2022 All-American Real Woods to Transfer to Iowa

Yesterday, 2022 NCAA All-American Real Woods' name appeared in the transfer portal. Today, Woods announced that he will use his two remaining years of eligibility and transfer to Iowa. Woods amassed a 42-8 career record across three years at Stanford. This season he went 17-4 and finished sixth in the nation at 141 lbs. Woods entered the tournament as the fourth seed after capturing his second career Pac-12 Championship.

Iowa has a need at 141 lbs as four-time All-American Jaydin Eierman exhausted his eligibility in 2021-22. Eierman is one of five All-Americans that will leave the Hawkeyes this year. Adding Woods to the mix will help Iowa jump back into NCAA trophy contention next season.

When Stanford announced they were dropping their wrestling program, in the spring of 2020, Woods loaded up his schedule academically so he could graduate in four years. He will move on to Iowa as a graduate student.

With the top three NCAA finishers at 141 lbs this year finishing their eligibility, Woods will be one of the top contenders for a national title. He immediately jumped on the scene for the Cardinal in 2019-20, with a regular season that saw him win 17 of 18 matches, before cruising to a Pac-12 title. Woods was supposed to be the third seed at the 2020 tournament that never happened. He was named a first-time All-American by the NWCA.

The changing scope of the NCAA landscape indicates that Woods' move to Iowa will not be the only prominent transfer amongst the current power programs.