InterMat Staff

Jackson County

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Matanzas

We keep getting transfer portal-related news today! The latest notable wrestler to enter the portal is 2024 NCAA third-place finisher Nasir Bailey. Bailey was the first wrestler in Little Rock program history to make the NCAA podium after beating Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) 3-0 in the 2024 bloodround. A few matches later, he was joined by teammate Stephen Little. The pair were instrumental in a 19th place finish for the Trojans. This year, Bailey was seeded third at the NCAA Championships, but ended up going 2-2 and missed the podium. He had close wins over Derrick Cardinal and Tyler Ferrara, but lost to Zan Fugitt in the Round of 16 and Evan Frost in the consolations. Also in the 2024-25 season, Bailey was selected to participate in the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic and lost a close bout to the eventual national champion Lucas Byrd. Bailey ended up winning his second Pac-12 title with an overtime win over Cal Poly’s Zeth Romney. It was his second win over the eventual NCAA third-place finisher. Joining Bailey in the portal is his Little Rock teammate Jordan Williams. Like Bailey, Williams was a Pac-12 champion in 2025. Also like Bailey, Williams defeated an eventual All-American in the Pac-12 finals. He majored Oregon State’s Ethan Stiles, who ended up taking sixth in Philly. At NCAA’s, Williams was the eighth seed and pushed the top-seeded, returning national champion, Caleb Henson, into sudden victory before falling. Williams would lose 5-0 to Sammy Alvarez (Rider) in the bloodround. Outside of Little Rock, we also have learned that Cody Chittum is now in the portal. He’s one of a number of notable Iowa State wrestlers in the portal (Kysen Terukina, Christian Carroll, Zach Redding, and Casey Swiderski). Chittum is fresh off a 2-2 showing at his second NCAA Tournament. Chittum was seeded 16th and earned a win before falling to top-seeded Tyler Kasak. He picked up another consolation victory, before getting eliminated by Minnesota’s Tommy Askey. Through two years at Iowa State, Chittum is 36-15 overall. This year he was sixth at the Big 12 Championships and last season he was a conference runner-up. Keep checking InterMat all spring and summer as the transfer news will continue to develop.

Fresh off of a third-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Championships and two individual national champions in year one under David Taylor, the Oklahoma State momentum continues to build. Today, 2024 All-American Casey Swiderski announced via social media that he’ll transfer to Oklahoma State from Big 12 rival Iowa State. News of Swiderski entering the portal spread as the NCAA Tournament kicked off last week. Swiderski was 39-17 during his two years of competition at Iowa State. He started for the Cyclones in 2022-23 as a true freshman and advanced to the NCAA Round of 12 after finishing fourth in the Big 12 at 141 lbs. A year later, Swiderski was third in the Big 12 and seventh at the NCAA Championships. Also in 2023-24, Swiderski was fifth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and had a win over the eventual NCAA fourth-place finisher, Ty Watters (West Virginia). Injuries prevented Swiderski from competing at all during the 2024-25 campaign. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining with the Cowboys. Swiderski could slot in at either the 141 or 149 lb weight classes. Before Swiderski’s addition, it appeared as if Teague Travis and/or Carter Young would be in the running for the starting role at 149 lbs. Should he drop down to 141 lbs, that could signal Tagen Jamison moving up to 149. Oklahoma State also has a large, talented recruiting class inked for 2025. Swiderski’s addition (at 141 or 149) could help ensure that those promising recruits are able to redshirt, if needed.

Grand Forks

Bemidji

Southridge

Elkin

Ripon

Campbell

Fremont

Odessa

North Kansas City

Omaha North

This afternoon, 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrari announced that he has entered the transfer portal. Over the weekend, Ferrari finished third in the 197 lb weight class in Philadelphia wrestling for CSU Bakersfield. For the year, Ferrari finished at 22-1 overall with his only loss coming in the NCAA semifinals to the eventual champion, Stephen Buchanan (Iowa). Buchanan never got a takedown but earned a 3-0 victory. For third place, Ferrari defeated the top seed and Big Ten champion Jacob Cardenas (Michigan), briefly a teammate with Ferrari at New Jersey’s Bergen Catholic. Over the summer, when Ferrari was in the portal after not competing in two full seasons, only CSU Bakersfield and Northern Colorado showed significant interest. With a full year of competition under his belt and a drama-free year off the mat, there will likely be more potential suitors interested in Ferrari. Ferrari won the 2021 national title as a true freshman and was undefeated in 2021-22 before a car accident sidelined him for the remainder of the season. After his dismissal from the Oklahoma State team, he faced multiple legal incidents. Ferrari is expected to have two more years of eligibility remaining. In his post announcing the move, Ferrari alluded to the fact that he might have three, but that hasn’t been confirmed. It will be interesting to see the market for Ferrari. Many top teams will either see their 197 lber graduate in 2025 or already have a hole at the weight. Ferrari is likely to be one of the biggest names in the transfer portal so his future destination will be one of the overlying storylines for the 2025 offseason.

Raytown South

Jefferson City

Raytown South

Golden Valley

Ontario via Simpson Coll

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Wyoming Valley West

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Bixby