Drexel transfer Austin DeSanto headed to Iowa

Drexel’s Austin DeSanto is headed to Iowa City.

On Sunday evening both FloWrestling and Andy Hamilton at Trackwrestling reported DeSanto was indeed transferring to the Hawkeyes. DeSanto, who projects as a 133 pounder and will have three years of eligibility left, described why to Hamilton.

“I thought about it for a while,” DeSanto said. “This whole week I thought about what I’m about and this opportunity and what I want to do with them and how hard they wrestle and how hard they train. That’s what I’m about. That’s what I want to become and I think they can get me to the point where I can become a national champ. That’s why I chose them.”

Iowa certainly has a knack for developing and fielding extraordinary talent at 125 and 133, so the fit seems natural. The Hawkeyes had issue filling the 133-pound spot all year, as senior Philip Laux went 9-4 and sophomore Paul Glynn went 8-11.

This was a spot Iowa desperately needed some help and to get a guy who went 30-7 last year is pretty great. DeSanto made it all the way to the round of 12 at the NCAA tournament last year, so I feel safe to say he’s probably for real.

Santos and Spencer Lee have some history (they met twice in the Pennsylvania state tournament) and it’s likely the 125-pound national champion had a little something to do with the recruiting process.

It sounds like Iowa beat out Rutgers and Penn State for Santos talents as well, which is a win in and of itself.

Bottom line? Iowa filled a big hole in its lineup and the future looks even brighter. Go Hawks.