Offseason Q&A With Kevin Dresser

It's been a busy offseason for the Iowa State wrestling program. Cyclones.com caught up with head coach Kevin Dresser to recap the last few months.

Cyclones.com: With a full summer of training and time in the weight room, how are the guys looking heading into the fall?

Kevin Dresser: We had a good summer of training. The offseason has been much different than we all probably thought it was going to be. Immediately after the NCAA Championships, the collision of the transfer portal and NIL world happened which changed the sport of wrestling quite a bit. It certainly changed our roster a little bit, we have some new guys in town. As far as training goes, it was a good offseason. Our guys really got after it.

Cyclones.com: A few big offseason acquisitions have helped shape the potential 2023-24 lineup. How are transfers Garrett Grice and Will Feldkamp looking, as well as incoming freshman Cody Chittum?

KD: All three of those guys, on paper, appear to be the slight favorites at their weight classes, so they're obviously three really talented guys. Will is the senior member of that group and has already been an All-American, where guys like Garrett and Cody are potentially going into their first full season of collegiate wrestling.

They are all good in different ways. Grice is super athletic, Feldkamp is more of a roll-around sneaky kind of guy, and then you have the hard-nosed guy in Chittum. They all bring different things to the table, but they have all figured out how to win with their respective styles. It will be exciting to watch them all wrestle this year.

Cyclones.com: Talk about the battles you've seen in the room between two hard-nosed guys in Chittum and Casey Swiderski. What's it like to see them get after it?

KD: We have a lot of really good battles happening in the room right now from top to bottom. The goal is to always have a really tough room and I feel like we've done that to a higher standard every season we have been here. Watching guys like Swiderski and Chittum get after it is fun. They feed off each other and are making each other better every day.

Cyclones.com: Incoming freshman Tate Naaktgeboren won two Fargo national titles this summer. What growth have you seen from him and how excited are you to get him in an Iowa State singlet?

KD: I think we knew from day one that Tate was a guy who could really help us. As time went on and we're now getting him enrolled into school, he appears to have tremendous upside. He works hard, is a real tough kid and, most importantly, loves wrestling. That is a really good combination to have.

Right now, it appears we'll probably redshirt Tate this season, but don't be surprised if he gets called on at some point.

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸. 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀. 👊@Tate_Naak completes a dominant week in Fargo!

🌪🚨🌪 pic.twitter.com/FDpJhAuRMj
— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR) July 23, 2023

Cyclones.com: Who were the biggest winners in the weight room this offseason?

KD: Coach Ben Durbin does a great job and has done a heck of a job with our guys, especially this summer. He is very detail oriented and measures a lot of different things in the weight room with our team. A few names he's mentioned to me are guys like MJ Gaitan, Zach Redding, Julien Broderson and Ethan Perryman. Obviously Yonger Bastida, moving up to heavyweight, has had a great summer. But I think we have had really good growth across the board in the weight room this summer.

Cyclones.com: How is Yonger looking at heavyweight? How valuable is it to keep Sam Schuyler on staff as a graduate assistant to be a training partner for Yonger?

KD: It is great to have Sam in the room all the time. We will put him to work, but he also has goals to make some world teams, so they'll continue to make each other better. I think heavyweight is going to be very comfortable for Yonger. He's weighing between 235 and 238 pounds right now. He is definitely big and athletic enough to handle the weight class. I'm really excited to see his growth and I know he is really looking forward to being at heavyweight.

Cyclones.com: This will be David Carr's final season wrestling as a Cyclone. Reflect on his time here and what he has meant to Cyclone wrestling. What is his mindset entering his final year?

KD: Obviously, David has been a leader on and off the mat every year he's been here. It is going to be really fun to watch his last year. Sure, we'll all be sad when its over, but we want to focus on what's in front of us. Right now, what's in front of us is getting the privilege to watch David Carr chase another national title for one more season.

Cyclones.com: Cyclone fans broke the season ticket record before August even arrived. What can they expect to see in Hilton this year?

KD: This is going to be a really fun team. We have gotten better each season since we were hired six seasons ago. I think this is the best home schedule that we have put together, too. Our fans recognize that.

We really need people to get out and buy season tickets and come support this team. It's going to be a fun team to watch and it's a team that is going to win a lot. I'd like to see a lot of Cyclone fans in Hilton this year.

𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡 🔥

...and it's not even August.

Thank you, Cyclone Nation! 🙌

🌪🚨🌪 pic.twitter.com/XV5xriU8I1
— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR) July 31, 2023

Cyclones.com: Talk conference realignment… how excited are you to have Arizona State wrestling joining the Big 12 Conference in 2024-25?

KD: I think it is going to be good for our conference. Anytime you can get a good, quality team that is competing for the top five every year, it makes you better. The Big 12 Championship gets harder and harder to win, but that's alright. We need to experience hard things so we are ready for the last event on the calendar each year. It was a great environment when we hosted them in Hilton last season, so we are definitely looking forward to getting to do that more in the future.

Players Mentioned

Yonger Bastida

Julien Broderson

David Carr

Cody Chittum

Will Feldkamp

MJ Gaitan

Garrett Grice

Tate Naaktgeboren

Ethan Perryman

Zach Redding

Sam Schuyler

Casey Swiderski

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics