Cody Chittum flips commitment to Iowa State wrestling
Former Iowa Hawkeyes commit Cody Chittum flipped to Iowa State, according to Stalemates and Cody Goodwin of the Des Moines Register.
Chittum was originally part of the Class of 2023 and was the No. 1 overall prospect, according to MatScouts, but reclassified and graduated early. After committing to Minnesota earlier in his high school career, he flipped to the Hawkeyes.
But amid some rumored drama behind the scenes, Chittum ultimately flipped again and is set to sign his national letter of intent with Iowa State.
“I really like how they run their program,” Chittum said of Iowa State to the Register. “I cried leaving (Iowa) I love those guys. I’m going to miss them.”
After graduating early, Chittum took a “grayshirt” year, which essentially meant he deferred his college eligibility for a year. He spent the 2022-23 campaign training with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club.
Things changed at Iowa when Anthony Ferrari committed to the program. Ferrari is the middle brother of three and older brother AJ was the 2021 national champion at 197 pounds at Oklahoma State.
Anthony has yet to officially sign with Iowa while AJ is still in limbo after his dismissal from Oklahoma State last year. Youngest brother Angelo (Class of 2024) has Iowa in his top five, including Rutgers, Iowa State, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
Anthony’s commitment reportedly rubbed Chittum the wrong way and he’d rather leave the Hawkeyes than be teammates with the Ferrari’s.
Chittum is projected to wrestle at 157 pounds at the collegiate level.
Chittum won Who’s Number One, Super 32, a junior freestyle Fargo title, and most recently competed on the senior level this year winning medals in three different events – Bill Farrell (silver), Henri Deglane (bronze), Egypt Ranking Series (bronze).
When Chittum was originally set for Iowa’s lineup, Goodwin broke down how he’d fit and become an immediate threat for the Hawkeyes.
“I am of the belief that Cody Chittum will be an immediate-impact guy at 149 or 157,” Goodwin wrote. “I still need to see him at one, the other, or both, but I believe he will be that good. With the new redshirt rules for true freshmen, Iowa coach Tom Brands has some flexibility to figure out who goes where next season.”
Now at Iowa State, the middle of the Cyclones’ lineup should be deadly with podium and national title contenders.
At 141, Casey Swiderski returns after he finished in the Round-of-12. Paniro Johnson was seeded No. 5 last year at 149 pounds.
Not to mention David Carr coming back at 165 pounds. Carr was the runner-up at the weight in 2023 and was a national champion at 157 pounds in 2021 while taking third at the weight in 2022.
At this point, it’s reasonable to expect Chittum to challenge for a high spot on the 157 All-American podium in 2024 and fight for a Big 12 title prior to NCAAs.
Seems like it’s a good day for Iowa State and Chittum during the wild wrestling offseason.