Report: AJ Ferrari no longer committed to North Carolina, expected to re-enter NCAA transfer portal

In a stunning turn of events, NCAA wrestling champion AJ Ferrari is no longer committed to North Carolina, per The Wrestling Room’s Pat Mineo. The school reportedly “pulled the plug” on the deal to bring him in via the NCAA transfer portal.

On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed Ferarri was still listed as signed to North Carolina as of Thursday morning, but that appears to be changing. An article written by The Daily Tar Heel seemed to denounce Ferrari’s commitment to the school, a few years after a sexual assault charge, with the charges eventually being dismissed.

Ferrari still has two years of eligibility and plugs in as an instant national title contender at 197 pounds in 2026. He finished in 3rd place at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships.

His youngest brother, Angelo, is expected to be in title contention (184 pounds) in 2026, coming out of redshirt during his freshman season at Iowa. His middle brother, Anthony, wrestled at Long Island University this past season before transferring to Morgan State.

Ever the showman, Ferrari was back at the tournament for the first time in four years. After winning it all as a true freshman for Oklahoma State, a car accident and controversy off the mat followed during his sophomore campaign, where he had already reached double-digit wins.

After leaving the school post 2022, Ferrari did not wrestle collegiately again until this past season. That’s when he wrestled out west in his return, only losing in the NCAA semifinals.

“Same old, same old. Business is business,” Ferrari said ahead of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. “Here to perform, show out. Here for me to have fun, embrace the spotlight. I love performing, wrestling at the highest level. Show them the best. Win the national title at 197 and win two, three more.

“I want to cement my legacy, have fun, give God all the glory. Super grateful for all the support I have all throughout the world. A lot of prayers, big support system is why I’m here.”

Following time away from school, and a brief moment where he might join his brothers at Iowa, Ferrari found himself out west this season. While the door was seemingly open for him to transfer again, he embraced Cal State Bakersfield all season long.

“I think it’s growing at a great rate, excited for the future of wrestling and wrestling is growing and going to take over sports in the future,” Ferrari said of the sport in general, particularly being at a non-Power Four institution. “I think we need to embrace big personalities like myself, big matches. And I think at the end of the day growing our sport is going to be key to have good personalities that show themselves.”

Ferrari is 50-2 in his career, with his only losses coming to 2025 NCAA champion Stephen Buchanan, who won it for Iowa this year, and former West Virginia wrestler Noah Adams. Ferrari was just a freshman in 2021 when he lost that match 3-2.