Transfer Portal

[Jon Perkins]

The regular season is over, the Transfer Portal is open, and so far there are some big names looking for a new home next year. What are some thoughts on the holes WVU should be looking to fill.

I would like to see the addition of a really solid guy to slot into the 157 or 165 spot. This would give Ty Watters, Shawn Taylor, and Brody Conley another really good practice partner to strengthen the middle part of the lineup.

[NJwvu12]

The regular season is over, the Transfer Portal is open, and so far there are some big names looking for a new home next year. What are some thoughts on the holes WVU should be looking to fill.

I would like to see the addition of a really solid guy to slot into the 157 or 165 spot. This would give Ty Watters, Shawn Taylor, and Brody Conley another really good practice partner to strengthen the middle part of the lineup.

I heard at ncaas Jett is moving up to 133 next year , do you think Watters moves up to 157? I’ve heard 149 isn’t the easiest cut for him and he’s a pretty tall for 149

[Jon Perkins]

I think the move to 133 would be good for Jett. You can tell that weight cut takes a toll on him and has a significant impact on his conditioning. As far as Ty bumping up to 157, I personally think he would need to add some size. He had very limited action this year but based on last year he was too skinny for 157. He has been out for quite a while and who knows maybe he has been in the weight room and has gotten bigger.

If these two scenarios happen, that will leave a need for 125 and 149. I would not hate the idea of trying to get a really good HWT to train with Rune and allow Brock to take a Red Shirt.

[Jon Perkins]

There are over 150 names in the transfer portal, and there are some heavy hitters looking for new homes. Who are some guys from the portal that everyone wants to see show up in Morgantown. There are a lot of names that would surely improve every team's lineup but there are some spots in WVU's lineup that needs more attention than others.

I think 125 is a good spot to start, I feel like Jett should and will probably move up to 133 next year, Louie Gill would be a great solution here. He is a Top 100 recruit from the class of '24 and still has 4 years of eligibility remaining.

HWT is going to be another whole to fill for next year. Yeah, I know Brock Kehler is coming in but lets be real, he will need a red shirt year to adjust. Hunter Catka would be a fantastic grab here. He is a 3-time qualifier for the NCAA tournament and has one year of eligibility left. This is a perfect fit and would give Rune and Brock a great workout partner and someone to learn from for his final remaining year.

This is all hypothetical so what does everyone think?

[NJwvu12]

There are over 150 names in the transfer portal, and there are some heavy hitters looking for new homes. Who are some guys from the portal that everyone wants to see show up in Morgantown. There are a lot of names that would surely improve every team's lineup but there are some spots in WVU's lineup that needs more attention than others.

I think 125 is a good spot to start, I feel like Jett should and will probably move up to 133 next year, Louie Gill would be a great solution here. He is a Top 100 recruit from the class of '24 and still has 4 years of eligibility remaining.

HWT is going to be another whole to fill for next year. Yeah, I know Brock Kehler is coming in but lets be real, he will need a red shirt year to adjust. Hunter Catka would be a fantastic grab here. He is a 3-time qualifier for the NCAA tournament and has one year of eligibility left. This is a perfect fit and would give Rune and Brock a great workout partner and someone to learn from for his final remaining year.

This is all hypothetical so what does everyone think?

Louie Gill could be a solid addition 14-3 in redshirt this year , I wouldn’t mind going the graduate transfer route either , depending of where Jett goes I’d look into spencer Moore from UNC at 125 if Jett is moving up or Spidle from central Michigan at 133 if Jett stays at 125 …

Depending on where Watters goes I’d like to add someone around there at 149/157 , I think we could get someone in that wants to practice with Ty everyday - quite a few 149 graduate transfers available, Rathjen from Iowa , Vasquez from ASU, Evans from penn state and regular transfer Jordan Williams ( he may cost too much and got kicked out of OSU for multiple public drinking arrests so maybe it’s best he stays away from Morgantown) but he’ll be an AA the next 2 years , 157 has fewer options , Chittum would be a clear upgrade but they guy doesn’t stay at a school for more then 2 years , Colton Washleski from rider is tough , ncaa qualifier last season but battled injuries and had a tough MAC this season (he beat Dowling 8-3 in the dual this past season)

I’m not convinced Robin or Hogan are the answers at 184 I wouldn’t mind taking a shot at Brian Soldano from Rutgers , 3x NJ state champ , ranked top 3 at his weight class and top 50 recruit overall, was an ncaa qualifier for Rutgers then he lost his spot this year followed by a season ending concussion, he has a lot of good wins but his style will drive you mad , he does the elevator every match sometimes giving up 3 to 7 points just to lock it in but it doesn’t always work but a ton of potential for this kid and he has 2 years left


As for the heavyweight I’d love catka but he currently has a bidding war going on for him and not many others fit what we are looking for ,only other heavyweight I’ve seen worth it is carter Neves a Blair grad from unc who just finished his freshman year but will BK coming in and possibly rune moving up eventually I just don’t see a need to waste resources on that,

[Jon Perkins]

At 125, Spencer Moore from UNC is off the board. He has already transferred to the same college his wife is wrestling for.

I agree, the middle of the lineup at 149 or 157 could use some tightening up. The last couple of years they have recruited pretty hard so a graduate transfer might be a good idea and then let a new guy take over. You are right on the money with the Caleb Rathjen idea, another guy the would really strengthen the lineup in this area would be Bryce Hepner from Ohio State. He would be more of a 157 or 165 guy but would be a definite upgrade and an excellent practice partner for people around him.

At 184, Bush is going to be the guy here for the next few years. This is more of his natural weight class, and he has proved that he is a definite gamer. I don't feel like Rune is big enough for HWT any time soon. He is not terribly big the way it is, and I think 197 will be his home for quite a while.

I love your pick of Carter Neves at HWT, another good option here would be Chase Horne from NCST.

[NJwvu12]

We could really use a lightweight 125/133 but the options seem very limited

I would love to add a guy like Rathjen but if Watters is going 149 I wouldn’t mind adding Colten Washleski at 157 , put him with Ty everyday and he’s going to jump levels

I like bush a lot he wrestles so hard but I think his ceiling is limited , he lost to Soldano this year (who was a mess all year) and took a lot of other Ls at 184 and another borderline NQ is not what is needed , plus I think soldano helps Rune develop

Heard last night we are in fact in the running for Catka at heavyweight so hopefully we pull that off

I’m a realist I’m not expecting WVU to win big 12s, go undefeated in duals or win a team trophy but based on our conference and the number of years Tim Flynn has been here now I think it’s a reasonable expectation to be qualifying 7/8 guys for ncaa every year with 2-4 of those guys with a legit shot at AAing . This year was rough with the injuries we only had 5 qualifiers (3 of them 30 seeds) and with Ty, Brody and Wolf being healthy we would’ve hit that 7/8 mark

I don’t think it’s too much to ask to have legit Ncaa qualifiers throughout the lineup at this stage in the Flynn rebuild we need to take a step up from the Dowling / Sasha/ Robin /Cooley types in the lineup where you never know if they are going to show up , all in all we need more consistency especially now that our big point getter is gone

[suddendeath]

There’s a rumor going around Flynn is in on Hunter Catka and we have a good shot.

Would be a really great addition and a good partner for Kehler at HWT.

[Letsgooo]

There’s a rumor going around Flynn is in on Hunter Catka and we have a good shot.

Would be a really great addition and a good partner for Kehler at HWT.

He was the one I was going to say until I read your post. I’m sure he’ll have big10 offers so I’d be shocked if we got him.
We need as many transfers as possible honestly if we want to compete. There’s not a weight I wouldn’t take.

I thought Jett was done. Since juco doesn’t count anymore does that mean he has two years left? That’d be nice but I could see him being wanted by a lot of teams.
In terms of him moving up, he tried that and clearly wasn’t the same guy. He was a score away from facing a guy in the semifinals that he’d already beaten twice in the regular season that ended up
In the finals. Then he doesn’t even AA lol just shows how hard it is to do. I’m sure if he focused all off season on gaining weight then he’d def be a good sized 133. Same with Watters.