Penn State wrestler enters NCAA transfer portal; what does it mean for the Lions lineup?

Penn State wrestler Michael Beard has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

The 197-pound former NCAA All-American can still return to the Nittany Lions if he chooses to do so. However, that seems fairly unlikely at this point in time.

Beard was 10-6 for Penn State during the 2020-2021 season and finished seventh at the NCAA Tournament. The Pottstown, Pa., native then lost a wrestle-off to Cornell transfer Max Dean at the start of the 2021-2022 season. Dean would ultimately keep the spot throughout the season and go on to win the national title in his weight class by beating Iowa’s Jacob Warner 3-2 in the finals at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit back in March.

Pat Mineo of The Wrestling Room first reported Beard entering the portal. On3’s Matt Zenitz also confirmed the news.

Penn State wrestling situation at 197 pounds

Both wrestlers knew coming into last season that only one of them could win the starting job. But, both have eligibility remaining.

Dean has the free COVID year provided by the NCAA for all athletes left. And, according to his Instagram account, he intends to use it. After thanking numerous people who helped him reach the sport’s pinnacle, he revealed the news.

“Winning an NCAA title has been a dream of mine since I was a toddler, and your combined effort helped that dream come to a pinnacle last evening,” Dean wrote. “I am forever in debt, and I cannot wait to do it with you guys again next year. 

“While there are 100s more people that deserve my gratitude, I will end my long winded message here by saying that I am ecstatic to see what the future holds for all of us, and that I know that the best days lay ahead.”

Where could Beard end up?

With Dean returning, Beard was almost certainly set to sit behind the defending national champion yet again. And, with multiple years of eligibility left, his decision to seek a school where he can start immediately makes plenty of sense, even if one teammate said the two developed a strong relationship over the last year.

“Whenever Max first came on the program, obviously, him and Beard were in the same weight class and you can sometimes get some tension there, but we didn’t see that,” 184-pound national champ Aaron Brooks told the Penn State Sports Network in November. “We saw it a little bit, right, but then they sort of wrestled each other and they’re both like, ‘we’re gonna make each other so much better.’ They actually talked about that. You put all this little stuff to the side, like ‘I want to start, I want to start’ In reality, it’s like, me wanting to start, and you wanting to start, we’re just going to keep getting better.

“I think they both realize that and that’s a really mature thing to do. For those guys being able to do that, it’s only going to make our program better. I think that’s mainly what speaks for our program, those two being able to do stuff like that. We see it a lot with our team.”

InterMat’s Jagger Noir believes Beard could ultimately end up moving on but staying in the Big Ten.

“I’d like to see him uphold his original commitment and return to Northwestern, but it’s really anyone’s guess where he ends up,” Noir writes. “My guess is Michigan. Find me a more perfect storyline than a guy losing his spot only to transfer to a rival, that just happens to be the home state of the guy who beat him, just to challenge him on the big stage.”

All told, Beard figures to be in high demand and will almost certainly will have many options to choose from.

Lions lineup outlook

Penn State undoubtedly had the best 1-2 punch in the country at 197 pounds. That will no longer be the case. But, again, unless a shocker happens and Beard returns, it’s totally understandable why he would not want to wait another season to regain the starting role. He was 8-2 in 2021-2022 but lost his only dual meet match to Nebraska’s Colton Shultz, 6-4.

With Beard in the portal and Dean set to return, 197 pounds is now solidified for head coach Cael Sanderson’s Nittany Lions.

The next question comes at 133 pounds and whether or not Roman Bravo-Young will use the free COVID year as Dean is. He has not made his decision public yet and might not for some time. His return would obviously boost a lineup that has national title aspirations either way. But, having the multi-time champ back in the mix would only strengthen Penn State’s outlook heading into the fall.

Beyond that, the Lions have question marks at 125 pounds, 141 pounds, 157 pounds, and 165 pounds. Most answers appear to already be on the roster, but Penn State will add former PIAA champ Levi Haines to the mix this summer. He could fill the void at 157, while Alex Facundo is the likely answer at 165 pounds. Robbie Howard figures to slot in at 125, while Beau Bartlett is expected to drop from 149 to 141. Shayne Van Ness, then, is the likely winner of the then-open 149-pound job.