I'm sure several teams could feature a lineup with a bunch of transfers, especially now. The fact remains is that wasn't their best lineup, and never was. Not really the "starters."
Well, the transfer portal isn't even a real thing. It is basically "make believe." (how many transfers of athletes "not in the portal" over the past week? More than half a dozen?)
The NCAA (and member schools) were unfairly getting rich off of student athletes. Now the athletes get a share.
Athlete freedom is a good thing. Unfortunately there are going to be unintended consequences, some of which may be terrible for wrestling.
Hopefully the upcoming NIL rules can put the genie back in the bottle, at least a little.
Not that Iowa is thinking this far ahead, but if it looks like they can make things tighter than PSU is comfortable with, Cael might be forced to pull Mirasola out of redshirt before he would normally be comfortable with.
#1. I don't think they are thinking this far ahead
#2. I don't think it'll be that close.
Danaher has Ryan, Meregali, others.
Nolf seems to have a pre-existing relationship with Jones and B-team. He has gone down there and trained in the past and they used to kid each other on social media. I don't KNOW anything, but B-team seems likely.
So, no losses?
How many times has Max Dean lost to high school wrestlers as a PSU/NLWC athlete?
I guess it was a bad idea to bring up Max Dean as a comparison to Spencer Freaking Lee?
I'm not aggregating every public high school in the USA. Each public high school is a reflection of the district it is located in. Are you telling me that different districts throughout the country don't have different demographics depending on: region and whether the district is urban or rural?
Deerfield Academy, one of the top preps in the world reported these demographics in 2022:
White: 50.2%
International: 11.6%
Asian: 10%
African American: 8.5%
Multiracial: 7.4%
Unknown: 7.4%
Hispanic: 7.4%
Native American: 4.6%
Pacific Islander: 0.3%
This is the type of thing I am referring to. Not perfectly in line with US demographics, but much moreso than the suburban Northeastern HS I attended in the 80s. I am not looking at the US as a whole, but the de facto segregation that exists at most public high schools.