When it comes to AJ Ferrari, the wrestling world is never too sure what to expect. For months now, the wrestler has kept fans on the edge of their seats. Amid rumors of a switch to the MMA, many were wondering if he would join the Hawkeye’s roster for the 2025 season. It doesn’t help that Ferrari is often spotted consistently training with the team at Hawkeye’s gym. While the 23-year-old kept his fans in the dark momentarily, he has now revealed his plans for the next season.

The wrestler announced that he would be committing to California State Bakersfield. He announced the news in an Instagram post with CSUB wrestling as collaborators. Ferrari captioned, “🚨AJ FERRARI COMMITTED To CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD🚨👌👌🏎️💨‼️”While he had intended on joining the Hawkeyes, his younger brother, Angelo, will be following that route later this season.

As a true freshman at Oklahoma State University, AJ Ferrari was a 2021 NCAA champion at 197 lbs. While he started the next season strong with a 10-0 record, he was injured in a serious car accident. Since then, he hasn’t contested in the past two seasons. However, he was supposed to join Iowa wrestling last winter. To his dismay, all he experienced was radio silence. But undeterred, he decided to take a completely different route—quitting college and moving towards MMA.

After his bout with Iowa NCAA qualifier Zach Glazier, the wrestler was disqualified in the Soldier Salute finals; his future with the Hawkeyes was as ambiguous as ever. However, with 3 years left of his eligibility, it was more than obvious that he wanted to make sure his collegiate career was as fruitful as ever. It seemed unlikely that the 23-year-old would make his way back to the championships again. But his college search has finally come to an end.

AJ Ferrari’s hot and cold connection with Iowa

AJ Ferrari contested the Soldier Salute finals unattached. However, after the tense situation with Glazier, many believed this would sever his ties with the university. But he put everyone’s minds at ease by posting a workout video from the Hawkeyes’ gym on Instagram. He kept it pretty simple with the caption, “Maintaining serious explosive power and strength – even though I’m down over 20lbs from the off-season.” But this wasn’t the only time he was spotted in the gym.

In February of this year, the 23-year-old posted another video of him in the gym. Only this time it included his clean jerk workout, captioned “Never sacrifice goals and aspirations for temporary relief from pain and suffering. It’s never worth it, no matter how you may feel. Your excuse is invalid‼️” Despite not being associated with the Hawkeyes, he frequently trains at the gym. His well-documented appearances constantly make an appearance on his Instagram profile. But with his recent announcement, AJ Ferrari has finally put the Iowa rumors to rest. Did his announcement surprise you? Let us know in the comments.