Oklahoma State lands Rutgers wrestling All-American Sammy Alvarez
Former Rutgers wrestling All-American Sammy Alvarez officially transferred to Oklahoma State.
Alvarez entered the NCAA transfer portal earlier this month following a disciplinary issue regarding his weight midway through the season. The news was first reported by Willie Saylor of MatScouts.
Alvarez was in the middle of a 13-2 campaign at 141 pounds, his first year at the weight. But weight cutting and maintaining issues plagued him for the third consecutive season.
Alvarez failed to reach 133 pounds over the last two seasons, leaving him out of wrestling’s individual postseason at the Big Ten Tournament.
Joey Olivieri, Rutgers’ current starter at 141 pounds, replaced Alvarez in the lineup last season, as well as this year. Following a weekend where Alvarez did not travel with the team earlier this month, he decided to enter the transfer portal.
Alvarez contemplated retirement while remaining at Rutgers before deciding to continue his wrestling career. He spoke to NJ Advance Media’s Pat Lanni about the decision.
“I had a decision to stay and retire or transfer and wrestle. It was pretty night-and-day type of decision,” Alvarez said. “I decided I would regret it when I’m older and I don’t want to live with regret or question marks. I went into the portal, and Oklahoma State was a no-brainer.”
Since it was the third straight season Alvarez had trouble with his weight, his time at Rutgers fizzled out in the end. However, if he’s on the mat and healthy, he could be a big addition to Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State lands former All-American
However, Alvarez cannot wrestle for the Cowboys until the 2023-24 season, due to his midseason transfer.
“There’s no hate,” Alvarez said last week, via NJ.com. “I left on a good note. I don’t have a negative thing to say about the program, the guys, the staff — they’ve always done right by me. I always wrestled with the ‘Block R’ with integrity and loved every second of it. It’s something I’ll definitely miss.”
Alvarez went 50-14 during his four seasons at Rutgers. He’ll have two years of eligibility left, should he choose to use them and is an All-American threat.
He went 26-10 as a true freshman in 2019-20, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament as the No. 10 seed in the 33-man bracket. However, the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alvarez was named an NWCA All-American Honorable Mention, but he has yet to officially wrestle in the postseason.
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The former Rutgers star initially committed to NC State coming out of St. Joseph Montvale (N.J.) before flipping to the Scarlet Knights in 2019.