Former Iowa State wrestler Cody Chittum ; Instagram - @sluthical

Former Number 1 recruit Cody Chittum reportedly signs with new NCAA program weeks after entering the transfer portal

Modified Mar 31, 2025 05:25 GMT

Iowa State Cyclones' Cody Chittum committed to Ohio State Buckeyes after entering the transfer portal after posting underwhelming performances at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Chittum was the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2022.

Cody Chittum, who finished runner-up in the Big Ten in 2024, hails from Cleveland High School. He became a junior freestyle national champion and amassed state championship titles twice. He qualified for the Nationals in his first year with Iowa State, but he missed the rest of the year because of an illness.

Chittum anticipated a comeback at the 2025 NCAA Championships and earning All-American honors, but he succumbed to Minnesota's Tom Askey after falling 4-3. Only Jacob Frost from Iowa State entered the All-American.

Shortly after the heartbreak, Chittum entered the transfer portal alongside over 100 athletes and recently committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes for his remaining 2 years of his collegiate career.

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Chittum concluded his sophomore season 19-8.

Former Iowa State's Cody Chittum reflected on his 2024 Nationals heartbreak and shared the biggest lesson he learned

Cody Chittum competed in the 157-pound category at the 2024 NCAA Championships but failed to make a podium finish. Shortly after, in his college's Annual Media Day, the Cyclones wrestler revealed that the wisdom he acquired from his past performances will be useful in the upcoming days.

"Wisdom was one of them, but probably, too, is just knowing what to expect. I still don’t know what happened, but I don’t want to keep going to that moment, that memory. All I know, is that if I do something that will change me, that will make me a national champ every day one percent, then that one percent will add up almost to 100 percent.” (via FloWrestling)

He further added that the knowledge and the experiences he gained in his journey would help him lead the other wrestlers.

"I can’t say (I’m a leader) right now because I haven’t done anything. I don’t have any credentials. But I try to set an example. I’m not a leader, but I just try to help everyone out," Cody Chittum said.

The Ohio State Buckeyes wrestler also shared how he has seen life at its worst and is still figuring out a lot of things.

"There were a lot of demons I had to face. Let’s just say that. A lot of things I went through by myself. Just figuring it out. Figuring out life. Figuring out who you are and what you really want to do.."

Cody Chittum will start the 2025-2026 season with the Ohio State Buckeyes wrestling team.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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