Who Won the College Transfer Game?

2021 McKendree national champion Felicity Taylor transferred to Iowa in the offseason. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

It was a busy offseason for women’s college wrestling, especially with the coaching changes at McKendree and Texas Wesleyan, as numerous wrestlers moved to other programs. Here’s who scored big in the recruiting chess match that changed the landscape of the NCAA and NAIA.

The teams are ranked 1-6 with a point system based on NCAA tournament scoring using the athlete’s most recent result (1st place – 16 points, 2nd place – 12 points, 3rd place – 10 points, etc). We also gave a point per transfer even if they did not place.

Sam Schmitz left McKendree to take the Director of Wrestling & men’s head coach position at Central Methodist. Photo courtesy of CMU Athletics.

1. Central Methodist University (NAIA) (31 points)
Turns out the most important transfer for CMU was the hiring of McKendree head coach Sam Schmitz as their new wrestling director. After placing 24th at NAIA last year, CMU has immediately made themselves relevant as six McKendree wrestlers, including three All-Americans, followed their coach to CMU. With Brieana Delgado already at the helm as the women’s head coach, who herself was a 4x All-American for Oklahoma City, she’s got a roster now that will make them top 10 contenders. Here’s the transfers:

Victoria Nunez
116-pound Victoria Nunez
Weight: 116
Transfer school: McKendree University
Class: Junior
Accolades: Nunez was a 2x Texas state champ & 2x USAW high school All-American.

Caitlyn Thorne
Weight: 116/123
Transfer school: McKendree University
Class: Junior
Accolades: Thorne was a U20 All-American and part-time starter at McKendree.

Hannah Hall
Weight: 116/123
Transfer school: McKendree University
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: Hall took 3rd at U20 Women’s Nationals this year, putting her on the U20 National Team.

Skye Realin
Weight: 136
Transfer school: McKendree University
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: Realin is currently ranked #10 in FloWrestling’s Women’s Senior Freestyle Rankings and was an NCAA All-American last year with a 4th place finish at NCWWC.
4th NCAA

Emmily Patneaud
Weight: 136/143
Transfer school: McKendree University
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: Patneaud was a NCWWC/NCAA All-American last year, placing 5th for the Bearcats, and followed that up with a 5th place finish at the U.S. Open.

Jaycee Foeller
Weight: 191
Transfer school: McKendree
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: Foeller was the NCAA runner-up last year as a freshman.

2. Southern Oregon (NAIA) (30 points)
#2 behind Campbellsville last year in the NAIA team race, SOU was already a national contender. But add to it three All-American transfers from the NCAA champion McKendree program, two of them team captains, and they’ve given themselves an even better shot at winning a national title. That distinction is a coveted prize in the inaugural season of the NAIA sanctioning women’s wrestling. Here’s their transfer additions:

Natalie Reyna
Weight: 109
Transfer school: McKendree
Class: Grad student
Accolades: Reyna was co-captain of the McKendree Bearcats 3x National Champion teams. She was also a 2x NCAA All-American at National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships (3rd in 2021 and 4th in 2022)

McKendree’s Joye Levendusky transferred to Southern Oregon. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com

Joye Levendusky
Weight: 170
Transfer school: McKendree
Class: Grad student
Accolades: Levendusky was also co-captain of the McKendree championship program, earning two trips to the national finals and becoming a 4x All-American. She’s currently ranked #8 in FloWrestling’s Women’s Senior Freestyle Rankings at 76 kg, competed in the Olympic Trials last year, has made two U20 National Teams, and is an alternate for the U23 National Team this year.

Grace Kristoff
Weight: 170/191
Transfer school: McKendree
Class: Grad student
Accolades: Kristoff is a 2x NCAA All-American, placing 3rd in 2021 & 4th in 2022. She was also ranked in the top 10 at the Senior level earlier this year at 76 kg.

3. McKendree (NCAA) (25 points)
It’s amazing that McKendree made this list. When Coach Sam Schmitz left town, the team started to hemorrhage All-Americans, even though some stayed, including national champions Cameron Guerin, Alara Boyd, and Sydnee Kimber. But after the bleeding stopped, new head coach Alexio Garcia landed some solid transfers, giving McKendree a legitimate shot at the unheard of quad-peat. The Bearcats won the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships for NCAA programs in each of the first three years from 2020-2022. Here’s their transfer recruits:

Salyna Shotwell transferred from Life University to McKendree. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com

Salyna Shotwell
Weight: 116
Transfer school: Life University
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: The Washington state champ was the NAIA national runner-up in 2022 and is currently ranked #10 at the Senior level in FloWrestling’s Senior Women’s Freestyle Rankings.

Sylvia Pierce
Weight: 136
Transfer school: Life University
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: Pierce was a 2x Michigan state champ in high school.

Alexandra Castillo
Weight: 170/191
Transfer school: Campbellsville University
School: 2nd year Senior
Accolades: The 2020 WCWA National Champion is a 4x All-American, including placing 2nd in the NAIA in 2021. She was also 2x Fargo champ in high school.

4. Iowa (NCAA) (24 points - tie)
After securing arguably the best recruiting class in history, a few stellar transfers will land on the roster too, as Chun secured two U.S. Open winners to help launch her program. Here’s the transfers to Iowa.

Felicity Taylor
Weight: 116
Transfer school: McKendree
Class: Senior
Accolades: Taylor was a 3x All-American at McKendree, including a national title in 2021. This year, she won the U.S. Open, was a Final X finalist, a bronze medal at the Grand Prix in Spain, is second on the U.S. Senior National team, and is ranked #3 at 53 kg in FloWrestling’s Women’s Senior Freestyle Rankings.

Nanea Estrella transferred from Menlo to Iowa. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com

Nanea Estrella
Weight: 130
Transfer school: Menlo
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: After taking second in the NAIA, Estrella won the U.S. Open this year, and followed that up with U20 gold medal at the Pan Am Championships, and placed 4th at the World Team Trials. She’s currently ranked #6 at 59 kg in FloWrestling’s Women’s Senior Freestyle Rankings

4. Life University (NAIA) (24 points - tie)
Life University has a remarkable recruiting class, including all three McBryde sisters from New York. On top of it they added three transfer recruits, two of them already college All-Americans. Here’s their roster adds:

Miranda DiBenedetto
Weight: 101/109
Transfer school: Big Bend Community College
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: DiBenedetto was the 2022 NCWA National Champion.

Kaci Bice
Weight: 123
Transfer school: Southwest Oregon Community College
Class: Sophomore

Jasmine Godinez
Weight: 109
Transfer school: Texas Wesleyan
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: Godinez was an NAIA All-American last season, placing 5th for the Rams.

6. North Central (NCAA) (20 points)
North Central placed 4th NCAA last year, but their trajectory has been on a steady climb since they started in 2019. With Yelena Makoyed as their anchor, one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in women’s college wrestling, they added some pieces through the transfer portal that will make them a formidable opponent for anyone. Here’s their adds:

Jaslynn Gallegos
Weight: 116
Transfer school: Presbyterian
Class: Senior
Accolades: Gallegos was a 3x NCAA All-American for Division I program Presbyterian, placing 4th in 2020, 3rd in 2021, 4th in 2022). She also placed 2nd at U20 Nationals 2021 and competed in the Olympic Trials last year. She’s ranked #7 in FloWrestling Senior Women’s Freestyle Rankings.

Sara Sterner
Weight: 123/130
Transfer school: Cuesta Community College
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: Sterner made a name for herself when she placed 2nd at U23 Nationals in May at 57 kg, including a win over King All-American Melanie Mendoza

London Houston
Weight: 130
Transfer school: King University
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: Houston won a U20 Pan Am gold in 2021 after she finished as the national U20 runner-up. She also won a Fargo title her senior year and was 9-4 with seven tech falls for King as a freshman.
2021 U20 Pan Am gold, 2021 U20 national runner-up, 2021 Fargo champ

Brittyn Corbishley
Weight: 170
Transfer school: Texas Wesleyan
Class: Sophomore
Accolades: Corbishley took 4th at the NAIA National Championships last year and won a Fargo title as a senior in 2021.

Notable: U23 runner-up Ashley Lekas from texas Wesleyan is heading to Augsburg for her sophomore season. And there was one other McKendree transfer, as sophomore Esther Levendusky landed at top 10 NCAA program Emmanuel.

One challenge for college coaches, especially NAIA coaches, is that NCAA athletes have to sign by June 15th. That’s a pretty small window.