Former Iowa 197 pounder Massoma Endene plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal following his dismissal from the Hawkeyes. Endene was ranked as high as No. 4 this year at 197 pounds following his arrival from Division III Wartburg College.
Endene spent two years at Iowa Lakes Community College – where he was a two-time NJCAA All-American (and 2022 runner up) – before moving on to Wartburg. He briefly committed to Wisconsin last season before pivoting and returning to Wartburg.
“I have an announcement to make – and that announcement is that Mo Endene is no longer on the roster,” head coach Tom Brands said January 13th. “My statement to that is sometimes these things work and sometimes they don’t work. And this one just didn’t work out. We wish him the best and that’s the extent of it.”
Asked if he wanted to provide any further details on the departure of his starting 197-pounder, Brands was brief, offering, “That’s as far as I’ll go.”
Arguably the most intriguing offseason addition in the country, Endene joined the Hawkeyes after a standout Division III career in which he won three-consecutive national titles for Wartburg. Endene caught the nation’s eye when he put together an undefeated weekend at the National Duals Invitational in November – including a dual-clinching victory over rival Oklahoma State.
Five days later, he earned the biggest win of his (brief) Iowa career with a dramatic last-second takedown of returning All-American Mac Stout – ascending to the #4 ranked wrestler in the country in the process. Since that win, Endene only competed once more in an Iowa singlet – losing 8-2 to No. 2 Rocky Elam as part of Iowa’s streak-breaking defeat in the Cy-Hawk dual.
Endene has shared no details as far as where he’ll go for next season to finish his wrestling career. Iowa has also seen their ups and down this year, including the hole at 197.
“They won six matches. We won four,” Brands said after Iowa lost to Minnesota this past weekend. “We had some performances where we had guys that did not think about how they were feeling. They went out and they wrestled, they scored points. And that was a common ingredient in the matches that we had bonus points, and that has to permeate the team. We had two matches where we had guys stop resting before the clock was done ticking. That cannot happen. That will not happen, that will not happen. That is not what we are about. We have the guys in the room. I will maintain that. I will be consistent, that can do the job …
“Score, score points consistently from the first whistle and wrestle all the way through the periods, first period, second period, third period. Wrestle all the way through the match and keep scoring.”
