Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling: Projecting 2022-23 lineup

The three-time national champion actually does have one more year left. He went 3-0 in 2021-22 before shutting it down and getting surgery on his torn ACL. Lee made it no secret that he wrestled with “no ACLs” following his national title in 2021. But this time, he elected to get them fixed and return in 2022-23 after a medical redshirt. Lee is arguably the most dominant wrestler in the country when he’s active and he’ll be the heavy favorite to become a rare four-time NCAA champion next season.

Schriever went 15-5 last season as a redshirt freshman is likely to take over in this spot next year. Austin DeSanto manned this weight for the last few years and was a great success, getting on the podium. Schriever has big shoes to fill but had some solid wins last year and actually appeared in two dual meets for the Hawkeyes. He took Chris Cannon of Northwestern to the wire with a 5-3 loss and held Illinois’ Lucas Byrd to a 5-0 decision. Within that room, Schriever could see some real improvement next season.

Woods has two years of eligibility left after transferring in from Stanford. He found himself on the NCAA podium in 2022 for the first time in his career with a sixth place finish. Naturuall, he’s spent his entire career at 141 pounds, so we’ll insert him here for now. There was a real opening after Jaydin Eierman’s career came to an end. Woods is 42-8 in his career, making it to the Blood Round in 2021 and becoming an All-American this past March. The weight class graduates a lot of hammers, giving Woods a real shot at a national title in 2023 out in Tulsa.

Murin could bump up a weight due to a large mix at this weight and at 157 pounds. But for now, he’ll return at this weight for his final season. Murin’s been oh-so-close to making the podium at NCAAs and becoming an All-American. He’s 53-23 in his career, making it to the Blood Round three times (2019, ‘21 and ‘22). There’s no reason to believe he can’t get there and he’ll remain a fixture in the Hawkeyes lineup for one more season.

Robles is the pick for now, but Iowa could certainly attack the transfer portal. It is a long offseason after all. A quick glance at the Iowa roster shows a lot of 149 pounders for 2022-23 but Robles gets the nod, albeit in April, for the lineup next year. He went 11-5 as a redshirt in 2021-22, so he didn’t see any dual meet action. His best performances came in the Luther Open and Lindenwood Open, where he went 4-1 in both tournaments. This is a big hole to fill after the departure of Kaleb Young.

Another big hole to fill left by a departing senior wrestler, Alex Marinelli. Kennedy certainly looks like he’s capable of filling that void. Kennedy went 2-1 in the shortened 2021 season at 174 pounds, only losing to Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola 7-4 and then dropped down to 165 pounds last season. He went 17-3 in redshirt after getting the free year of action due to the COVID-19 waiver. Fun fact, he lost to Marinelli when the two squared off in the Luther Open by just a 3-2 score. Of course, they trained together so they’ll know each other’s tendencies, but it seems like Iowa is finally ready to let Kennedy loose in the starting lineup.

Michael Kemerer leaves and Brands fills in. Brands saw some time at the weight while filling in for Kemerer after dropping from 184 pounds. As a starter during the 2021 season, Brands went 8-6 but did not qualify for NCAAs. He went 5-1 at 174 pounds last season, with his only loss coming to perennial All-American Hayden Hidlay (NC State) 4-2 in a dual meet with the Wolfpack. The potential is there, he just has to put it all together over the course of the season. If it’s any indication, Brands was a redshirt in 2018-19, his first season on campus, and went 18-0 before coming into the lineup the next year.

Assad went 14-10 last year but qualified for NCAAs. However, he went just 1-2 at the tournament in Detroit. But in 2019-22, he went 22-7 and might’ve been able to make noise at the canceled NCAA Tournament. Since he’s a returning starter, it’s business as usual for the Hawkeyes among the upper weights. In fact, Assad is one of three returning starters among the heaviest weights throughout the 10 starters. With another year under his belt, Assad should be better in 2022-23.

Warner made it to the NCAA finals in 2022, storming his way through an open bracket. However, he fell to Penn State’s Max Dean 3-2. Warner certainly always had the capability to be an NCAA finalist and a possible champion, and he’ll have one more year to try and get gold. Warner went 21-5 last season and is 76-19 for his career, reaching All-American status three times at the NCAA Tournament. In Tulsa next year, Warner could be standing atop the podium. He certainly has a chance to make it happen.

Cassioppi went 19-4 last year and took 7th place at heavyweight. Over the course of last offseason, Cassioppi practically transformed his body and looked leaner, stronger and meaner. At NCAA’s, he lost to Lehigh’s Jordan Wood 3-1 in sudden victory and 11-5 to Michigan’s Mason Parris, nothing to roll your eyes at. Cassioppi is 52-10 in his career, reaching as high as 3rd place in 2021. The two-time All-American still has two years of eligibility left and the goal of being a four-time All-American is still within reach. Now that Minnesota’s Gable Steveson moved on from wrestling, the weight class is open for a new champion.