Rutgers wrestling transfer unseated by Anthony Knox and other former Knight find new homes
After adding two wrestlers, Rutgers lost two to the transfer portal.
Ayden Smith, the 125-pounder who was a national qualifier as a freshman last year for the Rutgers wrestling team, transferred to Iowa State on Thursday. Smith entered the portal following the season after the Scarlet Knights received a commitment from four-time state champion Anthony Knox . Knox is arguably Rutgers’ biggest recruit since Nick Suriano transferred from Penn State in 2017.
He is competing in the U. S. Open this weekend .
A Notre Dame Green Pond (Pa. ) graduate, Smith spent two years at Rutgers. After a redshirt season, he found himself in the starting lineup when Dean Peterson - like Knox a former state champion from St.
John Vianney - left for Iowa after qualifying for three NCAA tournaments and reaching two blood rounds with the Scarlet Knights. Max Hermes, a junior 157-pounder, was a second Rutgers wrestler who found a new home when he committed to Ohio. Hermes has mostly been a back-up with the Scarlet Knights during his career.