The No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes debuted their 2025-26 lineup on Thursday in front of a packed home crowd in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and lit up the scoreboard against Bellarmine, 40-0.
Here's what we learned about this year's Hawks and what their opening season performances might tell us about their potential this year.
Three transfers and a redshirt freshman Hawkeye settle into Carver experience with decision wins
Iowa has become known, in recent years, for bringing in high-caliber transfer athletes and integrating them into the 'Iowa Style." This year is no different. The Hawks welcomed All-American Nasir Bailey to Iowa City over the summer along with Bailey's former Little Rock teammate Jordan Williams and Rutgers Round of 12 finisher Dean Peterson to fill in lineup spots at 141 pounds, 157 pounds and 125 pounds. Iowa also added DIII NCAA champion Massoma Endene to the lineup at 197 pounds.
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These additions give Iowa more depth, and they also offer Bailey, Peterson, Williams and Endene the chance to compete in one of the best environments in college wrestling: a largely full Carver Hawkeye Arena.
In their first matches as Hawkeyes, three of those four new athletes — Bailey, Peterson and Endene — all recorded decisions against Bellarmine, giving them a 1-0 start to the year. None of them gave up a takedown, but expect them to continue to increase their offensive pace as the season goes and they become more immersed in the gritty, forceful and aggressive "Iowa style" that Hawk fans want to see.
Peterson, in particular, is an athlete who has shown that kind of intensity in the past and feels like a perfect fit for the Hawkeye culture. He's tough and intense, and he showed that side of his wrestling style in his match against Damion Ryan when he shot up off the whistle to start the second period, escape and came in for a takedown to build a lead and some momentum. That's the kind of aggression he'll be expected to hone as part of his new team. Peterson has been in the All-American conversation since his freshman year when he went 22-11 and finished in the Round of 12. Last season, he lost to Stevo Poulin, now of Iowa State, 6-4 in the Blood Round. He has one final shot as a Hawkeye, and while his performance against Bellarmine didn't give enough indication of where he's at against ranked opponents, he'll likely have a rematch against Poulin in the Cy-Hawk dual at the end of the month.
Carver Dub for Dean 🏠
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling)
125 – #10 Dean Peterson (I) dec. Damion Ryan (B), 5-0
#3 Iowa 9, Bellarmine 0
Redshirt freshman Kael Voinovich, an Iowa commit out of high school, also made his Carver debut for the season on Thursday, beating Zac Cowen of Bellarmine 7-3. Voinovich wrestled in one dual last year during his redshirt season but lost to Dakota Morris of West Point by fall. He posted an overall record of 6-5 against Division I competition last year and is expected to be in a roster battle this year, the 149-pound spot, with teammate Ryder Block. Both were listed as probables before the dual, but Voinovich got the nod.
Jordan Williams, Angelo Ferrari came to compete under the lights
While some freshman used this match to get their bearings and find their place inside Carver-Hawkeye, two other newer athletes wasted no time establishing themselves as showstoppers in the lineup. Redshirt freshman Angelo Ferrari and junior transfer athlete Williams electrified the Iowa fan base with a pin and a tech fall respectively in their first duals of the 2025-2026 season.
As the lone athlete with a pin against the Knights, Williams' performance stands out, as does his pure excitement for being a Hawkeye. His fall against Jeb Prechtel came in the first period and was followed by a celebration and a headgear toss that cost the Hawks a point, but his message was clear: he's going to be fun to watch this year for Iowa.
A pin in his debut 📌
— Big Ten Wrestling (@B1GWrestling)
No. 11 at 157 lbs Jordan Williams is going to be a problem this season 🔥
Ferrari brought that kind of energy too, though his passion is more familiar to Hawks fans, as he's been in the program since 2024 and competed in three duals for the team last year without burning his redshirt. His win over All-American Evan Bockman in last year's Cy-Hawk dual showed the country that he was a podium threat, but it was his victory against four-time All-American and NCAA finalist Dustin Plott that solidified Ferrari as a title threat. Now that he's the man for Iowa at this weight and officially in the starting lineup, Ferrari's making each dual count. He dominated Bellarmine's Gavin Ricketts 21-5 and will have No. 12 Evan Bates of Missouri next. Ferrari's big test, much like Peterson's, will come on Feb.16 when he'll have his shot against a top-ranked Nittany Lion in Josh Barr.
All-Americans flex expected speed, strength against Knights in dominant fashion
While Iowa fans can anticipate the points that Ferrari and Williams will score the rest of this year as newcomers, they also know they have a slate of reliable returning All-Americans who have already proven their ability to score points at NCAAs. NCAA finalists Mikey Caliendo and Drake Ayala opened their senior seasons with tech falls against Bellarmine, beating Noah Hall and Trayce Eckman at 165 and 133 respectively by scores of 22-6 and 19-4. These were workmanlike performances for the national runner-ups and show that Iowa's two biggest veteran stars have not lost any horsepower in the offseason.
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All-American Patrick Kennedy, who is currently ranked No. 2 in the country at 174 pounds behind Penn State's Levi Haines also added a tech fall to his resume against the Knights when he beat Grant O’Dell 19-4. None of these three performances are surprising, but they should still be seen as encouraging signs for Iowa. There's no rust on these athletes.
Heavyweight Ben Kueter was the only All-American to record a decision but he did so definitively, beating No. 28 Daulton Mayer 8-2 in the lone ranked bout of the night. Kueter is currently ranked No. 5 at heavyweight with his best career win coming against All-American No. 6 Nick Feldman.
Iowa has a deep lineup, and five bonus point wins without giving up a takedown is a solid start. The Hawks will be tested even more next week though when they head to the National Duals to take on the No. 16 Missouri Tigers. If they win, Iowa would then wrestle the winner of No. 15 Illinois and No. 22 Little Rock, the latter of which would pit Bailey and Williams against their old squads with team prize money on the line.
