Cedar Rapids Jefferson alum Brenden Baker has decided to transfer from Iowa State to Wartburg College. The three-time Iowa High School State place-winner, (3rd, 4th, 3rd) went 9-9 in his redshirt season at Iowa State. Baker competed unattached for the Cyclones picking up a third place finish at the UNK Holiday Inn Open and fifth place at the Duhawk Open.
“I was a real big fan of the Paulsons. They were awesome and were my go to! They have done so much for me and I’m grateful to have met them. When they announced they were leaving it was hard for me to stay because of those relationships.”
See Kevin Jackson Stepping Down as ISU Coach at Season’s End Article
“Before the new coaches were announced I was thinking about leaving. When the Paulsons were hired at Virginia I knew that Virginia would be out of the question for me. Coming out of high school, Wartburg was my second school of choice, so the decision to transfer to Wartburg was not difficult.” – Baker
Wartburg made Division III history this past March by winning their 13th National Championship. The Knights put nine wrestlers on the podium and crowned Eric DeVos a National Champion. The Knights have won six of the last seven National Championships and have won 196 consecutive Iowa Conference duals. Coach Eric Keller was also named the D3wrestle.com Coach of the Year. The hardware keeps coming for the Knights.
“I think I can do very well at Wartburg knowing the history of the program as well as academically.” – Baker
Jacob Krakow, Brady Kyner, Slade Sifuentes and Noah Broderson are part of the 2017 recruiting class for Wartburg. Baker will have four years of eligibility for the Knights.