Five commitments in 17 minutes: A massive night for Iowa wrestling

Let Sunday evening be a reminder to folks who may’ve doubted otherwise – the Iowa men’s wrestling program still has plenty of juice.

Yes, it’s been a few years since the Hawkeyes were the nation’s undisputed best team in back-to-back seasons (2020-21).

And yes, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing from then until now – by Iowa standards.

But the most recognizable brand in collegiate wrestling not only still carries weight; it’s not resting on its laurels, either.

Case in point, Sunday night’s recruiting bonanza.

What started with a heads up that two high-profile 2027 targets would be announcing their commitments ‘together’ live on the Baschamania podcast quickly grew into so much more.

And by the end of the show, no fewer than five elite young prospects had pledged their futures to the Black & Gold:

Among them, a trio of premier 2027 recruits (rankings by FloWrestling):

• #3 Joe Bachmann (Pennsylvania)
• #8 Paul Kenny (New Jersey)
• #11 Israel Borge (Utah)

Plus a pair of their highly sought after younger brothers from the Class of 2028:

• Fred Bachmann (Pennsylvania) *ranked #1 by fellow recruiting service MatScouts
• Sean Kenny (New Jersey) *soon-to-be top 10 by MatScouts per the broadcast

By themselves, each member of the quintet would’ve made for a major recruiting coup.

Iowa just landed all five of them – and in a span of 17 minutes, no less.

Big brothers, big talents

Starting with Paul Kenny and Joe Bachmann – the first to announce their commitments on Sunday evening – Iowa lands two of the most credentialed prospects in the junior class.

Both have competed in a U17 World Championship final – Kenny earning gold in 2023, Bachmann taking silver (for Puerto Rico) in 2024 – plus bronze in 2023. Both are regular contenders/winners at the various elite high school events around the country.

Bachmann – who was contacted by Iowa at midnight when the recruiting contact period opened on June 15^th – already owns a pair of titles at both Ironman and the PIAA State Championships, plus one each from Super 32 and Beast of the East.

Meanwhile, Kenny – a 2025 New Jersey (single class) state champion – has already competed in the likes of the Powerade finals and at Who’s Number One (twice) just halfway through his high school career.

Both worked out in the Iowa room with their younger brothers during an (unofficial) mid-September stop in Iowa City.

As for official visits: between the two, they saw Cornell, Ohio State, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Iowa State, Rutgers, Lehigh and Nebraska – each of them finishing with their joint trip back to Iowa City the weekend of October 25.

That weekend, the two joined recent 2026 Iowa commits Bobby Duffy and David Calkins Jr. – the former a high school teammate of Kenny’s – on campus. And once again, their younger brothers tagged along.

Barely two weeks later, all six of them are Hawkeyes.

Young and hungry

In college recruiting (across all sports) fans are used to sometimes seeing sibling ‘package deals’ in which one brother/sister is the clear ‘prize’ and the other more or less an add-on feature.

That couldn’t be further from the case with the Bachmanns and Kennys – whose younger brothers appear set to match the lofty rankings their elder siblings have garnered in the class above them.

A few months into his sophomore season, Fred Bachmann already has a U17 World silver medal of his own, as well as Super 32/Ironman/Beast of the East titles and a PIAA State Championship.

As for the younger Kenny, Sean, his stock has continued to elevate over the past year thanks to back-to-back Super 32 runner up finishes, plus a 16U Fargo title in July.

Iowa fans won’t see these two in a Black & Gold singlet until November of 2028 at the earliest. So, we won’t go too far down the rabbit hole now. But based on the early returns, as well as the trajectory of their elder brothers, one would predict that they’ll (eventually) arrive in Iowa City with high expectations – and the accolades to match them.

Not your ordinary ‘fifth wheel’

Sunday was already a massive success for Iowa’s ongoing recruiting efforts after the first Bachmann/Kenny commitments – much less the second.

But on this wild evening, 2027 prospect Israel Borge decided to help the Hawkeyes hit ‘Triple Yahtzee’ with an announcement of his own.

Potentially in line for a bump from his current #11 ranking when Flo updates its 2027 Big Board, Borge’s profile has risen even higher of late thanks to a runner up Super 32 finish last month.

During his run, the two-time Utah state finalist (2025 champ) actually defeated Fred Bachmann (4-2) in the semifinals:

One match later, he nearly won the whole thing – leading Class of 2026’s #11 Moses Mendoza (a Michigan commit) late in the second period while on the verge of a second takedown.

Ultimately, a scramble/review went against him, and Mendoza prevailed for the 8-3 victory. But it was yet another bright spot for a young man whose highest profile result to that point may’ve been taking sixth at Ironman as a sophomore.

After watching Borge extensively for the first time at Super 32, Jaydin Eierman is someone whose style he evokes.

Long, flexible and dangerous is how I’d describe them both. And that combination worked out pretty well for Eierman at the college level.

Borge visited Iowa the weekend of September 26 along with numerous Class of 2027 recruits – two of whom, Sonny Amato and Dawson Youngblut, have since committed to Iowa themselves.

In the end, he chose the Hawkeyes over primary competitors Nebraska and Missouri.

Future fits

At present, these five future Hawkeyes are ranked at the following weights, regardless of class:

• Sean Kenny (#7 at 113)
• Paul Kenny (#2 at 126)
• Israel Borge (#6 at 132)
• Fred Bachmann (#7 at 132)
• Joe Bachmann (#5 at 138)

During the livestream, Paul Kenny indicated he’ll likely be a 133-pounder in college – maybe 141.

“I don’t have a history of my family being tall though,” he said with a laugh.

As for Joe Bachmann, he’s already far bigger than his ranked weight class of 138.

As a Hawkeye, he seemed to think 149/157 was his probable competition range – with 165 an outside possibility.

“I feel like I can grow a bit more,” said Bachmann. “I eat a lot, so it wouldn’t be an issue to put on some weight.”

And for Borge, he mentioned a similar range of his own (141-157) but stressed that he’d go “wherever the coach needs me, and wherever I can help the team the most.”

All of these are ‘champagne problems’, mind you – with fellow 2027 commits Amato and Youngblut projected somewhere between 141-165 themselves.

Iowa has needed to stockpile elite talent to catch up with the likes of the Penn State machine as well as the streaking comet that is Oklahoma State. This is exactly what that looks like – especially at a weight range where the Hawkeyes previously lacked some long-term firepower.

Ripple effects

This development, while significant for the Iowa program, is still just a (strong) next step. And in truth, it was largely necessary after a bumpy spring/summer with some other high-profile prospects from the high school ranks.

So, how can it parlay this momentum into even more?

For one, the burgeoning New Jersey-to-Iowa pipeline just got even stronger – with the Kennys becoming the fifth and sixth nationally ranked recruits from the Garden State to pledge to the Hawkeyes since the Class of 2025.

Meanwhile, the Bachmanns hail from fellow wrestling hotbed Pennsylvania – and both their home basement/training center and top-ranked high school program (Faith Christian Academy) are havens for elite young talent.

Those feel like two good places to keep a constant eye on, along with pursuing top talent wherever it may crop up (see Israel Borge).

Bottom line, the Hawkeyes most certainly have the wherewithal and motivation to make it happen.

Sunday night proved that once again – just in case anyone had forgotten.