The twisty career path of 2021 NCAA champion AJ Ferrari is set to take another turn, as he announced on Monday that he would be leaving Iowa and looking to wrestle elsewhere.
"To all of the Iowa Hawkeye fans, coaches, and wrestlers that were always respectful and knew my character and supported me - thank you 🙏," said Ferrari on Instagram.
"I am leaving Iowa, and start official visits today. I am excited for the next step for me."
In his Instagram note, Ferrari also confirmed that he has three years of college wrestling eligibility remaining.
Ferrari was never on the Iowa wrestling roster but had been heavily tied to the Iowa program in recent years after leaving Oklahoma State in a cloud of controversy. Ferrari displayed a brash personality en route to winning an NCAA championship while wrestling for the Cowboys in 2021, but injuries stemming from a car accident and legal issues prevented him from competing after that.
Ferrari was accused of unwanted sexual contact and charged with sexual battery by the Stillwater Police Department. That charge was dismissed in court last October.
The closest Ferrari came to competing for the Hawkeyes was at the 2023 Soldier Salute tournament in Coralville last December. Ferrari wrestled unattached (without a formal college affiliation) in the 197 lb bracket. At that tournament, Ferrari defeated Iowa wrestler Zach Glazier in the final with a late takedown.
However, there was significant chaos after the match, as Glazier shoved Ferrari and Ferrari then threw a punch at Glazier and flipped off both Glazier and the crowd. That chaos resulted in the match decision being changed from a win for Ferrari to Ferrari being disqualified and Glazier winning instead.
Ferrari has two younger brothers and at one point there were discussions about all three wrestling for Iowa. Anthony Ferrari, the middle sibling, announced plans to attend Iowa and wrestle for the Hawkeyes over a year ago (in March of 2023), but has thus far not enrolled in classes at Iowa or been added to the Iowa wrestling roster. Angelo Ferrari, the youngest brother, signed with Iowa last fall and is currently listed in the UI student directory. The official Iowa wrestling roster has not yet been updated for the upcoming 2024-25 season.
But when that roster page is updated, it won't include the eldest Ferrari brother, the talented and controversial AJ Ferrari. Zach Glazier, an NCAA qualifier and Big Ten Tournament runner-up, will be Iowa's primary competitor at 197 lbs this winter.
