Reigning ACC champion Rafael Hipolito announces signing with new team with three years of eligibility remaining

Former Virginia Tech wrestler Rafael Hipolito recently announced his commitment to the Oklahoma Sooners wrestling program. Hipolito is coming after an impressive 2024-25 season that saw him win the 157lb bracket at the 2025 ACC Championships.

Hipolito defeated the likes of former ACC champion and North Carolina State wrestler Ed Scott in the finals of the tournament. This eventually helped his side to win the tournament with 91.5 points ahead of Pittsburgh and NC State.

After this inspiring performance for Virginia Tech this season, Hipolito entered the transfer portal last month and is now set to join the Sooners wrestling program with three more years left in his collegiate tenure.

Rafael Hipolito announced this news through a post on his Instagram handle. He shared a picture of his cutout in the Oklahoma Sooners jersey and further added in his caption:

"OKLAHOMA UNIVERSITY ❤️🤍 100% Committed"

As per reports, Rafael Hipolito is expected to compete in the 165-pound category for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners are coming after a disappointing show at the 2025 NCAA event that saw them finish in the 38th position with just 10.5 points. Notably, Hipolito's former program, the Virginia Tech Hokies, finished significantly higher on the table (11th position) with 41 points to their name.

Rafael Hipolito makes feelings known after competing at the NCAA Division I Championships.

Rafael Hipolito expressed his thoughts on representing the Virginia Tech Hokies program at the 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Competing in the tournament, Hipolito won his first round contest against James Harrington but was eliminated in the following round after a defeat to Trevor Chumbley.

In an Instagram post a few days later, Hipolito expressed his gratitude to compete at the Division I Championships. Hipolito further added that, even though the results were not in his favour, he has complete faith in the process and is looking to train harder. He wrote:

"I’m very grateful for the opportunity to participate in this competition, not the result that I wanted but now I will go home and train more! God has a plan for me, thank you to everyone that was involved in the process ❤️"

Barring his collegiate performances, Rafael Hipolito also had a good record during his high school years. He was a three-time state champion during this tenure, twice in Virginia and once in Alabama. Following this, at the Virginia Hockies, Hipolito had an 11-4 record in his redshirt freshman year and 17-5 across the last season.