The Brent Metcalf era at Iowa State is about to get rolling, and the early message from media day was clear: the Cyclones want to bring edge, energy and a little more bite into the season.
Iowa State held its annual media day on Oct. 21, with the Register talking to coaches and wrestlers as the team turned its attention toward the opener Nov. 1 at home against Bucknell. The Cyclones are coming off an eighth-place finish at last season’s NCAA Championships, and with names like Yonger Bastida and Rocky Elam no longer around, there’s production to replace. Metcalf isn’t interested in listening to outside projections.
"We're the sort of team that needs to have a chip on our shoulder," Metcalf said. "I don't know what we're ranked.
I don't really care what we're ranked. But as far as I'm concerned, we're not ranked where we belong and we need to go out and we need to earn it."
That tone carried through the room. There was obvious excitement around the start of a new season, but also around the way Metcalf is setting the standard.
Known in his wrestling days for bringing juice and intensity, he’s now pushing his athletes to chase effort first and outcome second. Evan Frost said that approach has already taken hold.
"I'm not going out there for the outcome, I'm going out there to perform really hard," said Evan Frost. "If I go out there and lose, but I perform really hard, we'll take that as a win."
Metcalf is still clear about the larger goals. National titles and big team finishes matter.
But he’s asking his wrestlers to judge themselves by how they attack the match, not just by what the scoreboard says. He wants them to keep pressing, not settling into survival mode.
"Go out and attack," Metcalf said. "Go out and attack the match.
Go and try to take it. Not try to play games, try to hold on for wins and things like that.
I believe if you focus on being your best, I think you're going to get your hand raised a lot more."
The lineup picture also brought several moving parts. Iowa State returns four NCAA All-Americans, including Evan Frost and Jacob Frost, plus MJ Gaitan, while Paniro Johnson is a two-time Big 12 champion. Two of the biggest names are shifting up in weight: Evan Frost moves to 141 pounds, and Johnson goes to 157 pounds.
For Evan Frost, the move comes after a strong regular season at 133 pounds that ended with a shoulder injury keeping him out of the postseason. He didn’t hide the disappointment, but he also said he’s moved past it.
"Things happen," Evan Frost said. "You can't really sit there and be mad forever about it.
Obviously, I was disappointed in the moment, for a couple weeks, maybe a month. Life moves on."
Johnson’s path back has been more complicated. A season-ending neck injury last year was serious enough that he said it could have ended his career, and when he returned, he wasn’t wrestling like himself because he was worried about taking chances. Now, after work with strength and conditioning coach Lance Runyon and athletic trainers, he says he’s ready to wrestle freely again.
"Just believing in myself and telling myself, 'If I can't put my best product out there, I don't want to put nothing out there at this point,'" Johnson said. "I got to let it rip. I gotta trust my athletic trainers."
Another name making noise is Aiden Riggins. He had an internship this summer and spent less time in the wrestling room, but Metcalf came away impressed by how he looked when he returned.
"The guy that showed up was like a whole new person," Metcalf said. "His body was built like he'd been working."
Riggins is one of two wrestlers listed at 184 pounds, along with Sawyer Bartelt. He was 3-2 at 165 pounds at the 2025 NCAA Championships, but he didn’t crack the lineup last season with Connor Euton back from injury. He has wrestled at 184 before at Iowa, and there’s confidence he has the size to push for the starting job there.
That weight class is one of four still up in the air, alongside 125, 133 and 197. Metcalf didn’t tip his hand on which wrestlers might get the first shot, but he made it clear the challenge is there for anyone who wants it.
"Who's going to separate yourself?" Metcalf said.
"Who is going to make it clear as day you're the guy? Not only just for this team, but in the country.
I want you dreaming bigger."
The freshmen are adding to that energy, too. With the new age-based eligibility rules in place for 2026-27 and the removal of redshirts, first-year wrestlers can force their way into lineups much sooner. At Iowa State, that has created a room where the young guys aren’t waiting around.
"You grab one of those guys (freshmen), and they're going to try to kill you," Jacob Frost said. "Every single day."
Among that group, heavyweight Coby Merrill stands out the most. The U23 World bronze medalist looks like a candidate to start right away, and Metcalf sees him as a possible cornerstone for years to come. He even compared Merrill’s potential influence to past Cyclone heavyweight Chris Taylor.
"He's college-ready," Metcalf said. "What's unique about him, is because he's so big, and so physical and he can own the center of the mat, at heavyweight, that's key No.
- Don't get out-hand fought, don't let guys push you around.
As far as I am concerned, he's got half the battle won."
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