Ayden Smith, the 125-pounder who was a national qualifier as a freshman last year for the Rutgers wrestling team, transferred to Iowa State on Thursday.
Smith entered the portal following the season after the Scarlet Knights received a commitment from four-time state champion Anthony Knox.
Knox is arguably Rutgers’ biggest recruit since Nick Suriano transferred from Penn State in 2017. He is competing in the U.S. Open this weekend.
A Notre Dame Green Pond (Pa.) graduate, Smith spent two years at Rutgers. After a redshirt season, he found himself in the starting lineup when Dean Peterson - like Knox a former state champion from St. John Vianney - left for Iowa after qualifying for three NCAA tournaments and reaching two blood rounds with the Scarlet Knights.
Max Hermes, a junior 157-pounder, was a second Rutgers wrestler who found a new home when he committed to Ohio. Hermes has mostly been a back-up with the Scarlet Knights during his career.
Rutgers has added two wrestlers in the portal, including one from Iowa State. Heavyweight Daniel Herrera, an NCAA qualifier as a true freshman two years ago who redshirted last season, transferred to the Scarlet Knights with three years of eligibility remaining.
Brett Ungar, a state champion at both Hunterdon Central in New Jersey and Notre Dame Green Pond in Pennsylvania, also announced he would be coming to the Scarlet Knights for his final year of eligibility. Ungar spent the last four years at Cornell, reaching the NCAA tournament in his first two seasons though he saw limited action in the last two campaigns.
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