Iowa State wrestling looks to have a new option for a 125-pound starter by adding Rutgers transfer Ayden Smith.
Smith, who announced his commitment to the Cyclones on April 23, is coming off a redshirt freshman season that saw him qualify for the NCAA Championships and go 16-13 on the year. He ultimately went 0-2 at NCAAs, but went the entire season without losing in bonus point fashion. Smith also defeated two-time NCAA All-American Jore Volk of Minnesota during the regular season.
The Cyclones were in desperate need of a 125-pounder following the departure of several lightweights, including the projected 125 starter, freshman Christian Castillo. Smith has three years of eligibility remaining, something that will help provide depth and a starting-caliber wrestler for the foreseeable future.
Smith is Iowa State’s second transfer portal addition, following Brayden Thompson, who comes to Ames from Oklahoma State. Thompson has at least two years of eligibility remaining. The Cyclones also had Tate Naaktgeboren announce on April 20 that he would return to the program after previously entering the portal at the start of the offseason. He also projects to have multiple years of eligibility remaining, as Naaktgeboren said in his announcement that he could have “four possible years” remaining.
That’s something that appears to be a trend during the barely a week-old Brent Metcalf era: finding or keeping wrestlers with multiple years of eligibility. Metcalf told reporters after he was announced as the team’s new head coach that his philosophy would be to focus his attention on high school recruiting and use the portal to supplement as needed. He also told the Flowreslting Radio Live on April 20 that he leaned toward adding transfer portal wrestlers with multiple years of eligibility rather than just one-year rentals.
The transfer portal carousel continues to whir, but the deadline for new entries is April 30.
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: Iowa State wrestling adds 125-pound Rutgers transfer Ayden Smith
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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