It’s been about a month since Brent Metcalf was promoted to head coach of the Iowa State men’s wrestling program, and already much has changed.
While questions always linger during the offseason — from the lineup to how wrestlers will recover and develop — there have been many other changes as well, including transfer-portal additions and two new assistant coaches hired.
The Register caught up with Metcalf on May 18 at the Cyclone Tailgate Tour stop in Des Moines to discuss a number of topics, from transfers to incoming freshmen and what’s next for several key wrestlers.
Iowa State wrestling’s transfer-portal strategy
While entries to the transfer portal closed at the end of April, a number of notable wrestlers are still seeking homes. Even so, Metcalf felt the roster was all but complete as of May 18, while leaving the door open for perhaps one more depth addition.
“I think we’re pretty set,” Metcalf said. “There’s maybe one. For me, it’s not filling holes because we don’t have holes necessarily, but making sure that we have the right depth in those spots. There’s maybe one more room for someone if I could go find someone at one of those weights. Other than that, we’re pretty locked in.”
If Iowa State stands pat, its transfer-portal haul will end with Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State), Ayden Smith (Rutgers), Rin Sakamoto (Oklahoma State) and Dru Ayala (Iowa). At a minimum, this is the foundation of what the Cyclones will be bringing in from the portal. Iowa State also had two late adds to its 2026 high school recruiting class in Illinois’ Liam Kelly (two-time state champion) and California’s Thunder Lewis (four-time state medalist).
Smith, Ayala and Sakamoto are lightweight additions following the departure of Christian Castillo and several other depth 125- and 133-pounders to the transfers portal. Thompson will now be one of multiple intriguing options at from 174-197 pounds alongside MJ Gaitan, Tate Nakktgeboren, Sawyer Bartelt, Carson Floyd and CJ Carter.
As of May 18, Iowa State had not officially announced the signing of its transfer-portal class, meaning Metcalf could not speak directly about them. One common theme among the four is that they all have multiple years of eligibility remaining. Metcalf said that while there may be times a transfer with one year of eligibility makes sense for his staff, the focus will be on transfers with ample time left in their careers.
“As a coach, I think a lot of times you really just have six months with them before the season starts, ends and it’s over with,” Metcalf said. “I’m going try to steer our staff and myself towards putting the energy into those guys that can provide more than just a one year for us if we can.”
In his introductory press conference, Metcalf said his focus in recruiting would be on the high school side and using the portal only to fill a need or two from year-to-year. While this portal haul is larger than we might see down the road, they all could have an impact on the lineup for years to come.
Assistant coaches Drake Ayala, Javier Maldonado hired
Iowa State completed its coaching staff on May 11, announcing the hiring of Javier Maldonado as an assistant coach. He and former Hawkeye Drake Ayala will serve as assistants, while Derek St. John moves to associate head coach to round out the staff. Former men’s head coach Kevin Dresser is now ISU’s director of wrestling.
Metcalf recruited Ayala when he was in high school at Fort Dodge. While he was bummed Ayala chose Iowa, he continued to follow his career by watching his interviews online. Ayala was impressive with his words and mentality during his career, making him the type of coach Metcalf desired.
Metcalf said Ayala reminded him of himself when his collegiate career ended, with a high level of excitement to make an impact on the roster. Add in his ability to train with lightweights and massive amount of respect in-state, Ayala was a no-brainer despite only just finishing his collegiate career.
“When this came up, I started with, ‘I know this is a great kid, I know that he’s going to be a great mentor to our athletes and then on top of all that, he is a rock star in this state,'” Metcalf said. “He has awesome relationships with the Sebolt (Wrestling) Club and a lot of other clubs that are going to add a ton of value to our program as well.”
As for Maldonado, he’s not the widely known name across wrestling like Ayala necessarily, but he has a ton of experience and success. After serving as a grad assistant at his alma mater Chattanooga and as a high school assistant coach at multiple stops, Maldonado was head coach at Southeastern University (NAIA) from 2015-19. He then joined Little Rock’s staff as an assistant for its inaugural season, growing into an associate head coach in 2022 before leaving this spring for Iowa State.
Little Rock is where he made his mark, helping coach 14 Trojans to the the NCAA Championships, five of whom achieved All-American honors. He also helped bring in several top-25 recruiting classes despite Little Rock being a new program with limited in-state talent. While Metcalf considered swinging for the fences on a big-name hire, Maldonado checked all the boxes for what they sought.
“‘Do I need to bring in a big name or do I need to go and find someone that’s going to really help our program in a big way?'” Metcalf asked himself. ”I think he’s going to do that. He’s brought a ton of new, great ideas to the table. He recruits his butt off. A good person who is going to instill the team culture and mindset that I want for our team.”
What’s next for Evan Frost?
One of the big questions this offseason is what comes next for Evan Frost after he was a late scratch from the postseason after battling a shoulder injury and weight management. Metcalf answered that and shed light on where he’ll be wrestling next season.
“Truth is, his body was just really big,” Metcalf said ”We were probably trying to force a square peg into a round hole just because of the nature of the lineup and everything. He’s going to plan on going 141 next year. So get his weight in order and hopefully that’s less of an issue.”
Frost will be recovering from shoulder surgery this offseason, but Metcalf hopes the jump to 141 will set him up for success in his final year.
How much can Coby Merrill impact lineup in year one?
When Merrill mentioned to Metcalf, his eyes shined brightly and he was eager to talk about his incoming heavyweight.
Merrill is making waves before he even wrestles a match for Iowa State. The two-time California state champion knocked off Fort Dodge four-time state champion Dreshaun Ross at the U.S. Open, followed by defeating Senior World-level talent as well in Las Vegas. Merrill knocked off Olympian Mason Parris in an 8-1 decision.
At the Senior World Team Trials, Merrill defeated two-time NCAA All-American Taye Ghadiali and Penn State’s Connor Mirasola to take third. While just an incoming freshman, he seems to be the favorite to take over as the starting heavyweight and fill Yonger Bastida’s big shoes.
“Yonger did a good job of teeing up the standard for heavyweights, and our fans are loving having a big guy that could put an exclamation point at the end of dual,” Metcalf said. “I think he’s going to step right in that role really well.”
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 updates on portal haul, Coby Merrill, staff hires
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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