Iowa State women’s wrestling has a big task on its hands.
Fill 30 roster spots.
After officially introducing the new program in April, a ton of work is left to be done to fill the roster before the 2027-28 inaugural season. The Cyclones’ status as one of two major-conference universities to sponsor women’s wrestling makes each spot on the team valuable.
Iowa State head coach Alli St. John told the Des Moines Register at the Cyclone Tailgate Tour on May 18 that she and her staff would like to have 10-15 athletes committed and competing unattached at open tournaments for the 2026-27 season. In 2027-28, for the first official season, they’ll add the remaining 15-20 athletes to round out the 30-athlete roster.
Keeping tabs on all the commitments can be tough, so we have created a roster tracker to have a one-stop spot to see the roster that is coming together in Ames.
Eligibility for these athletes is tough to calculate at the moment as the NCAA weighs a new shift to five seasons of eligibility for student-athletes. Given the fluidity of that, we’ll refrain from anything definitive about seasons of eligibility remaining, but will provide updates as more information becomes available in the next weeks and months for the Cyclone wrestlers below.
In the meantime, below are athlete bios and what fans can expect when the Cyclones take the mat in the not-so-distant future.
Athletes sorted in order of commitment date.
Piper Fowler, William Penn transfer
Fowler was a massive get for William Penn and coaches Jake Kadel and Cash Wilcke. Now, she’ll follow both to Ames after transferring.
In high school, Fowler became one of the nation’s top recruits with a U17 World championship at 73 kilograms, four Tennessee state titles, an undefeated record in high school, a 2022 Super 32 title and a Junior Fargo title in 2023. Fowler was on the U17 World team for the United States again in 2024 and will represent the U.S. again in the 2026 U20 World Championships later this year.
In one year at William Penn, Fowler won an NAIA title at 180 pounds. She held a 31-14 record with 11 technical falls and 16 pins. To close her true freshman season, she pinned eight opponents in a row.
Fowler’s youth and talent make her a cornerstone addition for the Cyclones for years to come.
Christianah Ogunsanya, William Penn transfer
How about an Olympian for the team?
Ogunsanya represented Nigeria in the 2024 Olympics in Paris and won a U23 World Championships bronze medal in 2025. She spent two seasons at William Penn before transferring to Iowa State. Ogunsanya is a two-time NAIA champion, fresh off winning the 2026 NAIA title at 117 pounds.
Alli St. John has emphasized the desire to create a roster competing for NCAA, World and Olympic titles, with the commitment of Ogunsanya showing a step in that direction.
Makennah Craft, Campbellsville transfer
Craft, like Ogunsanya, is another lightweight addition to the roster for the Cyclones. She is coming off of her true freshman season at Campbellsville where she took third place at the NAIA Championships at 103 pounds.
Prior to her lone collegiate season, she was a major high school recruit as a four-time, undefeated Ohio state champion, Ironman champion and Fargo runner-up. She has not had the international opportunities or success of the program’s first two commits Fowler and Ogunsanya, but her high school success shows the potential of what she could be as her career develops.
Greta Brus, Davenport Assumption
Brus is the first native Iowan to commit to the Cyclones, flipping her commitment from NCAA champions McKendree to Iowa State on May 28.
Brus is a one-time state champion and a two-time state finalist, but her high school resume doesn’t showcase just how talented the 155-pounder is. She took third at Junior Fargo in 2025, defeating some top-end wrestlers in the process. Before her state title, she ranked No. 5 in the Des Moines Register’s 2025-26 preseason rankings across all weights based on her offseason wins and talent evaluation alone.
Since she is a graduating high school senior, Brus will have a full slate of eligibility once she arrives in Ames. She should slot in as a 145 or 160-pound wrestler for Iowa State, having wrestled at both 145 and 155 pounds in the last two high school seasons.
Brooklyn Perez, Valiant Preparatory Academy
Perez is the second high school commit to pick Iowa State, as well as perhaps the start of a pipeline to Ames.
Perez is a two-time Super 32 placer, U20 World Team Trials All-American and a 2025 Junior Fargo All-American for Valiant Prep in Arizona. Valiant is known for producing some of the top talent in women’s wrestling across the country, so getting a recruiting win out of the program is a big win for the Cyclones.
Perez projects at 131 pounds according to Iowa State’s release after she sgned the dotted line and will have a full slate of eligibility entering her time at Iowa State.
Daniella Nugent, Cowgirl Wrestling Club (Oklahoma State)
The sixth commit to the Cyclones comes from Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Nugent was a U20 World Championship representative for the United States in 2025, taking fifth in Bulgaria at 65 kilograms (about 143. pounds). She was a four-time New England preps champion in high school, winning her fourth in 2025 before enrolling at Oklahoma State and the Cowgirl Wrestling Club for the 2025-26 season. She was considered the No. 6 pound-for-pound prospect from USA Wrestling for the 2025 graduating class.
Nugent is the third wrestler to commit to Iowa State with age-group World Championship experience alongsided Piper Fowler and Christianah Ogunsanya.
Molly Allen, Cowgirl Wrestling Club (Oklahoma State)/ Riverside high school
Welcome back, Miss Molly.
The four-time Iowa state champion from Riverside announced she would be transferring to Iowa State on June 5. Allen wrestled last year for the Cowgirl Wrestling Club at Oklahoma State, but now will be making her way to Ames to wrestle collegiately.
Allen had an unbeaten preps career for Riverside High School, is a Super 32 champion, a 16U Fargo champion and a u20 Women’s National Championships runner-up. She projects at 124 pounds.
Allen is the second native Iowan to choose the Cyclones, following Davenport Assumption’s Greta Brus. If Allen can sustain the success she had in folkstyle in high school in freestyle in college, Iowa State has a great prospect on its hands.
Gabriella Gomez, McKendree
A familiar last name is making its way to Ames.
Gomez, a 2022 U17 World Silver medalist (46 kilograms) for the United States, is the younger sister of former Cyclone wrestler and NCAA All-American Austin Gomez. She’s highly accomplished in her own career as an age-group World medalist, a three-time Illinois state champion and a two-time FloWrestling Who’s Number One champion. She competed at 124 pounds in one season at McKendree, earning a 17-6 record with the Bearcats.
She is the fourth commit to the Cyclones to have international experience, including Piper Fowler, Christianah Ogunsanya and Daniella Nugent.
Alezandra Robles, Sunnyside High School
Make it nine Cyclone commits and two from the state of Arizona, as this incoming freshman signed on June 9.
Robles projects at 145 pounds according to Iowa State, and is a three-time state placer in Arizona and a two-time state finalist, owning a 110-18 record. Robles follows Brooklyn Perez from Arizona.
ISU coach Alli St. John said she hoped to have around 10-15 athletes competing in 2026-27, unattached, for the Cyclone Regional Training Center before official competition begins in 2027-28. With Robles’ addition, they are coming close to that number.
Persaeus Gomez, Mckendree
While of no relation to Gabriella Gomez, the Cyclones now have two Gomez’s transferring in from the reigning NCAA champions.
Persaeus Gomez competed in limited action in one year at McKendree at 138 pounds, but is an accomplished recruit. Among her credentials include being the first female undefeated four-time Colorado state champion, a 2022 Junior Fargo champion and a 2022 U17 Pan-Am champion.
This pushes the Cyclones to nine signees and 10 total commits. Persaeus Gomez is projected at 131 pounds according to an Iowa State release, with her and Brooklyn Perez both listed at the weight. The lone starting spots for a lineup without a current commitment for Iowa State are 110, 138, 160 and 207 pounds.
Esther Kolawole, William Penn
A second Olympian is headed to Ames.
Kolawole, a 2024 Olympian for Nigeria, signed the dotted line on June 11 to head to Iowa State. Kolawole follows in the footsteps of Christianah Ogunsanya, who is also a 2024 Olympian from Nigeria and a former William Penn teammate. Her former William Penn coaches, Jake Kadel and Cash Wilcke, are now assistant coaches for the Cyclones. Three former wrestlers from the 2026 NAIA Championships runner-up have transferred to Iowa State in Ogunsanya, Kolawole and Piper Fowler.
Kolawole became a two-time NAIA champion in two years at William Penn at 138 pounds. She is also a two-time U23 World Championships bronze medalist and a four-time Senior World team member for Nigeria. Kolawole’s addition is another step in the direction that Alli St. John is seeking, not only finding NCAA champion-worthy talent, but also those who could obtain World and Olympic medals.
Jumoke Adekoye, Dickinson State
Now at 12 commits, the Cyclones found a successful NAIA and international wrestler in Adekoye.
Adekoye is a two-time NAIA champion at 131 pounds for Dickinson State. In two years in college, she owned a 50-5 record. Outside of college, she is a 2025 Senior World team member for Nigeria, as well as a four-time African champion. She, along with Esther Kolawole and Christianah Ogunsanya, all came to the United States from Nigeria and competed at the NAIA level before tranfering to Iowa State this summer.
Adekoye is another wrestler headed to Ames with the legitimate abilities to succeed at both the NCAA and international level when competition begins.
Isabella Miller, Dubuque Hempstead
Another in-state recruit will be staying home.
Two-time Iowa state champion and three-time state medalist Bella Miller announced her commitment to Iowa State on June 16. She is coming off of winning a state title at 135 pounds in Iowa, but also the US Open’s National Recruiting Showcase title at the weight as well.
Miller is the first commit to the 2027 class for Iowa State, meaning she will have full eligibility when official competition begins in 2027-28. She joins Greta Brus (Davenport Assumption) and Molly Allen (Riverside) as a trio native Iowans to choose Iowa State thus far.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: See Iowa State women’s wrestling’s roster as it develops
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Eli McKown, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
