Ben Kueter is the kind of athlete who goes all in, everywhere. At Iowa City High School, he was a four-star linebacker prospect , even getting named a finalist for the prestigious Butkus Award, recognizing the nation’s best linebacker. He also received offers from multiple Power Five schools and, just for fun, also happened to be a U20 World Champion in freestyle wrestling! Naturally, he took this overachieving energy to the University of Iowa, determined to juggle both sports at the collegiate level. But is this sort of excellence sustainable?

Unfortunately, in Ben Kueter’s case, it hasn’t seemed likely, at least for the time being. It was announced that he will miss the 2025 football season due to an upcoming hip surgery. The All-American heavyweight wrestler is expected to make a full recovery and return to competition for the Hawkeyes next winter. The news was first reported in a Facebook post by Kueter’s mother, Tina. “He was having hip issues this fall that were thought would go away,” she wrote. “Turns out, it didn’t go away. He is having an arthroscopy with a hip repair. The recovery is extensive but sounds like he will be brand new and feel so much better! Flexibility and range of motion will be back to normal!”

Kueter’s surgery is scheduled for Friday, April 4, and doctors estimate a recovery timeline of 4-6 months, with a full return expected between 6-8 months. Given that timeframe, he won’t be available for Iowa football in 2025 but should be ready to return to the wrestling mat by mid-November. This marks yet another delay in Kueter’s football career, after he took a hiatus in early June this year to focus on wrestling.

What Ben Kueter can expect for the future

Ben Kueter came to Iowa with ambitions of excelling in both wrestling and football, just as he had at Iowa City High School. However, balancing both sports has proven challenging. After briefly competing in wrestling as a true freshman in 2023-24, he shifted his focus entirely to wrestling in 2024-25. Kueters won a silver medal at the U23 World Championships and earned All-American honors with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Following his NCAA run, Kueter announced his intent to return to football this fall, tweeting, “College wrestling is a grind and I freaking love it!! All American… back to football.” He even retweeted a post by Des Moines Register reporter Chad Leistikow confirming his football return. However, his hip injury has now pushed that goal further down the road. For now, his focus will be on rehabilitation and preparing for the upcoming wrestling season.

But it turns out that Kueter may have been unable to return to football so soon, even if the surgery hadn’t scuppered his plans. Because, as Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz discussed, the fact that Kueter was on a wrestling scholarship would’ve made him ineligible to join the football team till at least the summer.

And with Ben Kueter out for the second consecutive season of football, Ferentz was cautious when speaking of his return. “I’ve got to think he’s got a great opportunity in front of him there (with wrestling), too,” he said. “Not that he doesn’t here, but it’s a real challenge trying to balance two sports. That’s a challenge. So we’ll wait and see what happens here.”

His mother also acknowledged the difficulty of this setback but emphasized their faith and patience: “We are just taking it one decision at a time. Ready for Ben to feel better! Pray for the surgeon and docs and a speedy recovery.” Ben Kueter himself appeared to accept the situation with resignation, sharing the news on X with the caption, “God’s plan.” Although his return to football remains uncertain, he will continue his wrestling career. As long as he maintains his health and physicality, Kueter could indeed make significant strides on the mat.  And who knows, in time, maybe on the field too!