Ryan Holmes

It looks like a pair of heavy hitters will be joining the Iowa lineup next season. On Tuesday, (May21) there were two announcements that brought the Hawkeye faithful to their feet. First, Nelson Brands announced that he would be back next season then about 30 minutes later Kyle Parco, who entered the transfer portal a month ago, announced he would be joining the Hawkeyes next season as well. Parco comes to Iowa City with a 91-18 career record (according to Wrestlestat) and four All-America finishes of 6th ('21), 8th ('22), 4th ('23), and 5th ('24) last season all coming at 149-pounds. He was also a three-time Pac-12 champion while at ASU. Brands, who is coming off a one-year suspension after being involved in the widely talked about gambling situation, makes things very interesting. The 2023 NCAA All-American will be part of a bit of a log jam in the Hawks lineup at 174/184 next season. Of note, Iowa returns Patrick Kennedy, who manned the spot at 174, as well as Gabe Arnold, who had some very impactful moments during his true freshman redshirt year at both 174 and 184. Add in top-10 recruit Angelo Ferrari who projects to be a 174/184 as well. While the Hawks definitely got stronger with the pair of Tuesday evening announcements, it got a little difficult as well. Iowa's Lineup Possibilities So, what could the Iowa lineup look like next season with all this middleweight firepower? Let’s take a look some of the possibilities. 125: Drake Ayala – ‘24 NCAA runner-up 133: Cullan Schriever – wrestled both 133 and 141 in 23-24 season 141: Cade Siebrecht – competed at 149 in his two seasons at Iowa 149: Kyle Parco or Caleb Rathjen or Victor Voinovich – Parco earned 4th AA at ASU; Rathjen went 1-2 at ’24 NCAAs; Voinovich was a qualifier in ’23 at OK State 157: Parco or Rathjen or Voinovich or Cobe Siebrecht – Siebrecht was a qualifier in ’23 165: Michael Caliendo – 2x NCAA All-American 174: Nelson Brands or Patrick Kennedy or Gabe Arnold or Angelo Ferrari – (Notes above) 184: Brands or Kennedy or Arnold or Ferrari 197: Zach Glazier – ’24 NCAA qualifier 285: Ben Kueter or Bradley Hill – Hill went 1-2 at ’24 NCAAs; Kueter looked promising coming off first football season Focusing on 141, 149, 157 first. Someone at 149 will have to drop and someone will have to go up. Parco could go up and contend for the spot at 157 against Cobe Siebrecht, a 2023 NCAA qualifier, while Rathjen and Voinovich, battle it out at 149 with whoever loses the wrestle-off dropping to 141. At 174 my guess is it will probably come down to Brands vs Kennedy for the spot with Arnold taking over fully at 184 next season. The easiest approach to Ferrari is for him to redshirt, despite his want to be in the lineup as a true freshman. And speaking of Ferrari, it’s yet to be determined (or officially announced) if his older brother AJ, the 2021 197-pound NCAA Champion, will be sporting the black and gold next year. Right now, the only indicators are pictures of him and Kueter flexing in the Iowa room or videos of him working out in their room. If he joins the squad that will make things tough at 197 with Glazier returning as well. We all know how that interaction went down at the Soldier Solute. In the end, next year’s Iowa lineup could be very dangerous, it’s just a matter of who will be manning the battle stations in a few key spots.

After announcing on May 1 that he would be looking for a new home, 2023 NCAA Champion Andrew Alirez announced via his Instagram he’s staying at Northern Colorado. Alirez added this statement on his Instagram story: This past season Alirez took an Olympic redshirt in preparation for the Olympic Trials, but ultimately came up short in his quest to claim the spot at 65kg when he lost to Nick Lee, who was recently named Assistant Coach at Penn State, 11-9 in the semifinals. Now, the Greeley, Colorado native will return to UNC to complete his college career after exploring his options in the transfer portal. The last time Alirez was in the lineup for the Bears he went undefeated (28-0) winning a Big 12 title before becoming the University of Northern Colorado’s first NCAA Champion since 1969. Watch Alirez’s 2023 Championship Win over Iowa’s Real Woods Although we now know that he will be putting his home state’s singlet back on for another year, we do not know if he will be returning to the 141-pound weight class or moving up to 149 for the 2024-25 season.

The wrestling schedule for the 2024 Olympic Games is set. Check out when your favorite wrestlers will be competing. For mobile, view the schedule here! Date Event Time (ET) August 5 Men's Greco-Roman 60kg Round of 16 Women's Freestyle 68kg Round of 16 Men's Greco-Roman 130kg Round of 16 Men's Greco-Roman 60kg Quarterfinals Women's Freestyle 68kg Quarterfinals Men's Greco-Roman 130kg Quarterfinals 9a-11a August 5 Men's Greco-Roman 60kg Semifinals Men's Greco-Roman 130kg Semifinals Women's Freestyle 68kg Semifinals 3p-4p August 6 Men's Greco-Roman 60kg Repechage Women's Freestyle 68kg Repechage Men's Greco-Roman 130kg Repechage Men's Greco-Roman 77kg Round of 16 Women's Freestyle 50kg Round of 16 Men's Greco-Roman 97kg Round of 16 Men's Greco-Roman 77kg Quarterfinals Women's Freestyle 50kg Quarterfinals Men's Greco-Roman 97kg Quarterfinals 5a-7:30a August 6 Men's Greco-Roman 77kg Semifinals Men's Greco-Roman 97kg Semifinals Women's Freestyle 50kg Semifinals Men's Greco-Roman 60kg Bronze Men's Greco-Roman 60kg Gold Medal Men's Greco-Roman 130kg Bronze Men's Greco-Roman 130kg Gold Medal Women's Freestyle 68kg Bronze Women's Freestyle 68kg Gold Medal 12:15p-4p August 7 Men's Greco-Roman 77kg Repechage Women's Freestyle 50kg Repechage Men's Greco-Roman 97kg Repechage Men's Greco-Roman 67kg Round of 16 Women's Freestyle 53kg Round of 16 Men's Greco-Roman 87kg Round of 16 Men's Greco-Roman 67kg Quarterfinals Women's Freestyle 53kg Quarterfinals Men's Greco-Roman 87kg Quarterfinals 5a-7:30a August 7 Men's Greco-Roman 67kg Semifinals Men's Greco-Roman 87kg Semifinals Women's Freestyle 53kg Semifinals Men's Greco-Roman 77kg Bronze Men's Greco-Roman 77kg Gold Medal Men's Greco-Roman 97kg Bronze Men's Greco-Roman 97kg Gold Medal Women's Freestyle 50kg Bronze Women's Freestyle 50kg Gold Medal 12:15p-4p August 8 Men's Greco-Roman 67kg Repechage Women's Freestyle 53kg Repechage Men's Greco-Roman 87kg Repechage Men's Freestyle 57kg Round of 16 Women's Freestyle 57kg Round of 16 Men's Freestyle 86kg Round of 16 Men's Freestyle 57kg Quarterfinals Women's Freestyle 57kg Quarterfinals Men's Freestyle 86kg Quarterfinals 5a-7:30a August 8 Men's Freestyle 57kg Semifinals Men's Freestyle 86kg Semifinals Women's Freestyle 57kg Semifinals Men's Greco-Roman 67kg Bronze Men's Greco-Roman 67kg Gold Medal Men's Greco-Roman 87kg Bronze Men's Greco-Roman 87kg Gold Medal Women's Freestyle 53kg Bronze Women's Freestyle 53kg Gold Medal 12:15p-4p August 9 Men's Freestyle 57kg Repechage Women's Freestyle 57kg Repechage Men's Freestyle 86kg Repechage Men's Freestyle 74kg Round of 16 Women's Freestyle 62kg Round of 16 Men's Freestyle 125kg Round of 16 Men's Freestyle 74kg Quarterfinals Women's Freestyle 62kg Quarterfinals Men's Freestyle 125kg Quarterfinals 5a-7:30a August 9 Men's Freestyle 74kg Semifinals Men's Freestyle 125kg Semifinals Women's Freestyle 62kg Semifinals Men's Freestyle 57kg Bronze Men's Freestyle 57kg Gold Medal Men's Freestyle 86kg Bronze Men's Freestyle 86kg Gold Medal Women's Freestyle 57kg Bronze Women's Freestyle 57kg Gold Medal 12:15p-4p August 10 Men's Freestyle 74kg Repechage Women's Freestyle 62kg Repechage Men's Freestyle 125kg Repechage Men's Freestyle 65kg Round of 16 Women's Freestyle 76kg Round of 16 Men's Freestyle 97kg Round of 16 Men's Freestyle 65kg Quarterfinals Women's Freestyle 76kg Quarterfinals Men's Freestyle 97kg Quarterfinals 5a-7:30a August 10 Men's Freestyle 65kg Semifinals Men's Freestyle 97kg Semifinals Women's Freestyle 76kg Semifinals Men's Freestyle 74kg Bronze Men's Freestyle 74kg Gold Medal Men's Freestyle 125kg Bronze Men's Freestyle 125kg Gold Medal Women's Freestyle 62kg Bronze Women's Freestyle 62kg Gold Medal 12:15p-4p August 11 Men's Freestyle 65kg Repechage Women's Freestyle 76kg Repechage Men's Freestyle 97kg Repechage Men's Freestyle 65kg Bronze Men's Freestyle 65kg Gold Medal Men's Freestyle 97kg Bronze Men's Freestyle 97kg Gold Medal Women's Freestyle 76kg Bronze Women's Freestyle 76kg Gold Medal 5a-8:30a

It’s official. The David Taylor era has begun in Stillwater, Oklahoma as he addressed a full press room that included his future wrestlers, the media, Cowboy fans, and alumni. Taylor spoke about the importance of family as he spoke of his mom, dad and wife along with the things he wants to bring to the Oklahoma State wrestling program. If you missed it, you can watch the full press conference here. 1. Will he continue to compete? After wondering what Taylor would do since leaving the mat after losing to Aaron Brooks in the Olympic Trials finals a few weeks ago, we now have our answer. The Magic Man’s competitive career has come to an end. Taylor spoke to making the decision and how “it was tough to continue” competing after winning Olympic gold in 2021. He mentioned that he felt the desire dwindling and after a lot of thought, tears, and contemplation he believed it was the right time to move on to the next chapter, which is now becoming the head coach of the Cowboys. He also included his new assistant coach Thomas Gilman when speaking of how they both are now done competing. 2. What brought Taylor to Stillwater? The right situation, with the right resources, and a program that can win. That was the formula for bringing Taylor to Stillwater, OK. He and Director of Athletics Chad Weiberg spoke about the opportunity of taking over and that he was incredibly honored just to be mentioned for the job. Ultimately, the support of the athletic department along with Paycom CEO Chad Richison and the formula Taylor feels he can succeed with is what got the job done. 3. What’s the David Taylor program? When it came to the wrestling program, Taylor brought the same outlook that we’ve heard from him as a competitor as well as his former coach, Cael Sanderson, at Penn State – score points and have fun. It’s that approach that many believed Taylor would be bringing with him from the perennial championship program in State College, PA he was a part of as a collegiate champion. Taylor also spoke to the impact that Sanderson and his high school coach, Jeff Jordan, had on him when it came to creating his own philosophy and what he looks to bring to the Cowboys. 4. RTC Outlook On the RTC side of things, he said that the “first order of business” was making sure that Daton Fix was staying to train at the Cowboy RTC. Taylor said that he and Fix sat down and talked and made sure that the now former Cowboy multiple-time NCAA finalist and All-American wasn't going anywhere. Furthermore, he said that there will be a "grass roots approach" to things that expands beyond the college and international level and down to the youth because while he wants to raise the bar for wrestling at Oklahoma State he also wants to raise the bar for wrestling in the state of Oklahoma. 5. Coaching Staff There have already been 2 hires to the staff as Jimmy Kennedy will be Taylor's Associate Head Coach and Thomas Gilman will be an Assistant. When it came to who else would be joining the staff, Taylor mentioned that they are still figuring that out and that there could be more additional coaches coming. With Tyler Caldwell sticking around right now to train the team until things get settled, you wonder if he will remain on staff in some role moving forward. 6. Timeline There is a lot of moving parts and things to figure out when it comes to moving his family from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma along with many other things, but he stressed the importance of getting into the room to help his guys prepare for the upcoming U20 and U23 trials. In the interim, Tyler Caldwell, who was an assistant on John Smith’s staff, will be filling in to keep things moving and help the guys prepare, along with Daton Fix, who is remaining with the RTC.

David Taylor and the new staff at Oklahoma State are ready to get started. Watch the introductory press conference of Taylor, Thomas Gilman and Jimmy Kennedy as they address Cowboy nation for the first time.

This morning the second installment of the NCAA Coaches Poll and first RPI rankings were released. The coaches' rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days. The RPI is a calculation that consists of three factors: winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule) and opponent's opponent winning percentage (opponent's strength of schedule). Only matches against Division I opponents at the designated weight class count towards the RPI and a wrestler needs to have wrestled 15 matches to be ranked. Click here to view the full list.

In Braxton Amos’ first match at the 2023 NCAA Championships his shoulder dislocated and in 1-minute and 38 seconds his run came to an end. But he’s making his way back to the mat with a different goal in mind. During this conversation with Ryan Holmes, Amos discusses what happened in the match, back in the tunnel afterwards, his recovery and what his future plans entail. (Click picture below to watch)

The 2023 offseason coaching carousel got off to a slow start, but has picked up steam. This past week, in particular, there were a handful of notable names that changed jobs. Movement begats movement and as new jobs are accepted, typically new positions open up. We’ll certainly have more updates as the summer progresses and fades into fall and the college preseason. Obe Blanc (North Dakota State Head Coach) - North Dakota State Associate Head Coach Steve Bleise (Army West Point) - CSU Bakersfield Assistant Coach Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State Assistant Coach) - Oklahoma State recruiting coordinator Marcus Coleman (Davidson Assistant Coach) - Iowa State athlete Evan DeLong (Clarion Assistant Coach) Ceron Francisco (North Dakota State Assistant Coach) - Nittany Lion WC athlete Ben Freeman (Buffalo Volunteer Assistant) - Buffalo athlete BJ Futrell (Northwestern Assistant Coach) - Penn Assistant Coach Tommy Gantt (NC State Assistant Coach) - Wolfpack Wrestling Club James Green (Nebraska Assistant Coach) - USA Wrestling Freestyle Development Gary Wayne Harding (Oklahoma State Recruiting Coordinator Josh Heil (Campbell Assistant Coach) - Campbell Director of Operations Hayden Hidlay (North Dakota State Assistant Coach) - NC State Student-Athlete Development Coordinator Roger Kish (Oklahoma Head Coach) - North Dakota State Head Coach Austin Marsden (Oklahoma Assistant Coach) - North Dakota State Assistant Coach Scott Mattingly (North Dakota State Assistant Coach) - Gardner-Webb Associate Head Coach Quincy Monday (Princeton Assistant Coach) - Princeton athlete Steve Mytych (Rutgers Assistant Coach) - Rutgers Director of Operations Austin O’Connor (Illinois Assistant Coach) - North Carolina athlete Donny Ooten (Bucknell Assistant Coach) Peter Pappas (George Mason Assistant Coach) - George Mason athlete Ian Parker (Virginia Assistant Coach) - Army West Point Assistant Coach Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State Associate Head Coach) - North Carolina Head Coach Charles Small (Long Island Assistant Coach) - Purdue Graduate Assistant Devin Schroder (Wyoming Assistant Coach) - Cleveland State Assistant Coach Cam Sykora (Oklahoma Volunteer Assistant) - North Dakota State Volunteer Assistant Ty Walz (Brown Assistant Coach) - SERTC athlete

James Hackney sits down to talk with Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith to discuss NCAA's in KC, the experience on a Missouri team with 5 All-Americans, and some exciting schedule updates. Coach Smith also goes into the recent rule changes and how he thinks it will affect the upcoming season. He also recounts his experience with realignment and being the only SEC team with wrestling Watch the full interview here.