Ben Kueter came to Iowa in 2023 with grand dreams of competing at a high level in both football and wrestling. Two years into his Hawkeye career, various issues have prevented Kueter from making that two-sport vision a reality.
On Thursday night, the latest setback for Kueter became known: per Kueter's mother Tina, he's going to have arthroscopic surgery to repair a hip injury that bothered him during the 2024-25 season.
The arthroscopic surgery on Kueter's hip is scheduled for Friday, April 4. Per the report, the expected recovery time for a surgery of this nature is at least 4-6 months, with a 6-8 month timeline being more likely in order for Kueter to be fully recovered.
Given that recovery timeline, Kueter will not be able to participate in spring or fall football practice or the 2025 football season this fall. However, as Tina Kueter notes, the plan now is for Ben to be ready to compete on the wrestling mat next winter.
"He should however be ready for mid-November to compete," she said. "Ben will wrestle for the 2025-2026 year."
Kueter went 21-9 overall as a redshirt freshman in 2024-25 and produced some of his best wrestling of the season at the end of the year. He went 5-1 and finished third at the Big Ten Tournament and followed that up by going 3-3 at the NCAA Tournament and earning All-America honors with an eighth place finish on the podium. The fact that Kueter was able to do that while dealing with a lingering hip injury makes those results even more impressive.
After the NCAA Tournament, Kueter indicated that his plan was to return to the football team and compete for Kirk Ferentz on the gridiron this fall. Due to NCAA rules, that return wouldn't have been until summer anyway -- Kueter spent 2024-25 on a wrestling season and would not have been able to resume football activities until this summer. Now that return to the football field will be further delayed.
Kueter actually has yet to see the field as a football player at Iowa. He arrived at Iowa in 2023 but did not play that fall. He did compete briefly in wrestling during the 2023-24 season, going 3-1 in limited action and preserving his redshirt.
Last summer, Kueter indicated that he would be focusing exclusively on wrestling during fall 2024 and winter 2025 and would forego football activities in the fall. Kueter made that decision because he was set to compete in the U20 World Championships in Spain last fall; it did not make sense to split his time between football and wrestling while trying to contend for a U20 world championship in September and get ready for the college wrestling season in 2024-25. Kueter ultimately earned a silver medal at the U20 world championships.
Now Kueter is set to miss another football season -- as well as practice in the spring (though he was going to miss that anyway) and this summer. The last time Kueter took part in football activities was fall 2023 and it will be at least 2026 before he has another opportunity to play football.
Kueter was a highly-coveted in both football and wrestling coming out of Iowa City High and appeared to be a top contender to contribute at linebacker at Iowa. Instead, injuries and other factors have combined to keep him off the football field. For now, Kueter will again put aside those two-sport dreams and focus on recovery and rehabilitation -- and getting ready for the 2025-26 wrestling season.
