Drew Hildebrandt is transferring to Penn State; Lions land big addition at 125
Drew Hildebrandt is transferring to Penn State.
The Nittany Lions have made a major transfer portal splash ahead of the spring semester, and the former Central Michigan standout and two-time All-American will join head coach Cael Sanderson’s team. He was officially listed on the team’s online roster Wednesday morning.
Why it matters
Picking up the Granger, Ind., native goes a long way toward shoring up the murky situation that Penn State is in at 125 pounds as the season begins. With Robbie Howard sidelined due to an offseason surgery, Sanderson and his staff held a competition for the spot.
They still will, of course, but it’s unlikely that Jake Campbell, Baylor Shunk or Brandon Meredith will beat out Hildebrandt for the starting job come tournament time. In fact, he’s likely to win it long before that.
That said, it was not immediately clear when Hildebrandt could begin practicing and competing with Penn State.
The team opened its season with two wins at the Journeymen Duals inside of the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pa. Then, it beat Army in its home opener before rolling up three victories at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in a Florida.
“Well, I think every program probably checks the transfer portal every day,” Sanderson said at team media day. “Right? So I mean, I would never, or anybody, I don’t think, would ever say that, you know, the transfer portal was not an option.”
Penn State is fortunate that it was an option. Hildebrandt finished fourth at NCAAs a year ago and is a two-time Mid-American Conference champion. Wrestling runs in the Hildebrandt family. Drew’s sister, Sarah, won bronze at the Toyko Olympics in women’s freestyle.
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Hildebrandt earned first-team All-America honors when he earned the No. 6 seed for the canceled 2020 NCAA Championships with a 31-3 record. He posted a mark of 45-5 over the past two years, and 83-33 overall at CMU not counting his redshirt season.
He qualified for NCAAs three times (2019-21), and was also honored off the mat as a three-time Academic All-MAC pick, a MAC distinguished scholar athlete (2020), a two-time NWCA National All-Academic Team selection (2020-21) and won the MAC Medal of Excellence in 2020.
Moving forward
It is not immediately clear when Hildebrandt could make his debut. But, being listed on the roster is certainly a step in that direction.
Penn State returns to action for its first match of 2022 when it travels to Maryland on Jan. 7. The Lions then host Indiana at Rec Hall on Jan. 9.
