Carter Starocci entered the 2024 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials with huge expectations. After all, he was a four-time NCAA champion at the time. But things did not go his way. Competing at 86 kg instead of his usual college weight of 74 kg, Starocci won his opening match before falling to Trent Hidlay in the next round. The defeat ended his Olympic bid and knocked him out of contention for Paris. He returned to the mats the following season and went undefeated, but Starocci is now chasing success elsewhere. Two years after that heartbreak, he has found a different kind of success, not in Olympic wrestling or on the NCAA mats, but in the boxing ring.

On June 27, 2026, Starocci stepped into an amateur boxing ring for the first time at an event called “Clash on the Rails” in Pennsylvania. It was his debut in a completely new sport. Still, he made it count.

Starocci faced Nacor Eloise, a fighter who trains at the Sugar Ray Leonard Gymnasium in Maryland. By the end of three rounds, the judges awarded him the win via unanimous decision.

Starocci also acknowledged the moment on social media, reposting images from the event. One showed him holding the winner’s belt from the card, while another captured him in the ring with his hand raised. This celebration raised a bigger question: Was this the beginning of a boxing career or simply a one-off challenge? To answer that, it helps to look at everything that has happened since his Olympic disappointment.

After missing out on Paris, he completed his historic NCAA career in the spring of 2025 and became the first wrestler in Division I history to win five NCAA national titles. And then graduated and continued pursuing freestyle wrestling on the senior level. His next major stop came at the 2025 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky.

Wrestling at 86 kg, Carter Starocci defeated Chance Marsteller 4-2 in the semifinals to move into the finals against four-time world champion Kyle Dake. The match proved to be one of the closest of the tournament, ending in a 3-3 score. Dake advanced on the criteria, handing Starocci a heartbreaking loss.

But Starocci’s campaign was not over. He next competed for third place in his next match at Final X in Newark, New Jersey, against reigning NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen. There, Starocci won 4-3 to take a spot on the 2025 U.S. Senior National Team at 86 kg. It gave him the coveted national team berth, but it did not get him on the U.S. World Team. The only one advancing from the United States was Kyle Dake, who went on to represent the USA at the World Championships in Zagreb.

Interestingly,  Carter Starocci’s last freestyle wrestling bout was at RAF 02 in October 2025. There, he took a 7-2 decision from Nate Jackson. Since then, he has not participated in a big freestyle meet. 

While the boxing appearance may have seemed unexpected, it is unlikely to be a one-off. Starocci has long hinted at a future in mixed martial arts, following a path similar to former Penn State teammate and UFC fighter Bo Nickal. Boxing allows him to develop his striking and footwork while building on his elite wrestling background. After achieving everything he could in college wrestling, it also gives him a new challenge.

Even after moving on from college wrestling, he has not publicly outlined his plans for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. But regardless of what path he chooses, his place in NCAA wrestling history is already secure.

Carter Starocci’s five NCAA titles made history, but new challengers are emerging

Starocci graduated from college with a 104-4 record. He announced himself on the national scene as a freshman in 2021, beating Iowa star Michael Kemerer to capture his first NCAA championship. Incredibly, only two of the four losses were against defeat at the hands of another player. The first was in his first year with DJ Washington of Indiana, and the second was in his rookie year with the Colts.

The other two defeats came in injury defaults at the 2024 Big Ten Championships, on which he also made a rare appearance before leaving due to a knee injury. Those losses were on paper, not in competition. His last college year only bolstered his legacy. Carter Starocci took advantage of the extra year of eligibility due to the COVID waiver and campaigned in 2025 one last time.

He went a perfect 26-0, recorded bonus points in more than 84% of his matches, and captured an unprecedented fifth NCAA title. The achievement made his reputation as one of the greatest college wrestlers the sport has ever seen and earned him a place among the true legends of NCAA wrestling. But for how long will he stand alone?

Well, the NCAA’s five-year-for-five-seasons model gives future wrestlers a clearer path to accumulating the same number of championship opportunities. That possibility has already sparked discussion about the next generation. Oklahoma State freshmen Jax Forrest, Sergio Vega, and Landon Robideau are among the early names being mentioned as potential challengers to the historic mark.

Whether any of them can come close to matching Carter Starocci’s dominance remains an open question.