IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Hawkeye Wrestling Club announced Tuesday that 2025 NCAA champion Stephen Buchanan II and former Hawkeye Jesse Ybarra will continue their wrestling careers in Iowa City as members of the HWC.
Buchanan arrived in Wrestletown, USA, in 2024 and won the 197-pound national title in his first season as a Hawkeye. Buchanan posted a 26-1 overall record in 2024-25, advancing to the NCAA finals for the first time in his career. The four-time All-American placed third at the 2024 national tournament while wrestling for Oklahoma. He placed eighth in 2021 and third in 2022 while competing at Wyoming. In his first season at Iowa, he scored bonus points in 19 of his 26 wins and was named the team’s most valuable wrestler.
Ybarra saw limited action from 2021-25 while wrestling at 125 and 133 pounds. He was a training partner and back-up to two-time Hodge Trophy winner and Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee, and two-time NCAA finalist Drake Ayala. During his youth freestyle days, Ybarra won a 2018 Fargo national championship and was a 2019 United World Wrestling cadet national runner-up.
“Buchanan and Ybarra are great examples of this program,” said head coach Tom Brands. “They’ve taken different paths to get here, but they’re better, and we’re better, because they approach every day the right way and have great perspective. They are focused on the present and willing to work for what comes next.”
Buchanan and Ybarra join an HWC roster that includes Spencer Lee, Jacob Warner, Alex Marinelli, Austin DeSanto, Kaleb Young, Brandon Sorensen, and Jaydin Eierman.
The financial support that allows each wrestler to pursue Olympic and World Championships is privately funded. Since 2017, the HWC board has accepted monthly contributions towards the club by inviting fans to join the INNER CIRCLE. This fundraising approach has been instrumental to the development of the HWC, as monthly gifts of $25 or more help with day-to-day expenses, offset operations costs, and provide HWC athletes with a competitive living wage.
In 2022, the HWC established the Herb Tyler 50-year Fund, an endowment fund, with the intent of providing a lasting source of income to the club. This fund provides an avenue for significant donors to help ensure the viability and stability of the club’s future.
“We have the best fanbase in the world. They are committed to our team and this program. We had people that stepped up big for the facility, some stepped up by giving to our Inner Circle every month, and some stepped up by attending our events or building our endowment. It all matters and it all helps move us forward,” Brands continued. “Spencer Lee and other HWC athletes can train full time because of their support. Without financial backers, we can’t do what we do at the highest levels.”
About the Hawkeye Wrestling Club:
Since its inception in 1973, the focus of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club — a 501(c)(3) organization — has always been to provide the training, coaching, and resources necessary to help our athletes pursue their dreams of becoming World and Olympic Champions. The money raised through the HWC goes directly to benefit the athletes helping with living expenses, training, and traveling needs.
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