Stiles and Wells Enter the Transfer Portal

Just when you think the transfer portal is clearing out a bit, Thursday happened and a pair of notable names popped up. The first is 2025 All-American and InterMat All-Freshman team member Ethan Stiles of Oregon State. Stiles started the year at 157 lbs and has some success with a 7-3 record. He would drop to 149 lbs and almost immediately took off. Stiles won five of six duals at 149 lbs and earned ranked wins in three of his five victories. 

After a second-place finish at one of the Pac-12 toughest weights, Stiles earned the #12 seed in Philly. At Nationals, Stiles shocked four-time All-American Kyle Parco of Iowa with an 8-0 major decision in the Round of 16. After a quarterfinal loss, Stiles emphatically claimed his spot on the NCAA podium by pinning Lehigh’s Malyke Hines. After securing All-American status, Stiles defeated Rider’s Sammy Alvarez before settling into sixth place. 

This will be Stiles’ second time in the transfer portal. As the #41 overall recruit in the Class of 2023, Stiles signed with Nebraska. He went 15-3 in 2023-24 while redshirting for the Huskers at 157 lbs, but then transferred to Oregon State. 

Also entering the transfer portal today was Minnesota’s two-time national qualifier Tyler Wells. Wells has manned the 133 lb weight class for each of his two years with the Gophers. In 2023-24, as a true freshman who was not ranked on the MatScouts Big Board, Wells advanced to the NCAA bloodround. 

This year, Wells came into the NCAA tournament with an 11-8 record after receiving an at-large berth. He was able to notch a pair of wins, the most notable coming over Big 12 champion Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) who was the #5 seed. 

Earlier this offseason, Minnesota added All-American 125 lber Jore Volk through the portal. That could mean that the incumbent at 125 lbs, Cooper Flynn, might bump up to 133 lbs. 

Stiles has three years of eligibility remaining, while Wells has two and a redshirt. 

As always, we’ll track the status of these two and others currently (and soon to be) in the transfer portal.