AJ Ferrari joins forces with NCAA Championships runners-up in quest for another national title after UNC deal fell through

Former Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestler AJ Ferrari announced his commitment to the Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestling program on Saturday, June 7. His decision came just a couple of weeks after the deal between Ferrari and North Carolina University was pulled off.

The 2021 NCAA champion had revealed his decision to join UNC, but due to the university's decision, he had to re-enter the transfer portal and commit to a team that finished just behind Penn State Nittany Lions at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships, Nebraska.

Ferrari announced his decision to join the Cornhuskers during a live session with Flowrestling. During the session, Ferrari thanked his manager and father, who helped him in making the decision. Additionally, he also mentioned that this Nebraska Huskers signing was more than a monetary perspective and was about the camaraderie on the team. He said (via Florwrestling on Instagram, 6:40 onwards):

"First things first, I wanna give a big thank you to my manager Ken Del Vacchio and my father, they really led me rightly towards this decision. A lot of people would go and chase the big dollar sign and just rush towards the biggest deal but for me it was about camaraderie where I fit in, I like the coaching staff. Now, I would like to officially announce my commitment to the University of Nebraska."

Following the live session, Ferrari also shared a post on his Instagram handle to reaffirm his commitment to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He wrote:

"AJ FERRARI IS COMMITTED To THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA."

AJ Ferrari's next program, the Nebraska Huskers, gathered 117 points during the 2025 NCAA event and saw two of their wrestlers, Ridge Lovett and Antrell Taylor, win individual events.

AJ Ferrari talks about the culture that tempted him towards the Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestling program

AJ Ferrari (Image via: Getty)

AJ Ferrari shed light on the culture around the Nebraska wrestling program that helped him make the decision to sign up for the program. Ferrari has earlier competed for Oklahoma State and California State University across his collegiate tenure.

Ferrari shared that the wrestlers of the program have a strong sense of brotherhood and faith in God. He added that the coaches and wrestlers also hustle hard, owing to which they were second at the national championships. He said (via Flowrestling, 9:42 onwards):

"Their culture is amazing, their brotherhood in Christ and they are people that work super hard. That's why they took second last year and we will the team title next year. We are coming baby, Big Reds are coming."

Notably, Ferrari will now compete in the Big Ten conference with Nebraska after featuring in the Big 12 with Oklahoma State and the Pac 12 with California State University.