AMES — Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser announced the addition of two transfers Thursday. Seniors Isaac Dean and Rocky Elam will enter the lineup at 184 and 197. 

“Rocky and Isaac are great additions to bolster the upper half of our lineup,” Dresser said. “They are high-quality individuals on and off the mat, and they will bring great competition and depth to our room. We’re looking forward to getting these guys to Ames and getting to work.”

New additions

Elam, a Kansas City, Missouri, native, redshirted the entirety of the 2024-25 season due to injury. The Missouri transfer is 70-17 in his career, a four-time All-American and two-time Big 12 conference champion. 

Elam also placed sixth at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 2024 as the No. 12 seed. He is also a two-time NWCA Scholar All-American and a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection. 

Dean will join Iowa State after a successful season that ended with a MAC Championship at Rider. He fronts a 45-42 career record and is ranked No. 14 nationally. 

Dean reached the round of 16 in this year’s NCAA Wrestling Championships, having lost his only two bouts on tiebreakers. 

Cyclones in the portal

Five former Cyclones have found new homes ahead of May 2, the end of the transfer portal timeline. Graduates Christian Carroll and Kysen Terukina exit with one year of eligibility remaining, Carroll to Wyoming and Terukina to North Carolina. Junior Casey Swiderski will head to Oklahoma State.

Graduate Zach Redding will make his way to North Carolina State and junior Christian Stanek landed a spot with Division III Central College.

A host of names still remain in the portal: graduates Cole Carlucci and Caden Schmidt, juniors Nate Schon and Cody Chittum and freshman Canon Acklin.

Official portal updates can be found on the FloWrestling website.