Cole not finishing shots was typically strength. There was one match (Ghadiali maybe?) where he tried to pick his ankle and just could not move it. He looked like he was trying to pull an oak tree out of the ground. Many other times, he'd get under a guy and when he sprawled/put his weight on him, he lost the positional advantage. If he were on par with those other guys' strength or at least able to neutralize it instead of the strength disadvantage neutralizing his advantages, he would be a title contender. He obviously needs to hit the weight room hard this offseason, but I share the concern about whether he will ever be able to bridge that gap (because it's not a new issue, so hopefully he has been working on it but to little result so far). We'll see, I guess. As far as a transfer, if there were a legitimate title contender who would fit the culture who is knocking on the door, then sure, I guess, but I don't see anyone like that out there this offseason, so I'm perfectly fine rolling with Cole and seeing how it goes. As a technical wrestler, he is at least as good as anyone else at hwt.

I think as of now Cassar may have been stronger, but he was also not going up against the biggest of behemoths.

 

[El_Jefe]

I think as of now Cassar may have been stronger, but he was also not going up against the biggest of behemoths.

He missed Coon, but Steveson was 260+.

 

[LostInTransition]

I think as of now Cassar may have been stronger, but he was also not going up against the biggest of behemoths.

That was also Ant's 5th year out of high school when he made the jump to heavy. Cole's story hasn't been written yet. Though, to your point, Derek White and Gable Steveson were pretty damn good.

 

[WEAREPSU_LI]

He missed Coon, but Steveson was 260+.

I guess he was that big; Gable never seemed as big as he was. Probably due to how nimble he looked.

 

[Brian LB-U]

No shock that backdraft doesn't understand how NIL works now . Nobody will be opening purse strings for big NIL $ now with NIL GO. They big $ will be rev share money which is a guarantee and doesn't have to cleared by NIL Go. He won't see this because he has me on ignore But he still creeps on what I say poor guy

I saw a post on HR from their donor (Nicolls) where he informed the readers that Iowa wrestling didn’t receive any money in revenue share this past year. Did anyone else see this? I found it pretty surprising. I believe PSU Wrestling was around $1.5MM.