Rutgers Wrestling Head Coach Scott Goodale previews 2025-26 season
Rutgers Wrestling Head Coach Scott Goodale spoke with the press today at the program’s annual Media Day before the team’s practice inside of Jersey Mike’s Arena. He spoke about this year’s starting lineup, the upcoming NWCA All-Star Classic, new administration and much more.
FULL PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
No opening statement necessary. We’ll just go right into questions and yeah, go from there. Who wants to start?
I mean, I don’t know if you want to go into super great detail, but have you had any conversations with Keli Zinn and what’s been your initial impression of her?
SCOTT GOODALE: “Yeah, good question to start. She’s been awesome. She’s going to be really good for wrestling. I’m not going to get into specifics on what she’s going to do for me and our program.
It’s going to be really, it’s going to be a very healthy relationship. She loves wrestling. I think she sees the value of this place being packed and crowded. I think she sees years of recent success. I think it’s going to be a tremendous honor for what she’s doing. So, I think they’ll do a tremendous amount of support.”
Softball question, what does your lineup look like right now?
SCOTT GOODALE: “Softball question? It’s actually a lot harder than you think. We’ll have indicator matches, which to me, you guys know me very, very little.
We have a lot of different roster spots that are up for grabs. There’s some incredible depth. There’s some really good guys. I know, as reporters and media, we automatically pencil people in. And even as coaching staffs, we kind of pencil guys in because of what they’ve done in years prior. But there are a lot of roster spots.
Just completely transparent, because you know how I am. 125 will be a spot. 149 is incredibly challenging. 157 is incredibly challenging. 165 is incredibly challenging. 197 is incredibly challenging. And there’s some others. But for the most part, those are the weights that we will have to figure out through the first semester to get the best possible lineup to do.”
What are you looking at at 125?
“Well, we have a transfer, a local kid from Old Bridge, Pat Adams, that has wrestled in the Big Ten. Win-loss-wise, hasn’t had much success, but he’s a big kid. So he transferred in. Then we have Aiden Smith, who we think the world of, still trying to get bigger. So those two will be the guys all year long. We’ll figure it out. Aiden, he’s with a lot of accomplishments. He’s a pretty good redshirt here last year. He’s very, very good. He’s great for D. He was a lot better last year. But we worry about his size right now. So he’s not getting big, but he’s super talented. So those two, we’ll work it out at that point.”
Who’s at 149 with him?
SCOTT GOODALE: “There’s a slew of guys, but I would say Alex Nini. Alex Nini and Andy Clark are probably. And then we’ve got Devon Magro, who’s a really good freshman. So we’ve got to work out what’s going to happen. We still don’t know what they’re going to do with the 5-for-5 right now. So we still have redshirts available. So if that stays the case, we’ll be smart with those. Devon Magro and Tahir Parkins, Jordan Chapman. Just think of the guys right now off the top of my head. They will absolutely get their five dates if that stays the rules. So they’re very, very good. And there’s others in that class. That’s kind of where we’re at line-up-wise, if that makes sense.
I think heavyweight. We know our heavyweight. As long as he stays healthy, he can have a very good year. Hunter Catka and obviously Lenny Pinto. Shane Cartagena-Walsh, 74-84. I think that seems fair to say right now. They will be our guys. Joey Oliveri, Dylan Shawver, but there’s competition there.
There’s competition there. Even at 141 with Joey, Tahir Parkins is very good. But again, same situation we’ve been in in the past. He’s a really good freshman. Probably could lose a year if they’re able to.
And 165 with Barbosa and White?
SCOTT GOODALE: “No, Barbosa and Ford. Anthony White will go down to 157 and challenge for a spot there. So that makes it a little bit different. There’s a lot of experience there. Going down in weight is probably a little bit stronger than he was at 165, obviously. So it was his decision to do that and there’s like seven guys there. But I would think at the top of my head right now, Connor and Anthony will kind of figure that out. And the retro view might be in play for Connor. Absolutely.
All-Star Classic coming up right around the corner. What’s the hype around that? And what’s it mean for you guys to have that here?
SCOTT GOODALE: “Yeah, I think it’s pretty cool to be able to host that. We’ve hosted some really neat events here. Final X, New Jersey State Wrestling Championships. Some great dual meets. We’ve hosted a lot here. And this is like just another event that I’ve always wanted to host.
The hype around it, I think because of Super 32, Flo puts a lot of time into that. So now I think it’ll start. We’ll start seeing it. It’s great to have Jersey guys in it. We’re super excited about Rutgers guys being in it. Shawver and Pinto, obviously, too. But there’s a lot of Jersey for Pinto, Russell, Simon, Ruelas. There’s some Lehigh flavor to it, which is really important. Mola is a Rumson kid. So there’s another Jersey kid. So there’s some Jersey, there’s some Rutgers, and there’s some Lehigh. We weren’t able to get Penn State guys. A lot of those guys are wrestling in the World Championships next week. So I think it’s a great event. It starts the year every single year. We’ve been fortunate in the past. Correct me if I’m wrong. Ashnault and Richie Lewis won in this event in 2017 out in Cleveland. So a huge honor to compete in it. It’s a better honor even to win. So that’s going to be ours. I think Lenny’s against Simon. And obviously Lucas Bird is defending national champion that Dylan Shawver’s got to figure out. So we look forward to those matchups. Coach, last year you talked about, you know, kind of being tired of number 14 in the country.
Last year you guys finished number 11 ranked. So is that the expectation this year? Is that kind of the goal?
SCOTT GOODALE: “I thought about this quite a bit. And I knew this would be asked. I thought about it a lot. And this is going to be.. No, it’s great. I just.. It doesn’t matter what we do. It matters in March. Right? And you know I love dual meets. But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. The dual meets aren’t going to matter. I have to figure out March in a bigger way.
Does that make sense? Yeah. And I think we have a really good team. We have a really, really good lineup. I think we are going to put 10 guys out every single night that can compete with the best teams in the country. But can we win in March? And I think we’ll have.. I mean, heck, if you look at it, again, being completely transparent, Shawver, Oliveri, Pinto twice, Hunter Catka are all round of 12 guys. They’re blood round guys. So how do they break through? That’s my job. Somehow we got to figure out March. It doesn’t matter what we do. We’re going to win a lot of dual meets this year. We’re going to be very tough to beat, even against the best teams in the country. It’s going to be super exciting. We’re going to pack this place. It’s never going to matter. I know. I understand that now. So I got to figure out.
Last year we had a bad half an hour. A bad half an hour on Friday night. Alright. So all we did last year, 12 and 5, 5 and 3 to Big Ten, finished 11th in the country from a dual meet standpoint. It was the Friday night, the last, the 30 minutes on Friday night. So that’s kind of what the expectations are that tournament. And that’s.. I got to really wrap my head around. The process is super important. The year is super important. I love dual meets. I love fans. We’re fortunate enough to wrestle in front of thousands and thousands of fans each and every night. But I’m going to keep in mind that we are going to be.
I mean what was that post-mortem like?
SCOTT GOODALE: “It was the same as 2011. The same thing happened in 2012. But truth be told, it’s hard. It’s hard. You know we were right there. We’re this close to being a top ten, finishing in the top ten again. And we didn’t get it done. So that’s really hard. And you know I just.. For me as a coach, I know what these guys pour into it.
So that hurts. Right? So Oliveri being this close, that hurts. Shawver’s done it before but not to be able to do it again. And then of course Peterson. That was.. Should have won that match. That’s kind of what really stung. That stung hard. I know how we’re judged. I know it’s about those three days.
So I knew that was going to be a tough off season. And sure enough, it was.
Did you hit that the transfer portal with looking back at that Friday night?
SCOTT GOODALE: “Yeah, I think you do that. Of course you always try to better your team. You know we don’t ever write over.. I think this was needs for us. Obviously those three guys have been huge from a leadership standpoint.
But yeah, we attacked it with you got to win on that Friday night. And obviously Pinto twice. Hunter, who you’ll talk to once. One round guys. They’re dying to get over that. This sport is all about that weekend.
So they’re dying to be there. And so that’s kind of why those were the targets. Right? And they’re very, very good. And they’ve won a lot. Certainly a target.
What has Lenny Pinto brought to this program?
SCOTT GOODALE: “He comes from one of the best programs. Just a firecracker. Just a ball of energy. He’s a great teammate. And you could tell that culture out in Lincoln is special. It’s a great team. I always admired that from afar.
They’re a great.. Coach Maddox does a great job of building the culture of a team. That’s why I really wanted to get my flag to go. Because now that’s starting to happen.
Those are our leaders. Lenny and Hunter Kaka are our leaders. Like vocally. Vocally. There’s a bunch of guys that lead by example and just train really hard. But those guys, they are vocal leaders. And even Remi to some extent. But those two in particular. And they come from obviously Virginia Tech and Nebraska.
So there’s a lot of reasons we went after them. They’re winning. Their success is certainly one of them. But I didn’t think I was getting this. This is the most leadership. And that sounds crazy. With a transfer portal kid. It’s the most leadership we’ve had in our program in a long, long time.”
Do you think that’s because they feel like they have to make an impact? And that they have to?
No, no. I just think that’s flat out where they come from. I think that’s kind of the way it is. I think that’s kind of the way it is. And that’s not a knock. Again, a lot of our guys lead by example. And they work their tail off. And that’s great. You know, Dylan Shawver is going to be Dylan Shawver. He’s going to do.. He leads by his example. And Joey’s the same way. Clark’s the same way. But these guys are more vocal about it.
They want to have a good team. They want to have a good team. And that’s been really, really cool these first two months. Vocal? By vocal, what do you mean? They talk about it. They bring guys in. They bring the big boots over.
They don’t have to be the one. I don’t have to be the one. Hey, everybody up. You know? One, two, three, team. One, two, three, team. They’re the ones talking to the team, you know? And listen, we still have Andy.
We still have Joey. We still have Dylan. And there’s definitely some senior leadership. But these guys have been really, really good for the young guys. And that’s kind of just.. They’re finishing out the conditions. It’s not so much coach driven, if that makes sense. It’s athlete driven. And if the athletes are saying it, then.. Scott, you’re now a couple years into this transfer portal era. NIL era.”
Do you feel like you have a nice balance now between high school recruiting, transfer portal recruiting?
SCOTT GOODALE: “I do. We’re fortunate. You’ve probably seen that. I think we’re doing really well on the recruiting trail from a high school standpoint. I know we’re going to be an option when it comes to the transfer portal come March. I know we’re a destination for a lot of these guys. And I think some of the time that the guys that have been here before. I’m thinking about Jake Butler and Mitch Moore. The guys that have come here.
Their experiences here as they get into the coaching world. And their former teammates. What was it like here? They’re starting to get that. So I think this is certainly a destination from a transfer portal standpoint. Again, we’ll do it if we need to do it. And it’s the way of the world now.
And we have to be active in that portal. We’ll be super smart about it. And we’re certainly going to get help from our administration. Which is exciting.”
Let’s talk about the portal. In the last three heavyweights have been transferred. Why do you think that is? Is that a weight that’s working to secure it?
SCOTT GOODALE: “No, maybe just not doing… It’s a weight where it’s hard to recruit. There’s a lot of football players up there. So, for example, we have Brandon Toranzo.
He’s the only heavyweight in our lineup. Now, we’ve landed one of the best kids in the country. That’s a couple years out. We haven’t been able to land a blue chip type kid. So it just so happens we’ve been able to go in the portal. Where we haven’t had to worry about it.
And if Brandon isn’t ready, we’ll know. Because he’ll get some matches this year. We’ll go in this year to build some depth up there. And get some guys. So, for whatever reason, a heavyweight is a weight you need. It’s like 125. It’s like a quarterback, right? You’ve got to recruit one every single year. And you’re going to recruit a quarterback. Because you need them.
It’s the same thing. You need a 25 and you need heavyweights. So we’re going to try to bring in three or four. Even if it’s from a workout standpoint. We’ve got to have them on the roster. And, you know, Joe was successful last year.
Obviously, it was his first year as a full-time starter. I mean, he’s run pretty for the last two years.”
How much do you think him starting in the U.S. helped?
SCOTT GOODALE: “Yeah, I never really thought about it. Pulling his red shirt. He was wrestling a lot in that first semester. And he was going to Midlands. And he was beating National Ranked guys. So, even though he wasn’t in dual meets. We didn’t have many big ones first semester.
So it wasn’t a crazy deal. But, yeah, it was cool to have him in the lineup all the time. He’s a staple in there. He’s won a lot of blues for us. He’s been really, really good for us. So, yeah, I think it certainly helped being the guy.
I think it’s helped him now this year. He’s so… I think him not winning the National Tournament in the blood round has driven him maybe the most that I’ve seen. He’s just super locked in.
I don’t want to say selfish. Because that’s not the right word. But he is about every single minute of the day on this season. He’s focused on this season. I think a good or bad thing. He’s got to enjoy this process a little bit. And if you know Joey Aldermary, it’s just one way. I’ve got to try to get him to enjoy this a little bit. He’s held that on yet to come this year. So we’ll see what happens. I know it’s a long way off, but I hope he’ll be in time to get through it. You’ve got to wrestle him in.”
Thoughts on opening the Big Ten schedule with Penn State?
SCOTT GOODALE: “I keep giving us Penn State. I’d like to go to Iowa. I’d like Iowa to come here, switch up a little bit. They give us Penn State every year I think because of travel. Yeah.
You’ve got to wrestle him at some point. Might as well be the first one out of the game. He’ll be well rested. We’ve got time for a few more. Talking about recruiting. You guys have been on fire these past two weeks.
Talk to me about what’s been your guys’ approach this year of just being so successful. Trying to get the best kids in the country. That’s it. Trying to get guys that win at a national level. Super 32 this past weekend. Our guys won at a national level. Guys winning Fargo. They’re winning at a national level. Can’t be surrounded by this state.
We’ve had Coach Mytch in labs. He in particular has been crazy in the Lehigh Valley. It’s Pennsylvania. We’re in Pennsylvania. So that’s just the bottom line. I love Jersey. I’ll continue to recruit this state, but we have to go national.
If it’s California, we’re going to go to California. If it’s Ohio, it’s Ohio. If it’s Indiana, it’s Indiana. We’ve got guys on our team. I think if you look at our roster now, it used to be 90% Jersey. It’s probably 45% Jersey now. We have to be national. We need the best guys in the country. That’s the reason for it.”
Shane had a great year last year and really broke out. What can you see from him this year as he develops more in that role?
SCOTT GOODALE: “I liked last year at this time he was pushed. Does that make sense? He was pushed by somebody else.
So now we have to make sure he’s getting pushed every day. There’s got to be a sense of urgency to be great. When you’re a walk-on, he was a walk-on.
It’s a great story. He was being pushed every day because he wanted to be the guy. So we’ve got to make sure we can push him every single day so he has his foot in the gas every single day so he can continue to go upward trend.
He’s very good. He loves this sport. He loves wrestling.
That’s a good thing. We’re excited for this season for sure.”
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