As they've done often in recent offseasons, Iowa wrestling has been hitting the transfer portal to fill gaps in the lineup ahead of the 2025-26 season. One of the largest remaining gaps was at 197 lbs, where Iowa must replace national champion Stephen Buchanan.
The Hawkeyes have their man for that spot now, with three-time Division III national champion Massoma Endene joining Iowa out of the transfer portal earlier this week.
Endene has been dominant at Wartburg College for the past three seasons and now will be moving 100 miles south on I-380 to Iowa City for his final year of eligibility. At Wartburg, Endene went 76-1 with 33 pins over the previous three seasons, winning three Division III national championships.
Recently, Endene has also had solid results in international competition, winning gold medals at the U23 Pan American Championships in 2024 an 2025 and earning a spot on the U.S. team that competed at the U23 World Championships in 2024 (he finished 7th).
Endene's stop in Iowa City will be the third in what has been a very lengthy college journey. His collegiate career began in the junior-college ranks at Iowa Lakes Community College in 2020-21 and he spent two years there, earning All-American honors twice and finishing as national runner-up in 2022.
Typically, an athlete that had competed for two years at the JUCO level and three years at the NCAA level (Division I, II, or III) would have exhausted his eligibility -- but these are atypical times when it comes to collegiate eligibility. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia sued the NCAA, alleging that the NCAA rule stating that JUCO seasons counted against NCAA eligibility violated antitrust laws, and while the lawsuit is still pending, a federal judge did issue an injunction that permitted Pavia to pursue another year of eligibility.
As a result of that injunction, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a waiver that granted an additional year of eligibility (2025-26) to athletes who had competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years and would otherwise have used up their NCAA eligibility after 2024-25. Endene fits those criteria, as he competed at a non-NCAA school (Iowa Lakes CC) and had used up five years of of eligibility (including a COVID year) at the end of 2024-25.
"I, luckily, was given an opportunity to have another year with the whole JUCO ruling. So I just started to look at possible universities I could train at if it worked out," Endene said in an interview with FloWrestling about what led him to Iowa in. "And Iowa came about and if I had the opportunity to train there and I know I could be around the best partners and have the opportunity to train at the RTC after. It's not really a one-year thing for me, find a place I can settle in at and train at for the next four, five, six years."
As he noted, Endene also chose Iowa with an eye on what comes after his college eligibility is (finally) exhausted and he's pursuing dreams of World and Olympic gold.
"[In] this situation I feel as if the coaches are really able to see my vision of what I wanted," he said. "I know I can be around the best partners in the room who are going to push me and take me to that next level and allow me to accomplish my goal of being a national champion. And, outside of that, in a larger view, [to] be a world champion, Olympic champion, thinking ahead."
Endene was absolutely dominant against Division III competition at Wartburg -- in addition to going 76-1 in three seasons, he also scored bonus points in over 80% of his victories. That dominance and explosive, high-scoring style is what he hopes to bring to the mat in an Iowa singlet this winter.
"I like scoring points," Endene said in his interview with FloWrestling about what Iowa fans should expect from him this coming season. "Highlight reel -- that's what I try to do. I try to be the person that you go to the duals to watch and I want to be entertaining."
To date, Endene hasn't competed against much Division I competition, so there will certainly be some questions about how he will handle the spike in difficulty from Division III to Division I -- and, ultimately, those questions won't be answered until December, January, and beyond. Still, he's been linked to other Division I programs -- he nearly went to Wisconsin last season and was being pursued by a few other Big Ten programs this offseason -- and his international success indicates a wrestler who can compete effectively beyond the Division III level.
In terms of roster construction, Endene's one year of eligibility should fit well with Iowa's future plans at this weight. Harvey Ludington, the top-ranked high school wrestler at 190 lbs and a top-15 overall prospect in the class of 2025, will be joining the Iowa program this winter, but having Endene in place to man the 197 spot this season will enable Ludington to use a redshirt and get acclimated at the college level before taking over in 2026-27.
Endene is the fourth wrestler that Iowa has added out of the transfer portal so far, joining Nasir Bailey and Jordan Williams from Little Rock and Dean Peterson from Rutgers.
Stay tuned to Hawkeye Beacon for further information regarding the transfer portal, prep recruitment, and much more.
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