Women's Collegiate Transfer Update

It's been a big summer already for wrestlers entering the portal. Here is a quick update of some notable moves into the portal and commitments as well.

Commitments

Emily Mendez - Transfer to William Jewell from Adrian

Mendez announced she was transferring after this year’s NCWWCs. She was a 3X qualifier for the Bulldogs, and had a sixth Place All-American finish in 2021. She broke into the top 10 in the 109 lb weight class late last season. She ran into tough opponents early in this tournament dropping a match to Ava Bayless in the second round and Jenavi Alejandro after winning two other matches by tech fall on the back side. Mendez made a big splash at the King Tornado Open this past season defeating 3x AA Samantha Miller (also in this article) to win the top spot. The Cardinals did not have a qualifier at 109lbs this past season, so Mendez will be a real boost to that spot (now 110 lbs) in the lineup. 

Samantha Miller - Transfer to McKendree from Mount Olive

Miller announced she will be spending her last season at McKendree after starting her career at Presbyterian and transferring to Mount Olive last season. Miller has been an All-American every year she’s wrestled in college finishing sixth, fifth, and fifth at 101 lbs for Presbyterian from 2021-2023 and finishing in 3rd last season at 109 lbs for Mount Olive. Miller has stated in interviews that she liked being up at 109 lbs, and will likely stay there (now 110 lbs) to compete for the Bearcats as she tries to finally get to the top of the podium at NCWWCs.

Katja Osteen - Transfer to Iowa from Simon Fraser

Osteen is a 2x All-American from Simon Fraser in 2022 and 2023 at the 191 lb weight class. She took last season off to train at the US Olympic Trainer Center in their Elite Accelerator Program. The new college weight classes will make things interesting with a 180 lb category as well as 207 lbs. The Hawkeyes have no shortage of talent at their upper weights with Jaycee Foeller coming in with her final year of eligibility after her runner-up finish last year and Alivia White, who just finished up her redshirt freshman year with a 19-5 record, including 14 pins and top 3 finishes at the Warrior Open, Soldier Salute and Missouri Valley Open. Add Osteen to the list of talented wrestlers contributing to the insane depth for Iowa this upcoming season. 

Jennifer Soto - Transferring to King from McKendree

Soto made the announcement of her transfer in a strongly worded Instagram post, announcing her excitement to join King’s program and Coach Moorman. Soto has been a top 5 ranked wrestler throughout her last season with the Bearcats, finishing fourth at regionals after a loss to teammate and 4x champ Cam Gueron. While Soto qualified for nationals, she went 1-2. In 2023, Soto had her first All-American finish when she came in fourth at 123 lbs her freshman season. King currently has some real talent at both of Soto’s previous weight classes, with NCWWC finalist Virginia Foard and third-place finisher Montana DeLawder at 123 lbs and finalist and top-ranked Victoria Baez-Dilone at 130l bs. With the possibility of redshirts, multiple qualifiers, and shifting weight classes, I think there is certainly a path for Soto to make her way into the lineup, and I am curious to see how she competes with top talent in the room.

Faith Cole - Transferring to Missouri Baptist from McKendree

Cole was one of the many talented wrestlers looking for a new home after Iowa Wesleyan closed down. Cole committed to Iowa Wesleyan after becoming the very first girl to become a 4x undefeated state champ in Missouri. Cole was an All-American during her time at Wesleyan, finishing 6th at 109 lbs, and then transferred to McKendree. Faith was a Cadet Pan-Am champ in 2021 and a Fargo champ in addition to her other accolades. While MoBap has some talent at lighter weights, they did not have any All-Americans at 109 lbs last season, and that is certainly the possibility Cole brings to the table. With Missouri Baptist’s move into the stacked Heart of America Conference with teams like Grand View, Central Methodist, Missouri Valley, and William Penn, The Spartans should look to utilize Cole and their other returning talent to make a big splash their first year.

Bella Ngo - Transfer to Texas Wesleyan from Iowa

While this announcement came back in February, I still think it is notable for the instant impact Ngo could have on the Texas Wesleyan lineup. Ngo committed to Iowa out of high school and had a 10-5 record with the Hawkeyes her freshman year, even taking second place at the Soldier Salute. Prior to college competition, Ngo finished fourth at USA Wrestling's Folkstyle Nationals in 2021 and had a third-place finish at the California State Championships her senior season in 2022. The Rams are returning Sooner Athletic Conference Champs, and are certainly hopeful that Ngo’s addition to the lineup helps them pull away even more from their NAIA competition.

Salyna Shotwell - Transfer to Life from McKendree

This is a homecoming for Shotwell as she originally committed to Life out of high school. After finishing as the NAIA runner-up in 2022 at 116 lbs she transferred to McKendree. During this past season, Shotwell was ranked in the top 10, placed fifth at Midlands, and 2nd at the MoVal Open. Shotwell will certainly be looking to improve upon her last run in the NAIA National tournament to claim a championship title, and while Life is stacked with talent at all weights including 2024 All-American Ariana Martinez at 116 lbs, I have a feeling Shotwell should be able to fight for a spot in the lineup given her talent.

There are a lot of additional transfer commitments already made and many more to come. Here are also a few notable wrestlers currently in the portal waiting to make a decision to transfer or stay with their original school:

Kaelani Shufeldt - Lock Haven (2024 NCWWC Runner Up, 109lbs)

Esther Han - Iowa (ranked in the top 5 last season at 136 lbs, MoVal Open Champ, ended season early due to injury) 

Payton Stroud - McKendree (3x All-American, 116 lbs)

Claire Agostini - Adrian (Ranked in top-10 at 143 lbs last season)

Kendall Bostelman- North Central (2023 All-American at 143 lbs)