Iowa men’s wrestling roster set for shakeup on eve of fall semester

The first day of classes in Iowa City isn’t officially until tomorrow, and the opening day of the 2024-25 NCAA wrestling season not for another two-plus months after that.

But here we are in late-August, and it sure seems like the Iowa men’s wrestling program is somewhere between ‘on the precipice’ and ‘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.

An updated 2024-25 roster has yet to be put out on the team’s official website – whereas the women’s program already has as of late last week – so none of what I’m about to detail has been ‘officially’ confirmed by the men’s program itself.

That said, the official University of Iowa student directory is a pretty hard-and-fast place to look when it comes to discovering who is actually enrolled in school for a particular semester, and thus eligible to compete for one of the Hawkeye athletic programs.

As of this afternoon, there’s one (major) new name listed that could have a significant impact on Iowa this season as well as six absentees who are not – including a quartet of former postseason starters.

We’ll dive into 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 sure seems to have even more legs to it now, as I can confirm that Buchanan is officially listed in the University of Iowa student directory on the eve of the fall semester.

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 second at 197 pounds in FloWrestling’s preseason rankings – where he could wind up first if four-time Penn State national champion Carter Starocci instead competes at either 174 or 184 – 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 assuming Starocci goes a different weight (which I believe he will).

Who’s Out – the ‘Ice Man’ goeth

The most notable of the half-dozen Hawkeyes who (at present) don’t appear to be returning in 2024-25 is the aforementioned Zach Glazier.

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 at his next stop.

Who’s Out – two more 2024 postseason starters

In addition to Glazier, a pair of Hawkeyes from last year’s postseason lineup are absent from the student directory 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.

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.

If this is the end of his Iowa career, he certainly made an impact while donning the Black & Gold singlet – and will have three years remaining to compete (as does Riggins).

Who’s Out – the Siebrecht siblings

Another former starter who may be headed elsewhere is 157-pounder Cobe Siebrecht.

Similar to the journey of Zach Glazier, 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.

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 also no longer appears in the student directory.

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, 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/sixth in 2021-22 before reaching the finals this past season in his latest appearance – a 5-0 decision loss versus Penn State’s Levi Haines.

However, despite plenty of previous rumblings in addition to the latest report of the move, Teemer (85-17 career record) is not listed in the Iowa student directory at present.

In fact, as of this typing you can still find him on the 2024-25 Arizona State roster.

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 wait to pop the ‘champagne bottles’ just yet if I’m an Iowa wrestling fan.

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 additions of both Buchanan/Teemer ultimately come to pass – alongside 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 could conceivably be 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 #4 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.

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