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The news in the offseason never seemed to stop and much of it centered around the transfer portal. While there are gripes about it (and many are understandable), it does add an element of intrigue around each collegiate season. Plenty of familiar faces have traded singlets over the past few months. The transfer portal isn’t just limited to a few select teams. The five teams atop InterMat’s preseason tournament rankings all had at least one major addition via the portal. Other teams hope to crash that party, potentially led by additions of their own. This year’s crop of transfers was about as good as any ever. There were two national champions who switched teams. How about a four-time All-American transfer? Or some young stars with multiple years of eligibility remaining. Yes, yes, and yes. All of the above were in and out of the portal this offseason. And since everyone loves a good set of rankings. We’ve ranked the wrestlers that have swapped teams via the portal leading into the 2025-26 season. The criteria for these rankings were potential impact on the upcoming season and beyond. Wrestlers who have more than one year of eligibility jumped over some more accomplished wrestlers with only one year remaining. 1. AJ Ferrari: Nebraska (from CSU Bakersfield) Even up a weight class, Ferrari will be a national title contender at 285 lbs. The 2021 NCAA champion, returned to college wrestling with Bakersfield and finished third in the nation at 197 lbs. The returning NCAA runner-up Cornhuskers could roll out a lineup that includes seven returning All-Americans and two past NCAA champions. There’s also a chance that Ferrari could have another year of eligibility after the 2025-26 campaign. 2. Rocco Welsh: Penn State (from Oklahoma State) Going from Zack Ryder to Rocco Welsh, Penn State has a wrestler who has made the NCAA finals once (in his only previous appearance at nationals). He still has three years of eligibility remaining. 3. Zack Ryder: Oklahoma State (from Penn State) The reason Ryder moved above many wrestlers with NCAA credentials is that he has four years of eligibility remaining. The U20 world silver medalist, Ryder, plus David Taylor/Zahid Valencia/Dustin Plott, and more, is a scary proposition. 4. Rocky Elam: Iowa State (from Missouri) It’s not every day that you can add a four-time All-American to your roster. Actually, after this year, I’m not sure it will be possible at all! Rocky Elam gives Iowa State an instant title contender at 197 lbs and will form a formidable 1-2 punch with Yonger Bastida at the end of the ISU lineup. 5. Richie Figueroa: Oklahoma State (from Arizona State) Two former NCAA champions on the move! Richie Figueroa has one year of eligibility remaining and seemed poised to wrestle 133 lbs for the Cowboys. Could the change in weight, new scenery, and training partners like Roman Bravo-Young and Daton Fix help Figueroa finish on top of the podium? 6. Ethan Stiles: Ohio State (from Oregon State) Stiles was someone who really burst onto the scene for Oregon State in the second half of the season and ended up on the NCAA podium. He has three years of eligibility remaining, which helps his value here. Stiles can be even more dangerous than before after working alongside a two-time NCAA champion in Jesse Mendez. 7. Nasir Bailey: Iowa (from Little Rock) Entering the 2024-25 season, Nasir Bailey was seen as one of the favorites at 133, as he was fourth in the country the previous year. That didn’t end up happening, but Bailey is expected to be up a weight class for Iowa and will have the opportunity to establish himself as a title contender. 8. Jore Volk: Minnesota (from Wyoming) The former Big 12 champion and All-American is returning to wrestle in his home state. With a potential high NCAA finish at 125 lbs, Volk could help lead Minnesota into NCAA team trophy territory. His addition spices up the Big Ten as this weight, the conference only had one returning AA at 125 lbs, prior to Volk’s arrival. 9. Lachlan McNeil: Michigan (from North Carolina) The move to Michigan makes sense on a couple of different levels for the three-time All-American McNeil. Lots of talent in the Wolverine room. He’s much closer to his hometown, Toronto. Michigan’s Cliff Keen Wrestling Club has a reputation for adding competitors who aren’t representing the USA internationally. McNeil has wrestled the preseason #1, Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), very tough. Can Michigan push him over the top? 10. Casey Swiderski: Oklahoma State (from Iowa State) A loaded Oklahoma State squad adds a past All-American in Casey Swiderski. As of now, he looks like the projected starter for the Cowboys at 149 lbs. Swiderski missed the entire 2024-25 campaign after finishing seventh at 149 lbs in 2024. 11. Stevo Poulin: Iowa State (from Northern Colorado) 12. Vinny Zerban: Iowa State (from Northern Colorado) Stevo Poulin and Vinny Zerban were not initially in the transfer portal; however, they jumped in after UNC head coach Troy Nickerson took the Army job. Each of these wrestlers were All-Americans in 2025. Each has a conference title from the Big 12. The pair, along with other transfers, could help push Iowa State into the top three - after missing out on the top 20 entirely last year. 13. Dylan Fishback: Ohio State (from NC State) In two years at NC State, Dylan Fishback finished as an ACC runner-up twice and advanced to the NCAA Round of 12 both years. Could going back closer to home help Fishback get over the hump? He’ll have to fight a lot of young talent for spaces on the podium in 2026. 14. Alex Facundo: Oklahoma State (from Penn State) Also joining Oklahoma State is Alex Facundo. He likely had some sort of a relationship with David Taylor, while he was at Penn State, and Taylor the NLWC. Facundo only really has had one year of collegiate action. In that season, he was seeded 13th at NCAA’s. He’s higher than some more accomplished wrestlers on this list because of his new home and two years of eligibility. 15. Rafael Hipolito: Oklahoma (from Virginia Tech) Rafael Hipolito stormed on the scene for Virginia Tech and captured an ACC title at 157 lbs and the fourth seed at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Unfortunately, Hipolito only went 1-2 and was eliminated much earlier than he anticipated. He’ll join an Oklahoma program that went through a huge facelift over the summer and will feature plenty of redshirt freshmen and transfers in their 2025-26 lineup. 16. Dean Peterson: Iowa (from Rutgers) It’s not very often that Iowa missed out on the NCAA podium at 125 lbs, but that’s what happened in 2025. The Iowa staff went to the portal to ensure that doesn’t happen again and landed Dean Peterson. Peterson is a two-time NCAA Round of 12 finisher who hopes that the Brands brothers and the Hawkeye Wrestling Club will help him break through in 2026. 17. Peyten Kellar: Oklahoma (from Ohio) Another new face in the Sooner wrestling room is 2024 All-American Peyten Kellar. Kellar was fifth at the 157 lb weight class in 2024 and started the following year with a 10-2 record. He missed the remainder of the season due to eligibility concerns. Kellar is expected to move up to 165 lbs for Oklahoma. 18. Lenny Pinto: Rutgers (from Nebraska) Lenny Pinto has been a Big Ten finalist, seeded in the top eight twice, but is still looking for his first All-American honor. For the past two years, Pinto’s seasons have ended in the NCAA Bloodround. He’s hoping that a reunion with former Nebraska teammate, turned Rutgers assistant, Mikey Labriola will provide the winning recipe for success. 19. Chance Lamer: Nebraska (from Cal Poly) The graduation of 2025 NCAA champion, Ridge Lovett, left Nebraska with a hole at 149 lbs. Luckily, they added Chance Lamer, a two-time NCAA Round of 12 finisher. Lamer spent most of last season ranked in the top 15, but ended up going 1-2 at nationals. He’ll have a great training situation with NCAA finalists Brock Hardy and Antrell Taylor surrounding him - plus Lovett from the RTC and assistant coach James Green. 20. Jordan Williams: Iowa (from Little Rock) A year ago, we wrote about Jordan Williams leaving Oklahoma State for Little Rock. At Little Rock, Williams won a Pac-12 title, went 26-6, and came up a match shy of the NCAA podium. With his move to Iowa, Williams will likely move up to 157 lbs. 21. Christian Carroll: Wyoming (from Iowa State) Will a Wyoming room that has produced a handful of high-quality upperweights be the perfect spot for Christian Carroll? He’s expected to compete at heavyweight for the Cowboys and has a returning All-American, Joey Novak, to work with. 22. Isaac Dean: Iowa State (from Rider) 2024-25 was a breakout season for Isaac Dean. Previously, he had not made an NCAA Tournament. He announced his presence with a fifth place finish in Vegas and winning a MAC title and earned a seventh seed at NCAA’s. 23. Chris Cannon: Minnesota (from Northwestern) Strictly based on past credentials, Chris Cannon should be much higher on this list. He isn’t because he’s been hampered by injuries for the last two years. During that time, Cannon has wrestled a combined 15 matches. Last year, he did compete at the Big Ten Championships, but wasn’t able to qualify for NCAA’s. Should Cannon get healthy and return to the form that made him a two-time All-American, he’d be a huge boost for the Gophers. 24. Cody Chittum: Chattanooga (from Iowa State) Here’s another case of a wrestler transferring back to his home state in search of success. Cody Chittum was a two-time national qualifier for Iowa State and made the Big 12 finals once. He’s looking to break into the top ten (and beyond), as he’s been around #15 in the nation for most of his collegiate career. Chittum will lead a group that could be very good at Chattanooga, perhaps the SoCon favorites, in 2025-26. 25. David Evans: Utah Valley (from Penn State) The formula for an All-American in year one at Utah Valley for Adam Hall was to find a graduate student who had been stuck behind some studs in a loaded Penn State room and give him a chance. It worked with Terrell Barraclough, who was third in the Big 12 and fifth in the nation. Could it work in 2025-26 with David Evans? Back in 2023-24, Evans defeated All-American CJ Composto (Penn) and gave teammate, Tyler Kasak, a couple of good matches.