Iowa Wrestling Notebook - Bellarmine

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THE SERIES
• Iowa and Bellarmine are meeting for the third time
in series history and the second time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa leads the series, 2-0.
• The teams first met two seasons ago in 2024. Iowa won that meeting 49-0 in Louisville.
• The teams met in Iowa City in 2025 with the Hawkeyes winning 40-0. 

THE INDIVIDUAL HISTORY
• Angelo Ferrari is 1-0 against Gavin Ricketts, winning a 21-5 tech. fall in last season’s dual.

CARVER FIRST-TIMERS
A pair of Hawkeyes are set to make their Carver-Hawkeye Arena debuts on Friday
• Leo DeLuca -- The second-year Hawkeye made one appearance last season, competing against Missouri at the National Duals. DeLuca earned a 2-0 victory over No. 28 Mack Mauger before missing the remainder of the season due to injury. 
• Carter Schubert -- Schubert compiled a 28-12 career record at Oklahoma and California Baptist before transferring to Iowa in the offseason. He enters Friday with a 9-2 record in home duals during his collegiate career.

IOWA TIES
Bellarmine head coach Ned Shuck is an Iowa wrestling alumnus (2000-2005). He had a 17-14 record competing in open tournaments. Shuck was a four-time letter winner and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection for the Hawkeyes. He was the 2005 J. Donald McPike Award winner which is given to the senior on the team with the highest
grade‑point average. 

ALL-AMERICANS
The Hawkeyes have six past All-Americans on the 2026-27 roster in Ryan Crookham (133), Nasir Bailey (133), Ryder Block (149), Angelo Ferrari (174), Gabe Arnold (197) and Ben Kueter (285).
• The Hawkeyes have crowned at least one All-American in 55 consecutive tournaments, a stretch dating back to 1972.  Iowa has totaled 339 All-America honors during that stretch.  

NEWCOMERS
The Hawkeyes have nine newcomers on the 2026-27 roster, including two transfers.  
• Ryan Crookham was an NCAA All-American and EIWA Champion at 133 pounds at Lehigh. He placed third at the 2024 NCAA Championships, earned EIWA Freshman of the Year honors, and compiled a 26-2 collegiate record. 
• Carter Schubert was an NCAA qualifier at Oklahoma at 174 pounds. He posted a 22-8 record in 2025-26, won the Cliff Keen Invitational title, recorded 11 ranked wins, and advanced to the NCAA Championships Blood Round.

FAMILY TIES
The 2026-27 squad features several notable family connections within the Iowa wrestling program:
• Brothers: Joey Kennedy and Kael Voinovich are the latest pair of brothers to compete for Iowa, joining a rich history that includes head coach Tom Brands and associate head coach Terry Brands among 48 total sets of Hawkeye brothers.
• Father-Son: Michael and Steve Mocco represent the 10th father-son duo to wear the Black and Gold.
• Brother-Sister: David and Sam Calkins are just the second brother-sister duo to compete across Iowa’s men’s and women’s wrestling programs.

STARTING AT 125
In the 339 matches that Iowa has wrestled under head coach Tom Brands, the Hawkeyes have started at 125 pounds 282 times. Iowa is 251-31-1 in those matches. 
• Iowa is 53-3 under Brands when not starting at 125.
• Dating back to 2003, Iowa is 262-36-1 when starting at 125 and 71-12 when starting at a different weight. 

TV TIME
Six University of Iowa men’s wrestling duals will be televised during the 2026-27 season.
• Iowa’s BTN appearances include home duals against Nebraska and Oklahoma State and road duals at Wisconsin, Penn State and Rutgers. 
• Iowa’s home dual against Ohio State will air on FOX or FS1, depending on the NFL playoff schedule.
• Sessions I, II and IV of the Big Ten Championships will also be televised on BTN.
• The entirety of the Soldier Salute, Session III of the Big Ten Championships and Iowa’s duals against Bellarmine, Iowa State, Michigan State, Illinois and Northwestern will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required). 
• The dual at Pittsburgh will be streamed on ACCNX and the dual at UNI will be streamed on FloWrestling.

WILLIAMS FREESTYLE SUCCESS
Jordan Williams put together a standout summer freestyle season:
• Williams won the 70 kg division at the U23 Nationals, winning all eight matches to earn a spot on Team USA. He defeated Brandt Harer of the Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club in the best-of-three finals, winning 9-3 and 4-2.
• Williams won the 70 kg title at the U23 Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru, going 5-0 with four falls and one technical fall.
• Williams represented Team USA at the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas, posting a 2-1 record.
• Competing against Senior-level opposition, Williams placed third in the Senior Division at the U.S. Open and finished fourth at the Senior World Team Trials.

FRESHMEN IMPACT
The 2026-27 season marks the first year of the NCAA’s new 5-for-5 eligibility model, eliminating the need for traditional redshirts and potentially creating more opportunities for true freshmen to see varsity action.
• Historically, Iowa has been selective when moving true freshmen into its varsity lineup under head coach Tom Brands. In his 20 seasons, only six wrestlers, Nathan Burak (2014), Spencer Lee (2018), Justin Stickley (2018), Abe Assad (2020), Drake Ayala (2023) and Miguel Estrada (2024), competed beyond traditional redshirt limits and used a season of eligibility as freshmen.
• Lee won an NCAA title as a true freshman, while Assad and Ayala both earned All-America honors. Burak advanced to the Round of 12 at the NCAA Championships.

NO. 4 IN PRESEASON POLL
The Hawkeyes are ranked fourth in the preseason polls by FloWrestling and the NWCA and fifth by Intermat. 

WRESTLETOWN, USA
Iowa City, Iowa, was dubbed Wrestletown, USA by NBC Sports when hosting the 2016 Olympic Team Trials. 
• The University of Iowa men’s wrestling program led the nation in attendance for the 19th straight year last year.
• The Hawkeyes drew an average of 11,811.2 fans per home date during the 2025-26 season with 59,056 fans entering the doors of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• Iowa has led the nation in attendance in each season of head coach Tom Brands’ tenure (attendance totals weren’t tracked during the 2020-21 season due to most venues having no-spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic). This was the 17th straight year the Hawkeyes have averaged more than 8,000 fans.

CAMBUS SHUTTLE
Free parking is available in the Hancher Auditorium parking lot for all Iowa wrestling home meets except Feb. 12 (Nebraska), when a Hancher performance creates a parking conflict. On that date complimentary Cambus shuttle service will operate from the Hawkeye Lot (Lot 85). Shuttles to Carver-Hawkeye Arena will begin 90 minutes prior to the start of the meet and continue until one hour following the conclusion of the meet.

NCAA EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeyes have nine wrestlers on the 2026-27 roster with NCAA Championships experience. Joey Cruz qualified at 125 pounds in 2025. Ryan Crookham is an NCAA qualifier and All-American at 133 pounds, placing third at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Nasir Bailey is a three-time NCAA qualifier (2024-26) at 133 and 141 pounds and earned All-America honors in 2024. Ryder Block was an NCAA qualifier and All-American at 149 pounds in 2026, while Jordan Williams is a two-time NCAA qualifier (2024-25) at 149 pounds. Carter Schubert qualified for the NCAA Championships at 174 pounds in 2026. Gabe Arnold qualified for the NCAA Championships at 184 pounds in 2025 and earned All-America honors at 197 pounds in 2026, while Angelo Ferrari earned All-America honors at 184 pounds in 2026. Ben Kueter is a two-time All-American at heavyweight, earning podium finishes in 2025 and 2026.

JACOB WARNER JOINS IOWA STAFF
Former Hawkeye and five-time All-American Jacob Warner joined Iowa’s coaching staff prior to the 2026-27 season. Warner became just the third wrestler in program history to earn All-America honors five times, compiling a 97-28 career record at 197 pounds.
• Warner was the 2022 NCAA runner-up and helped Iowa win the 2021 NCAA team championship and Big Ten titles in 2020 and 2021.
• A five-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and three-time NWCA Academic All-American, Warner earned degrees in finance and business analytics from the University of Iowa.

LIGHTWEIGHT U
Iowa is 793-224 combined at 125, 133 and 141 pounds in duals under head coach Tom Brands.
• The Hawkeyes have totaled 464 bonus-point victories across those three weight classes, accounting for more than one-third of Iowa’s bonus wins during the Brands era.
• Those weight classes have also produced 37 All-America honors, 16 NCAA finals appearances and seven NCAA championships.

WINNING FROM TOP TO BOTTOM
All 10 weight classes have produced winning records during Iowa’s 20 seasons under head coach Tom Brands, combining for a 2,528-862 record in dual competition.
• The Hawkeyes own a winning percentage above .700 at seven weight classes and above .750 at five weights.
• Iowa’s top five weight classes under Brands have been 125 pounds (279-60, .823), 174 pounds (275-64, .811), 133 pounds (268-71, .791), 165 pounds (260-79, .767) and 149 pounds (257-82, .758).
• Six weight classes have recorded at least 250 dual victories under Brands.

BONUS-POINT HAWKEYES
Iowa has recorded 1,329 bonus-point victories in 3,390 dual matches under head coach Tom Brands, averaging 3.9 bonus-point wins per dual.
• The Hawkeyes have earned bonus points in 39.2 percent of all matches and 52.6 percent of their victories during that span.
• Iowa has totaled 462 falls, 512 major decisions and 308 technical falls.
• Iowa’s most productive weight classes have been 125 pounds (173 bonus wins), 133 pounds (164), 149 pounds (152), 174 pounds (148) and 165 pounds (139).
• Eight of Iowa’s 10 weight classes have recorded at least 100 bonus-point victories during Brands’ tenure.

IOWA VS. RANKED COMPETITION
Since the 1984-85 season, Iowa has wrestled 430 duals against ranked opponents, averaging 10.2 ranked duals per season while compiling a 347-79-4 record (.807 winning percentage). 
• The Hawkeyes have outscored ranked opponents 10,753-5,238 during that span, averaging 25.0 points per dual while allowing 12.2 points and posting an average margin of victory of 12.8 points. 
• Iowa is 85-60-2 against top-five opponents, 111-12-2 against teams ranked sixth through 10th, 59-4 against teams ranked 11th through 15th, 50-3 against teams ranked 16th through 20th and 42-0 against teams ranked 21st through 25th.

2026-27 SCHEDULE
Nine of Iowa’s 14 dual opponents are ranked in the NWCA Preseason Coaches Poll, including four top-10 teams and the nation’s No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 programs.
 • Ranked opponents include Penn State (1), Oklahoma State (2), Nebraska (3), Ohio State (6), Iowa State (9), Illinois (19), Rutgers (20), Northern Iowa (21) and Pittsburgh (22).
 • Wisconsin received votes in the NWCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
 • Iowa’s schedule includes one regular-season tournament (Soldier Salute), 14 duals, six home dates and two postseason events: the Big Ten Championships (March 6-7) and NCAA Championships (March 18-20).
 • Three of Iowa’s final four duals are against teams ranked in the national top three (Penn State, Nebraska and Oklahoma State).

A LOOK BACK
The University of Iowa wrestling team finished the 2025-26 season with an 11-6 overall record and a 4-3 Big Ten mark. The Hawkeyes placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships and fourth at the NCAA Championships. Iowa had seven All-Americans. The program had 12 Academic All-Big Ten selections.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS
• Ryder Block and Angelo Ferrari were both NWCA Scholar All-Americans and Academic All-Big Ten selections.
• Koye Grebel, Brody Sampson, Kael Voinovich, Easton Fleshman and Anthony Lavezzola earned Academic All-Big Ten honors.
• Fleshman and Lavezzola were also named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.

A NEW HOME FOR IOWA WRESTLING
Construction on the $31 million Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center finished in May 2024. The 38,000-square-foot facility is the new training home of the Iowa men’s and women’s wrestling programs. The wrestling room on the south end of the building is connected by an underground tunnel to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• The two-level building features a Hall of Champions that pays homage to the history of Iowa wrestling. The main entrance welcomes visitors with trophy displays celebrating Iowa’s All-Americans and national champions. The lower level includes locker rooms, while the upper level houses student-athlete lounges and coaches’ offices that overlook the wrestling room.
• The facility’s largest space, the Bob and Kathy Nicolls Wrestling Room, features 30-foot-high ceilings with nearly twice as much practice space as the former wrestling room. An adjacent strength and conditioning room on the lower level flows seamlessly into the wrestling room.

HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
The Hawkeyes have won 24 national titles and 37 Big Ten titles. 
• Iowa’s 56 NCAA Champions have won a total of 86 NCAA individual titles, crowning seven three-time and 16 two-time champions.
• The Hawkeyes’ 118 Big Ten champions have combined for 210 conference titles. There have been eight four-time, 20 three-time and 31 two-time Big Ten champions from Iowa.
• Iowa’s 172 All-Americans have earned All-America status 372 times, including three five-time, 23 four-time, 40 three-time and 43 two-time honorees.

NCAA TROPHIES
The Hawkeyes have earned a team trophy at the NCAA Championships 16 times in the last 18 championships.  Iowa has won 16 team trophies in head coach Tom Brands’ 20 seasons. (The 2020 season, in which Iowa was favored, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
• Iowa has won 50 team NCAA trophies in program history and has 71 top 10 finishes.  The Hawkeyes have been the NCAA runner-up seven times.

CHASING THE HAWKEYES
Gary Kurdelmeier led Iowa to its first NCAA Championship in 1975, and in the 49 years since, the Hawkeyes have accumulated 24 team titles, more than any other school -- Penn State (13), Oklahoma State (7), Minnesota (3), Iowa State (2), Ohio State (1) and Arizona State (1).

HAWKEYES IN THE FINALS
Michael Caliendo advanced to the 165-pound finals of the 2026 NCAA Championships to extend Iowa’s streak of NCAA finals appearances to 35 consecutive tournaments. 
• Iowa has had at least one wrestler in the NCAA finals every year since 1990, and in 50 of the last 51 tournaments dating back to 1975.

HAWKEYES AND CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa is 140-16 (.907) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since Tom Brands took over the program prior to 2006-07. The Hawkeyes are 293-28 (.914) all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since moving from the UI Field House in 1983. Iowa went 7-0 in Carver in 2023-24.
•  Carver-Hawkeye Arena has hosted two United States Olympic Team Trials, four Big Ten Championships (1983, 1994, 2005, 2016) and four NCAA Championships (1986, 1991, 1995, 2001). The Hawkeyes have won five tournament titles on their home mat, including the 1983 and 1994 Big Ten Championships, and the 1986, 1991 and 1995 NCAA Championships. 

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes host Iowa State for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Dual on Nov. 22. The start time for the dual is set for 7 p.m. (CT) and it will be streamed on B1G+.