Aaron Nagao, a redshirt freshman wrestler who finished fifth at the NCAA championships this year for the Gophers, announced Tuesday that he is transferring to Penn State.
Nagao, a 133-pounder who also took second in the Big Ten tournament, joins the two-time defending national champion Nittany Lions after posting a 23-6 record for Minnesota in 2022-23. He will have three years of eligibility remaining and is expected to slot into Penn State's lineup at 133 pounds and replace Roman Bravo-Young, a two-time national champion and NCAA runner-up this year. Bravo-Young beat Nagao 5-2 in the Big Ten final and 4-2 in the NCAA quarterfinals.
A native of La Habra, Calif., Nagao entered the transfer portal in early April. Iowa, Iowa State, Cornell and remaining with the Gophers were among the options he considered. He would have been Minnesota's only returning 2023 NCAA place-winner.
"My faith has guided me through this process,'' Nagao said on the podcast "Baschamania.". "It gave me clarification and peace of mind when I needed it. … In the end I chose the spot where I feel I would best serve God.''
Nagao also said name, image and likeness opportunities were not the main factor in his decision. "I felt the wisest decision was to open up the portal to see what other opportunities were out there for me and my goals,'' said Nagao, who is joining a Penn State program that has won 10 national championships since 2011.
Nagao added that he's grateful for his time with the Gophers. "It was really, really hard on me to go through this process with them,'' he said. "Ultimately, they understand. They understand wrestling is a selfish sport.''
