The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off a fifth-place performance at the 2024 NCAA Championships. They return a good portion of their lineup but will lose key starters in Brody Teske, Real Woods, and Jared Franek. Below is a breakdown of what their lineup will look like next season without those guys.

Iowa's Potential 2024-25 Lineup

125: Drake Ayala / Dru Ayala

133: Cullan Schriever / Kale Petersen

141: Ryder Block / Charles Matthews / transfer portal

149: Caleb Rathjen / Victor Voinovich / Miguel Estrada

157: Cobe Siebrecht / Patrick Kennedy / Michael Caliendo

165: Michael Caliendo / Patrick Kennedy

174: Patrick Kennedy / Gabe Arnold / Nelson Brands / Angelo Ferrari

184: Nelson Brands / Gabe Arnold / Angelo Ferrari / Aiden Riggins

197: Zach Glazier / Kolby Franklin

285: Ben Kueter / Bradley Hill

125: Drake Ayala / Dru Ayala

One could argue that Drake Ayala was the most consistent 125 pounder in the country from the beginning of the season to the end. He went 23-5 en route to making the NCAA finals with his only losses coming to former All-Americans Michael DeAugustino (2X), Matt Ramos, Brandon Kaylor, and NCAA champion Richard Figueroa. While Figueroa had a rough patch during the regular season where he lost three of four matches, including to a backup, you always knew what you would get with Ayala. 

Drake’s younger brother, Dru, will be a true freshman on the team next season. Never an Iowa state champion and #98 on the big board, he doesn’t have quite the accolades Drake had coming out of high school, but he’s just as scrappy. Drake isn’t one to take days off, but with the Fort Dodge native entering his fourth season at 125 pounds and with previous injuries, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Dru get a start or two while preserving his redshirt to keep Drake healthy and happy.

Watch Drake Ayala make the NCAA finals with a win over Eric Barnett below.

133: Cullan Schirever / Kale Petersen / Jace Rhodes

Brody Teske, another Fort Dodge native, has held down the starting 133 lb spot for the past two seasons. With his departure, I expect a familiar face to step up - Cullan Schriever. Next year will be Schriever’s fifth year on the team. He has wrestled in 17 duals for the Hawks over the past three seasons including six last season. The Mason City native has gone just 7-10 in those duals. 

Competing for the spot will be Rockwell native Kale Petersen. A 3X state champion, Petersen was the #52 overall recruit coming out of high school in 2023. This season, he went 4-3 as a redshirt while competing at the Soldier Salute, Loras Open, and Minnesota dual. One of those losses came to Schriever at the Soldier Salute, but it was close. Neither wrestler was able to get a takedown and Schriever won 2-1 with a riding time advantage.

141: Ryder Block / Charles Matthews / transfer portal

I’m sure a lot of Iowa fans are excited about the potential of Wavery-Shell Rock native Ryder Block. He was a 3X state champion for the Go-Hawks, 2X Fargo champion, and the #22 overall recruit coming out of high school in 2023. He didn’t compete this season while rehabbing a torn ACL, so there are still a lot of questions and anticipation surrounding Block.

If the Brands brothers aren’t liking what they’re seeing out of Block in the room or if he’s outgrown 141 lbs, I would expect them to hit the transfer portal to look for a replacement for Real Woods, but there are not currently any former NCAA qualifiers at 141 lbs in the portal. Option #3 is Charles Matthews. Matthews competed at 125 and 133 his first three years before bumping up to 141 this season. His career record against D1 competition is 4-11. 

Watch Ryder Block 10-0 his way to his second Fargo title below.

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149: Caleb Rathjen / Victor Voinovich / Miguel Estrada

2024 NCAA qualifier Caleb Rathjen will be back again for the Hawkeyes next season, and this time with a full season as the starter under his belt. In his third year for Iowa, Rathjen earned the starting spot by defeating Victor Voinovich 6-3 at the Soldier Salute. Rathjen went 16-7 last season including 1-2 at NCAAs. I’m not counting Voinovich out of the starting spot yet, however. He made the round of 16 at NCAAs two seasons ago when he was at Oklahoma State. The Brecksville, Ohio native recently underwent knee surgery. If he comes back from rehab strong, he will once again be pushing Rathjen for the starting spot.

I expect him to redshirt, but Miguel Estrada will be a guy to keep an eye on during the year. A California native, he is the #40 overall recruit in the class of 2024.

157: Cobe Siebrecht / Patrick Kennedy / Michael Caliendo

Jared Franek transferred in this season from NDSU while 2023 starter Cobe Siebrecht served a suspension and finished in 8th place at NCAAs. Siebrecht was a pleasant surprise for the Hawkeyes in 2022-23 when he was thrust into the lineup after just five career matches in his first three years at Iowa. He would go 14-8 including 1-2 at NCAAs. He’ll be back with the extra COVID year of eligibility. However, I think he’s going to be in a roster battle with either 2024 165 lb starter Michael Caliendo or 174 lb starter Patrick Kennedy. While neither wrestler has competed at 157 lbs in their college career, it is said that both were certified to make 157 this season. While Kennedy competed at 174 this season, that was largely due in part to make the starting lineup as he competed at 165 lbs the two seasons before that. Now a 2X All-American at 165 lbs, placing 7th in 2023 and 4th this season, it would seem like Caliendo has the advantage over Kennedy who has failed to make the podium the past two seasons and went up in weight this year. 

165: Michael Caliendo / Patrick Kennedy

As I mentioned above, the Hawks have a bit of a log jam on their hands. The potential return of Nelson Brands and the emergence of Gabe Arnold could force Patrick Kennedy back down to his best weight of 165 lbs if not all the way down to 157. Kennedy is tough, but Caliendo has had better results to this point in their careers.

Watch Michael Caliendo defeat Julian Ramirez in the 2024 NCAA quarterfinals below.

174: Gabe Arnold / Nelson Brands / Angelo Ferrari

What a trifecta of possible 174 lb starters for the Hawks. Can’t go wrong. The stipulation here is that Nelson Brands' situation is still not 100% known. Brands was sidelined this season while serving a suspension for sports betting. He applied for a medical hardship year, which is normally granted, for his 2022 year where he only competed in six duals. Brands stated in December that his appeal was denied and his college career was over.

Appeal denied. Thanks @iowahawkeyewrestling for the many memories made while competing at the collegiate level. And the life lessons learned from competing at such a high level.

— Nelson "The Gambler" Brands (@nelson_brands) December 20, 2023

However, per the tweet below with a shrug emoji from Brands in response to "But you’re coming back?", it appears as though his process for an extra year of eligibility could be ongoing. 

🤷‍♂️

— Nelson "The Gambler" Brands (@nelson_brands) April 1, 2024

This could be due to the fact that most medical hardships are granted and/or the state of Iowa dismissed all legal charges against Iowa State athletes in the DCI sports gambling investigation. It should be noted that the NCAA can uphold their punishments as they are separate from the DCI and state of Iowa.

Given that it's not 100% that Brands will return, I would guess Gabe Arnold will be the 2025 174 lb starter. He had the best redshirt year of any first year college wrestler this season going 8-1 with wins over All-Americans Lennox Wolak, Travis Wittlake, and Will Feldkamp. His only loss came at 184 lbs to Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott, 5-1. He looked just as good at 184 lbs as he did at 174 lbs, so I wouldn’t be too surprised to see him take over the 184 spot as I believe Nelson Brands’s best weight is also 174 lbs. While Brands was a national qualifier at 184 lbs in 2021, he finished in 5th place at 174 in 2023. So maybe the two just flip a coin and the winner gets their pick of weight? Maybe one of them will outgrow 174 this summer? Tough decision for the Hawkeyes, but it seems like Arnold could be a real title threat at 174 lbs.

Unfortunately for fans, the depth at this weight means we’ll probably have to wait a year to see Angelo Ferrari in the Hawkeye singlet during the post season. A 3X Ironman champion and Who’s Number One champion, Ferrari is the #2 overall recruit in the class of 2024. Whether this upcoming season or the next, his Hawkeye debut will be highly anticipated. However, if Brands isn't allowed to return, Ferrari at 174 and Arnold at 184 might be the Hawkeye's best lineup.

184: Nelson Brands / Gabe Arnold / Angelo Ferrari / Aiden Riggins

This spot will likely go to whoever isn’t at 174 between Brands and Arnold.  They have both spent time at 174 and 184 in their careers and can hold their own at both weights. If Brands isn't allowed to return, Arnold goes 174, and Ferrari redshirts, we will likely see Aiden Riggins again this season at 184 lbs. He went 10-12 this season and failed to qualify for the national tournament. 

Watch Nelson Brands defeat Dustin Plott for 5th place at the 2023 NCAA Championships below.

197: Zach Glazier / Kolby Franklin

Similar to Cobe Siebrecht in 2023, Zach Glazier was a very pleasant surprise for the Hawkeyes in 2024. No one outside of the Hawkeye wrestling room would have predicted Glazier to have been as productive as he was. The Minnesota native went 20-4 and earned the #7 seed at NCAAs.

Another option will be Kolby Franklin. I’m not sure exactly why, but Franklin did not compete in a match this season either in a dual or at an open tournament. However, as a redshirt in 2022-23, he went 10-5 and defeated Glazier 4-3 at the Soldier Salute. 

Watch Franklin defeat Glazier at the 2023 Soldier Salute below.

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285: Ben Kueter / Bradley Hill

Bradley Hill went 17-8 and was a national qualifier as the starter as a redshirt freshman. However, I, like most fans, believe Ben Kueter will be the starter for the Hawkeyes next season. At least in the second half of the season when he is done playing football. The Hawkeyes used Kueter this season in four duals where he went 3-1 only losing to NCAA champion Greg Kerkvliet. A 4X undefeated Iowa high school state champion, Kueter was the #2 overall recruit coming out of high school. Assuming he continues to train wrestling this summer and doesn’t lose too much ground during football season, he will be an All-American threat in 2025.