A.J. Ferrari (born July 24, 2001) is an American

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

and folkstyle wrestler who competes internationally at 92 kilograms and collegiately at 197 pounds. He was previously signed by the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

under its NIL ( Next in Line) program. In freestyle, he claimed a bronze medal at the 2018 Cadet World Championships and was the 2020 US Junior national champion. In folkstyle, Ferrari was the top-ranked high school wrestler at the time of his commitment to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, where he was a NCAA Division I national champion and

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

champion in 2021. In 2024, he announced his commitment to

Cal State Bakersfield California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Ba ...

, where he was a

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

champion and All-American, placing third at the NCAA Division I championships.

Amateur wrestling career

High school

Born and raised in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Ferrari first attended Allen High School, where he became a two-time state champion and claimed a

Walsh Jesuit Ironman The Ironman Wrestling Tournament is an American high school folkstyle wrestling invitational tournament. The IRONMAN Wrestling Tournament is one of the most prestigious and competitive high school wrestling tournaments in the country. Held every De ...

title, as well as a Cadet Fargo National Championship in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

. In 2018, Ferrari claimed a Cadet World Championship bronze medal before he and his family moved to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, where he attended

Blair Academy Blair Academy is a coeducational, boarding and day school for students in high school. The school serves students from ninth through twelfth grades as well as a small post-graduate class. The school's campus is located on a campus in Blairst ...

as the top-ranked 195-pounder in the country. While in Blair, he claimed a Beast of the East title by beating the second-ranked wrestler in the nation Jacob Cardenas (helping to the team title) and another Ironman title (also helping to the team title). He then transferred to

Bergen Catholic High School Bergen Catholic High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school in Oradell, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. Bergen Catholic operates under the supervision of the Roman ...

, where he was also dominant but not eligible to compete in the post-season, like in Blair. After that, he moved back to

Allen, Texas Allen is a city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County in the U.S. state of Texas, and a northern suburb in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The population was 104,627 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and was estimated to be 111 ...

, where his senior year was derailed by an ankle injury. In 2020, Ferrari claimed the US Junior National Championship in freestyle.

College

In October 2019, Ferrari, the top-recruit in the country, committed to

, over

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

2020–2021

During regular season, Ferrari compiled a 12–1 record, with his only loss being handed to him by the highly ranked Noah Adams from

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. Entering the post-season, Ferrari ran through the bracket to claim his first

title, becoming the first true freshman to be named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament since 2005. At the NCAAs, Ferrari, the fourth seed, clinched three matches to make the semifinals, notably defeating

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Jacob Warner from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and highly–ranked Tanner Sloan, before facing the Olympian and B1G Champion

Myles Amine Myles Nazem Amine (born 14 December 1996) is a freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 86 kilograms. Born in the United States, he represents San Marino internationally. He is a graduate of Detroit Catholic Central High School. C ...

. Ferrari was able to prove himself by soundly defeating the highly skilled three-time All-American on points to advance to the finals, taking out the top–seed. In the finale, he defeated Nino Bonaccorsi from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, becoming an

NCAA champion The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

as a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

, the third in the Cowboys' history. In April, Ferrari bumped up 17 pounds to make his senior

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

debut at age 19, at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials in April 1–3 as the sixth seed at 97 kilograms, in an attempt to represent the

United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to Jul ...

. In the first round, he was defeated by 2018 NCAA champion Michael Macchiavello, and lost controversially to 2019 graduate Ben Honis in the consolation bracket.

2021–2022

With an undefeated 10–0 record midway through the season, Ferrari and Oklahoma State cross country runner Isai Rodriguez were involved in a serious car accident where Ferrari's car was completely destroyed. Ferrari was airlifted to OU Health in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

for treatment for internal bleeding and fluid on his lungs. Ferrari withdrew from the rest of the season since his injuries required surgery.

Mixed martial arts career

Ferrari is preparing for a transition to

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

and has been training in various striking martial arts, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu alongside

Rodolfo Vieira Rodolfo Vieira (born September 25, 1989) is a Brazilian submission grappler, mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) practitioner. A four-time Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion, seven-time Abu Dhabi World Pro champion, two-time ...

and

Jorge Masvidal Jorge Luis Masvidal (born November 12, 1984) is an American professional boxer and former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions. Masvidal competed professionally for 20 years from 2003 unti ...

from

American Top Team American Top Team (ATT) is one of the primary teams in mixed martial arts. The gym was founded by Dan Lambert, who brought in former members of Brazilian Top Team Marcus "Conan" Silveira, Marcelo Silveira and Ricardo Liborio, but there is no fo ...

Personal life

Ferrari is from

, and he started wrestling after the family's move to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. Ferrari's family are

Italian Americans Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

Criminal charges

On July 5, 2022, a woman filed for an emergency

protective order Protective order may refer to: *Injunction *Restraining order A restraining order or protective order is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation often involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, assault, h ...

against Ferrari, alleging he sexually assaulted her on July 2 in her home. On July 14,

confirmed Ferrari had left their wrestling team. An hour later, the Stillwater Police Department announced Ferrari was under investigation for

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

. On August 3, 2022, Ferrari was charged with felony sexual battery in

Payne County Payne County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 81,646. Its county seat is Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater. The county was created in ...

District Court. The case was dismissed on October 6, 2023, in Payne County District Court.

Freestyle record

! colspan="7", Senior Freestyle Matches , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Loss , 0–2 , align=left, Ben Honis , style="font-size:88%", 10–11 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, April 2–3, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, 2020 US Olympic Team Trials , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2,

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, - , Loss , 0–1 , align=left, Mike Macchiavello , style="font-size:88%", 1–3 , -

NCAA record

! colspan="8", NCAA Division I Record , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , Start of 2024–2025 Season (redshirt sophomore year) , - ! , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , End of 2023–2024 Season (Olympic redshirt) , - , DQ , , align=left, Zach Glazier , style="font-size:88%", , style="font-size:88%", December 30, 2023 , style="font-size:88%", A.J. Ferrari, former OSU wrestler, gets disqualified following win at Iowa dual

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...

, - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , Start of 2023–2024 Season (Olympic redshirt) , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , End of 2022–2023 Season (redshirt) , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , Start of 2022–2023 Season (redshirt) , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , End of 2021–2022 Season (freshman year) , - , Win , 30–1 , align=left, TJ Davis , style="font-size:88%", MD 12–2 , style="font-size:88%", January 23, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Lehigh - Oklahoma State Dual , - , Win , 29–1 , align=left, Sam Wustefeld , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", January 16, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Columbia - Oklahoma State Dual , - , Win , 28–1 , align=left, Brooks Sacharczyk , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", January 8, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Little Rock Dual , - , Win , 27–1 , align=left, Evan Bockman , style="font-size:88%", 6–3 , style="font-size:88%", December 20, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Utah Valley Dual , - , Win , 26–1 , align=left, Stephen Buchanan , style="font-size:88%", 4–2 , style="font-size:88%"rowspan=2, December 17, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Wyoming Dual , - , Win , 25–1 , align=left, Kayne Hutchison , style="font-size:88%", TF 19–4 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Air Force Dual , - , Win , 24–1 , align=left, Jake Woodley , style="font-size:88%", 6–3 , style="font-size:88%", December 12, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Oklahoma Dual , - , Win , 23–1 , align=left, Santino Morina , style="font-size:88%", TF 17–2 , style="font-size:88%", November 28, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Drexel - Oklahoma State Dual , - , Win , 22–1 , align=left, Michial Foy , style="font-size:88%", MD 12–4 , style="font-size:88%", November 20, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Minnesota Dual , - , Win , 21–1 , align=left, Nick Stemmet , style="font-size:88%", MD 16–3 , style="font-size:88%", November 13, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Stanford - Oklahoma State Dual , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , Start of 2021–2022 Season (freshman year) , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , End of 2020–2021 Season (freshman covid year) , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2021 NCAA Championships at 197 lbs , - , Win , 20–1 , align=left, Nino Bonaccorsi , style="font-size:88%", 4–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, March 18–20, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5,

2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships The 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships took place from March 18–20, 2021, in St. Louis, Missouri at the Enterprise Center. The tournament was the 90th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship, following the cancellation of the 2020 edi ...

, - , Win , 19–1 , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", 5–1 , - , Win , 18–1 , align=left, Jacob Warner , style="font-size:88%", 3–2 , - , Win , 17–1 , align=left, Tanner Sloan , style="font-size:88%", 5–0 , - , Win , 16–1 , align=left, Colin Mccracken , style="font-size:88%", TF 18–2 , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2021 Big 12 Conference at 197 lbs , - , Win , 15–1 , align=left, Stephen Buchanan , style="font-size:88%", 6–1 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, March 6–7, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, 2021 Big 12 Conference Championships , - , Win , 14–1 , align=left, Tanner Sloan , style="font-size:88%", 7–1 , - , Win , 13–1 , align=left, Jake Woodley , style="font-size:88%", 8–4 , - , Win , 12–1 , align=left, Jake Woodley , style="font-size:88%", 4–1 , style="font-size:88%", February 21, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma - Oklahoma State Dual , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2021 Cowboy Challenge Tournament at 197 lbs , - , Win , 11–1 , align=left, Luke Surber , style="font-size:88%", MFOR , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, February 14, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, 2021 Cowboy Challenge Tournament , - , Loss , 10–1 , align=left, Noah Adams , style="font-size:88%", 2–3 , - , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Jace Punke , style="font-size:88%", TF 17–1 , - , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Dylan Johnson , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, February 7, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Little Rock - Oklahoma State Dual , - , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Jake Woodley , style="font-size:88%", 3–2 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma - Oklahoma State Dual , - , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Yonger Bastida , style="font-size:88%", 5–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, January 30, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Iowa State Dual , - , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Kegan Moore , style="font-size:88%", 10–4 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Northern Iowa Dual , - , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Kayne Hutchison , style="font-size:88%", TF 20–5 , style="font-size:88%", January 22, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Air Force Dual , - , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Dylan Johnson , style="font-size:88%", TF 22–7 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, January 17, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Little Rock Dual , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Austin Andres , style="font-size:88%", TF 18–2 , style="font-size:88%", Oklahoma State - Southern Illinois Edwardsville Dual , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, JJ Dixon , style="font-size:88%", MD 16–3 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, January 10, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Oregon State - Oklahoma State Dual , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Logan Andrew , style="font-size:88%", MD 16–5 , style="font-size:88%", Chattanooga - Oklahoma State Dual , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , Start of 2020–2021 Season (freshman covid year)

College stats

! Season ! Year ! School ! Rank ! Weigh Class ! Record ! Win ! Bonus , - , 2025 , Redshirt Sophomore ,

Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (also known as CSUB Roadrunners, and now in the process of being rebranded as the Bakersfield Roadrunners) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing California State University, Bakersfield, locat ...

, #3 (3rd) , 197 , 21–1 , 95.45% , 60.87% , - , 2024 , Olympic Redshirt , Unattached , NR , 197 , 0–0 , 0% , 0% , - , 2023 , Redshirt , Unattached , NR , 197 , 0–0 , 0% , 0% , - , 2022 , Freshman , rowspan=2,

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National ...

, #1 (DNC) , rowspan=2, 197 , 10–0 , 100.00% , 70.00% , - , 2021 , Freshman (Covid Year) , #4 (1st) , 20–1 , 95.24% , 38.10% , - , colspan=5 bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", Career , bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", 51–2 , bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", 96.22% , bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", 54.60%

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrari, A.J. Living people 2001 births American male sport wrestlers Bergen Catholic High School alumni Blair Academy alumni Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestlers Sportspeople from Dallas Amateur wrestlers Oklahoma State University alumni 21st-century American sportsmen