Skip to main content
Join Now
Get a profile. Be recruited.

Rider wrestling All-American Sammy Alvarez plans to enter NCAA transfer portal

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko05/05/25nickkosko59
sammy (1)
Rider Athletics

Rider wrestling All-American Sammy Alvarez plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal as a grad transfer, per Justin Basch. Alvarez finished 7th at 149 pounds at the 2025 NCAA Tournament and will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Because Alvarez qualifies as a grad transfer, he was able to enter the portal after it closed Friday. Should he chose to use his final year elsewhere, it’ll be the fourth school of his career.

Alvarez began his career at Rutgers, where he was a 2020 NWCA Coaches All-American and seeded No. 10 at the canceled 2020 NCAA Tournament. He wrestled two more seasons with the Scarlet Knights at 133 and 141 pounds before weight issues piled up.

Alvarez never wrestled at the NCAA Tournament with Rutgers and eventually transferred to Oklahoma State, where he spent a little more than a season with the Cowboys. After being in and out of the lineup, Alvarez transferred again, this time to Rider, where he became the starter at 149 pounds.

Alvarez holds a career record of 78-24 since his freshman campaign in 2019-20. He went 26-9 as a true freshman at Rutgers, but didn’t wrestle more than 15 matches in a season until this past year.

Alvarez repped Rider and went 25-7 and finished 7th at 149 pounds, becoming an All-American at the NCAA Tournament for the first time. He beat former Oklahoma State teammate Jordan Williams (who was at Arkansas-Little Rock this past season), 5-0 in the Blood Round to get onto the podium.

Now, it remains to be seen where Alvarez will go for his final year, considering he’ll be in grad school. After NCAAs, he spoke to members of the media, including On3, about what was next for him and seemed to imply that college wrestling was in the rearview mirror.

But, that seems to have changed and Alvarez is an instant plug and wrestle starter for someone next year. He’s projected to go 149 pounds as of now.

Alvarez originally committed and signed with NC State out of high school before enrolling at Rutgers in the Class of 2019. He was a three-time New Jersey state finalist and 2019 state champion at St. Joseph Regional (Montvale).