Iowa's Gabe Arnold striving for consistency after rollercoaster year

For a stretch of time this summer, it sure seemed as though media members like yours truly wouldn’t see Gabe Arnold at Iowa men’s wrestling’s 2025 edition of Media Day.

On Tuesday, July 1, a University of Iowa spokesperson confirmed to Hawkeye Report that Arnold was “no longer on the roster” – backing up an earlier report that Arnold had been dismissed from the men’s wrestling program.

37 days later, an equally out-of-the-blue report (and confirmation) emerged that he was staying with the Hawkeyes – if he’d ever ‘left’ at all.

Fast-forward nearly three more months and there Arnold was, answering questions at the Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center in preparation for the 2025-26 season.

His goal? To rediscover (and maintain) the consistency/discipline that drew him to Iowa in the first place – a place he’s never wanted to leave.

Getting off the ‘rollercoaster’ and back on track

“A rollercoaster is the best way you can describe it,” says Arnold of his summer – and the 2024-25 season that preceded it.

“Obviously, the summer I had some stuff go on – getting dismissed, unfortunately.”

“(Before that) Nationals didn’t go the way I wanted it to – I had some stuff go on in December. So yeah, it has been a rollercoaster…but I think these guys gave me another chance to do what I came here and set out to do – and that was win national, World and Olympic titles. And it’s all about getting back on that path, back on that track.”

Asked about the circumstances surrounding Arnold during the past calendar year, Iowa head coach Tom Brands said this about his 20-year-old pupil:

“Gabe Arnold is a competitor. He wants to win. He takes losing very hard.”

“In the offseason, he had to deal with a season that he did not want to necessarily come to terms with. We all go through that. He left the team. But I don’t even think he officially left the team because I don’t think the paperwork was done by the time he came back. So, whether he left the team or not, the love is still there for him.”

As it turned out, the love was/is mutual – even if the exact semantics/timeline of the “dismissal” remain nebulous at best.

“I don’t think I was ever ‘gone’ in the first place, you know,” says Arnold.

“At one point in time, I was probably like ‘God damnit’, I’ve got to find somewhere else to go and I really don’t want to go anywhere else.”

“It was a very emotional time for me, but these guys care a lot about me and care a lot about all of us. And there was no other place to go except for to be here – so, we figured it out.”

“There’s no bad grudges, there’s no bad blood, there’s no anything like that.”

“These guys have a lot of wisdom. They know what they’re talking about. Sometimes all it (is) is buying back into that, so I think that’s what I had to do.”

“Buy back into why I came here, the discipline of why I came here (and) reminding myself of what I’m here to do.”

“As you practice, so you play”

Just because no bridges were burned with Iowa nor any relationships scarred beyond repair, that doesn’t mean Arnold is all-systems go with no questions asked.

His ‘reinstatement’ would require altering the habits which had previously led him astray.

“You have to be steady, steadier, and it’s not going to be easy,” says Brands of the redshirt sophomore.

“But the formula is simple. You have to take care of yourself, you have to be accountable, and you have to address the things that you have to address in a mature fashion.”

“It’s about getting better,” says Arnold of his reinvigorated focus/approach. “And every single day that’s the goal. That’s the plan – is to get better.”

“Something that I live by – and something that my dad has instilled in me – is ‘as you practice so you play.’”

“It’s about everything you do in here, everything you do in your social life – it’s about everything. And that’s how it’s going to go out on the mat.”

Ironically – and perhaps quite beneficially – there may be no wrestler on the current Iowa roster who embodies that mantra more than Patrick Kennedy, who also happens to be Arnold’s primary competition for a spot in the 2025-26 lineup.

The ideal barometer

Before earning All-American honors at last year’s NCAA Championships, Patrick Kennedy (fourth at 174 pounds) had spent a career doing all the right things – even in the absence of the end rewards his efforts had been in service of.

After taking back-to-back redshirts (one COVID, one regular), ‘PK’ fell short of the podium in each of his first two years in Iowa’s postseason lineup.

Then last season, he found himself in a prolonged lineup battle for the starting job at 174 – ultimately earning the spot over Nelson Brands.

And just as Iowa fans and media members alike have taken notice of Kennedy’s unwavering perseverance, so too, have his teammates.

“I mean, that’s why you choose a place to call home. You don’t just choose it based on ‘Oh, I’m getting X amount of money, or this guy’s coaching here,’” says Arnold about his fellow 174-pounder.

“You choose it based on the people that you’re surrounded by on a daily basis, and Patrick Kennedy is just one of those reasons why I chose to come here.”

Patrick Kennedy had some late nights with Tom Brands after falling short of his goals in the past, but not this year!

He finished 4th at NCAA’s despite a roster battle with All American Nelson Brands. #ncaawrestling pic.twitter.com/TJeKEqZoa1

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) March 28, 2025

“I’ve got tons and tons of examples of people that come in here, do their job and get their hand raised. So, why would I not want to be surrounded by that?”

“I think these guys do a very good job of not just saying but showing/emulating by their actions what it takes to be the best. So, I’m surrounded by a bunch of guys like that, and if it is someone at my weight – like Kennedy – I’m happy to have that because I’m trying to get better and I want to win national, World and Olympic gold medals and that guy’s only going to push me to do that.”

May the best man win

Just as Kennedy handled his lineup battle with the utmost professionalism a year ago (as well as the year before that), his teammate/competitor in this latest edition is taking the same approach.

“I think Kennedy talked about it great last year: we’re all in pursuit of winning a national title – and I think whatever is in the way of that, then that’s what gets handled,” says Arnold.

I really liked Patrick Kennedy's answer to Andy’s question about the battle at 174 between he and Nelson Brands. Particularly appreciated the passion in which he addressed the additional dynamic of Nelson being the son of Terry Brands and nephew of Tom Brands. pic.twitter.com/irEBrNcc6Q

— Christian Pyles (@CPyles8) January 1, 2025

“The best guy is going to prevail and be the guy at Big Tens and Nationals – throughout the season and whatever the case may be.”

“I don’t think there’s really any animosity between any of us…Obviously, I’m slated at 74 and that’s where I plan to be this year and it’ll work itself out – God willing. So, I’m not worried about it. I’ve got my faith in the man upstairs and hopefully it’s me and if not, I’ll see you guys next year.”

However things play out over the next few months, both Arnold and his head coach have complete conviction in one another.

“I think these guys have a plan,” says Arnold of Tom (and Terry) Brands.

“They’ve been doing this for a while now. They’re vets in this coaching thing. They’re not idiots and they’re not robots – so I think they know how to handle situations like this.”

“Having a roster battle, this isn’t their first day doing this. They’ve been head and assistant coach for a long time now and that wasn’t just by happenstance.”

“We’re going to need Gabe Arnold (this season),” says Brands.

“We are going to need him. We’re going to need 32 out of 32 on that roster. We’re going to need them all. We have a roster that got shaved down, and we’re going to need them all.”

“And Gabe Arnold, essential.”