Iowa men's wrestling roster set for shakeup on eve of fall semester
Classes just began in Iowa City this week, and the opening day of the 2024-25 NCAA wrestling season is still another two-plus months out.
But here we are in late-August, and the Iowa men’s wrestling program is smack dab in the middle of a pretty significant roster shakeup as it looks to rebound from a disappointing fifth-place finish at the national tournament held in Kansas City (MO) this past March.
A flurry of comings/goings in recent days has dramatically altered the current roster, with a number of notable past contributors – including a quartet of former postseason starters – heading out the door while at least one major addition is confirmed to be joining the Iowa room.
I dive into all of those developments below – plus touch on another as-of-yet unconfirmed report that could further supercharge the Iowa wrestling lineup in 2024-25.
Who’s In – Stephen Buchanan
A report from 12 days ago regarding three-time All-American Stephen Buchanan heading to Iowa has now come to fruition.
After having his name appear in the University of Iowa student directory on the eve of the fall semester, Buchanan is now officially listed on the Iowa men’s wrestling program’s roster for the 2024-25 season.
The Oklahoma Sooner (and Wyoming Cowboy before that) has reached the podium in all three of his previous trips to the national tournament – finishing eighth and third for Wyoming in 2021-22 and third again as a Sooner in 2024 (all coming at 197 pounds)
Even more significant, each of those third-place finishes was accompanied by a season in which Buchanan (86-25 in his college career) won a majority of his matches via bonus points (54.8 percent in 2022 and 69.7 percent in 2024), which has proven to be a major factor when it comes to team scoring in the postseason.
One high-placing, high-bonus wrestler can often be as valuable as a two (or more) lower-level All-American finishers.
Currently sitting number one at 197 pounds in FloWrestling’s preseason rankings, Buchanan outscored Iowa’s 2024 starter Zach Glazier by a whopping 15 team points at NCAAs last March.
For context, 15 additional team points would’ve been the difference between the Hawkeyes finishing a narrow fifth (just 1.5 points behind Iowa State) and being well clear of Cornell for second place (with 9.5 points to spare).
Given who has graduated at 197 pounds – in addition to his own track record at NCAAs – Buchanan will enter the 2024-25 season as the national title favorite on paper.
Who’s Out – the ‘Ice Man’ goeth
The most notable of the half-dozen Hawkeyes who won’t be returning in 2024-25 is the aforementioned Zach Glazier – who announced on Monday morning that he’s transferring to South Dakota State.
A career backup at 197 pounds to stalwart Jacob Warner prior to last season, the ‘Ice Man’ (as I affectionately refer to him) was Iowa’s breakout performer for nearly all of 2023-24.
Glazier (25-4) not only clinched multiple tight dual meets throughout the regular season – incl. on the road at Iowa State, Nebraska and Oklahoma State (just to name a few) – he’d enter NCAAs with just two defeats on the year, both coming against four-time national champion (and recent Olympic bronze medalist) Aaron Brooks of Penn State.
A disappointing national tournament (1-2) surely left a sour taste in his mouth, but a season in which he led the team in dual points scored (50), won 16 matches via bonus points and earned runner-up honors at Big Ten’s was unquestionably a massive boon for both Glazier and the Iowa wrestling program.
Glazier will have at least one year of eligibility remaining for the Jackrabbits.
Who’s Out – two more 2024 postseason starters
In addition to Glazier, a pair of Hawkeyes from last year’s postseason lineup are headed elsewhere as well.
Redshirt sophomore Aiden Riggins – listed at 157/165 pounds on the 2023-24 roster – filled in all the way up at 184 for much of this past season due to numerous gambling-related suspensions amongst Iowa’s upper weights, not to mention a clear desire to maintain the redshirt of stud freshman Gabe Arnold.
He’d eventually be tabbed as Iowa’s 184-pound rep at Big Ten’s, concluding his season with a 12-13 record that belies just how much he gave to the Hawkeyes in spite of the impossible spot both he and the team had been put in.
Reports emerged on Tuesday that Riggins would be heading to Ames to join the in-state rival Cyclones:
Bradley Hill found himself in a (somewhat) similar situation, as the growing second-year heavyweight was pressed into action due to suspension (Tony Cassioppi) and redshirt preservation (Ben Kueter) elsewhere on the roster.
A native of Bettendorf, Iowa, Hill took the spot and ran with it on his way to a 21-9 record, including a 4-1 mark in Big Ten duals.
Not only that, but he auto-qualified for NCAAs thanks to a fifth-place finish at Big Ten’s, then notched arguably his best win of the season in the opening round with a victory over #8 seed Owen Trephan (NC State).
But with U20 World champ (and Iowa folk hero) Ben Kueter now committed to wrestling full-time for the 2024-25 season, Hill would’ve likely had to return to a backup role for the foreseeable future.
Hill is now headed to Oklahoma, where he’ll reportedly be dropping down to compete at 197 pounds in what ultimately amounts to a ‘swap’ between the Hawkeyes/Sooners for him and the aforementioned Stephen Buchanan.
Both Riggins and Hill will have three years of eligibility remaining to compete at their new homes in Ames/Norman respectively.
Who’s Out – the Siebrecht siblings
Another former starter who’s now headed elsewhere is 157-pounder Cobe Siebrecht – who confirmed to IA Wrestle’s Ross Bartachek Tuesday night that he’s also transferring to South Dakota State.
This, barely 24 hours after posting (then quickly deleting) an Instagram story from the SDSU wrestling room:
Similar to the journey of Zach Glazier, back in 2022-23 it was Siebrecht who seemingly came out of nowhere to become an important piece of the Iowa lineup.
The scrambly, lanky, big-move Lisbon (IA) native finished that season 14-8 and earned a #14 seed at the NCAA tournament (going 1-2) after auto-qualifying with a seventh-place finish at Big Ten’s.
Unfortunately, he was also among the group of wrestlers suspended in 2023-24 for gambling-related offenses.
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It was thought that the sixth-year senior’s return would set up a battle with 2024 postseason starter Caleb Rathjen for the spot at 157 pounds this season, a position that may be of even greater intrigue given the possible last-minute addition of a credentialed outside entry (which we’ll get to shortly).
Cobe Siebrecht had previously been joined on the Iowa roster by his younger brother, redshirt sophomore Cade (141/149 pounds) – the latter of whom is also heading to SDSU per the Des Moines Register’s Eli McKown.
Who’s Out – Drake Rhodes
The sixth and final presumed returnee who may no longer be so, is redshirt sophomore Drake Rhodes.
Rhodes has largely filled a back-up role during his two years in Iowa City, with the Montana native stepping in anywhere from 165-184 in 2022-23 to spell a few injuries (including four Big Ten duals).
Back at a more natural weight class (165) this past season, he posted a 16-5 record that included runner-up finishes at both the Luther and Pat “Flash” Flanagan Open tournament(s) and was all named Academic All-Big Ten.
Who (might be) on the way – a seasoned vet from the Southwest
As though the proverbial ‘deck chairs’ haven’t been shuffled around nearly enough just yet, there’s (at least) one more major addition that could be in store for the Hawkeyes if a recent report comes to fruition – one from the same source (Willie Saylor) who was first to report on the Buchanan-to-Iowa development.
Seventh-year collegian Jacori Teemer has been rumored to be an Iowa target for months now. The three-time All-American (and 2024 NCAA runner up) at 157 pounds would be a major addition, and one that would more than offset – if it didn’t already contribute to – the exit of Cobe Siebrecht.
Teemer (85-17 career record), who has a year of eligibility remaining thanks to regular (and medical) redshirt(s) – plus a free COVID year – is an explosive, though relatively conservative wrestler.
He posted back-to-back NCAA finishes of fourth and sixth in 2021 and 2022 before reaching the finals this past season in his latest appearance – a 5-0 decision loss versus Penn State’s Levi Haines.
Following plenty of previous rumblings – in addition to the latest report of the move – Teemer’s name finally appeared in the Iowa student directory early Tuesday afternoon.
Funnily enough, as of this typing you can still find him listed on the 2024-25 Arizona State roster as well.
Based on all of the smoke surrounding this potential move, do I believe it’s more than likely to transpire? Yes.
But until either party involved (athlete/Iowa) makes an official announcement I’d probably wait to pop the ‘champagne bottles’ if I’m an Iowa wrestling fan – just to be safe.
With Haines expected to switch weight classes this season, Teemer is the top-rated returner at 157 pounds and would obviously project to add massive team points for the Hawkeyes were he to take over the spot from Siebrecht/Rathjen (each of whom went 1-2 for Iowa at the past two national tournaments).
What it all could mean for Iowa wrestling this season
If the addition of Teemer ultimately come to pass – alongside Buchanan and the earlier offseason transfer of four-time 149-pound All-American Kyle Parco (Arizona State/Fresno State) – Iowa would be set to infuse a serious amount of proven, veteran talent to its lineup.
I mentioned that Buchanan/Teemer are ranked #1 at their respective weight classes entering this season, and Parco is the third-highest returning finisher at 149.
Combine that trio with 2024 All-Americans Drake Ayala (2nd at 125) and Michael Caliendo (4th at 165) and half of the Hawkeye lineup could very well be filled by top-five finishers from last year’s national tournament.
Nelson Brands (5th at 174 in 2023) could add another as he returns from his own gambling-suspension hiatus, likely at either 174 or 184 pounds – where’s he’s currently ranked #5 by Flo.
That’s six.
The promise doesn’t end there either – as every Hawkeye fan is dying to get a full look at redshirt freshmen Gabe Arnold (ranked 6th at 174) and Ben Kueter (ranked #11 at 285).
Add in possible lightweight introductions of fellow highly rated Class of 2023 recruits Ryder Block (141) and Kale Petersen (125/133) and you’ve got the potential for a lineup with 8/10 new starters from a year ago that has both tons of proven veteran production and tantalizing fresh young talent.
Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the three other past NCAA qualifiers on the roster (Victor Voinovich III, Caleb Rathjen, Patrick Kennedy) who won’t be handing over their weights without a battle, nor the presence of the #2 ranked recruit in the country, Angelo Ferrari.
All of that would make for a far cry from 2023-24, when the life of the season (and many of the biggest names expected to contribute to it) was largely swallowed up before it ever even began by the ongoing gambling saga.
Look, Penn State would/will be heavy favorites either way, but this combination of moves/additions would get the Hawkeyes much more into the thick of the fight – as well as likely distance themselves from any other program in the country looking to join them.
