Iowa wrestling picks up commitment from two-time All-American Ray Griffin

Ray Griffin, a two-time All-American at the NJCAA level, committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday. He made it official on his Instagram account.

Griffin wrestled for North Idaho college at heavyweight and finished in fifth place this past season. He was a fourth place finished in 2025 and will now jump to the Division I level.

As of now, Griffin will backup current heavyweight starter Ben Kueter. It’s expected Griffin will have two years of eligibility after wrestling two seasons at North Idaho.

“Let’s Go Hawkeyes!!,” Griffin wrote. “I’m so grateful for the coaches, for my teammates, and all my friends that pushed me everyday to and past my limits so that I can always keep gettin’ better on and off the mat in all areas of my life!”

In addition to Griffin, Iowa picked up two projected starters in the portal this offseason. They added former Lehigh All-American Ryan Crookham and Blood Round finisher Carter Schubert (Oklahoma) at 133 and 165, respectively.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves. Check it out!

Griffin is not expected to start over Kueter, barring injury. But Crookham and Schubert will plug in right away.

Ray Griffin latest portal commitment for Iowa wrestling

It’s been two straight years of season-ending injuries for Crookham. Safe to say, he’s stood strong despite trials and tribulations, promising he’d return.

“Disappointed to share I’ll be undergoing season-ending surgery,” Crookham wrote in his Instagram post. “Grateful for the support as always from everyone. Just another trial. I’ll be back.”

Crookham’s finest hour came during the 2023-24 season when he went 23-1 at 133 pounds, taking third at the NCAA Tournament becoming an All-American for the first time.

That year, he beat Cornell’s Vito Arujau 8-4 at the Journeyman Classic and 10-6 in the EIWA Finals. However, Arujau beat Crookham 13-3 in the NCAA semifinals en route to his second national title.

Arujau is the only wrestler to defeat Crookham in varsity competition during the latter’s college career. While in redshirt during the 2022-23 campaign, Crookham lost 3-1 to Chris Cannon (Northwestern) at the Midlands Championships. Every other loss for Crookham that’s on the record is due to medical forfeit.

All told, Crookham holds a 34-2 record in his career and was 6-1 this past season, only taking a medical forfeit in the Bloomsburg Open as he returned to competition during the spring semester.