The June 2020 Transfer Portal Recap
The June 2020 Transfer Portal Recap
All the NCAA wrestling news from the transfer portal up until June 27, 2020.
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The NCAA wrestling grapevine has been burning up with transfer rumors and breaking news. Three big names entered the famous transfer portal, an NCAA clearinghouse for student-athletes on the move, all in the last full week of June. But before we recap all the recent portal news, head over to Kyle Bratke's exhaustive 2019-20 Transfer Tracker to give our guy's hard work some well-deserved pageviews.
The wrestling equivalent to MLB's hot stove got stirring early this week with some Monday news (literally) when North Carolina's Kennedy Monday entered the transfer portal. Monday is a two-time national qualifier for the Tar Heels who has one year of eligibility remaining.
The FRL crew discussed possible landings for the Texas native:
Ultimately the discussion proved moot, as Monday later announced that he would be staying put in Chapel Hill for his redshirt senior season.
The next portentous portal particulate to make it's way to the front page was news of Northwestern's Sebastian Riveria declaring his intent to start the transfer process. Rivera was a two-time All-American for the Wildcats in his first two years of eligibility and received the number one seed at the 2020 tournament at 133-pounds.
The transfer of Rivera to Rutgers, located in his home state of New Jersey, was long-rumored, with a great deal of the speculation stemming from Rivera addressing the crowd after winning his second Big Title in a packed RAC, the home gym of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Skip to the 10:16 mark to hear Rivera's salute to the Garden State.
Indeed, Rivera announced he was coming home to the great state of New Jersey soon after the first story broke.
Portal-mania wasn't done after Rivera's intentions were broadcast to the community on Tuesday, as that same day, Gavin Teasdale's name appeared in the transfer portal. A four-time Pennsylvania state champ, Teasdale was on the of the most sought-after recruits from the high school class of 2018.
Teasdale started his collegiate career at Penn State, though he never took the mat while matriculating in Happy Valley. Teasdale transferred to Iowa the next year, amassing a lackluster 8-4 record for the Hawkeyes. Teasdale's next destination is unknown at the moment.
Three potential transfers of this caliber inspired most of the discussion on Wednesday's episode of FRL.
With COVID-19 wrecking havoc on NCAA sports of all varieties, many, if not all, athletic departments are in the midst of a financial crisis resulting in severe budget tightening. This will undoubtedly spur even more transfers as the most tumultuous collegiate off-season in living memory continues.