AJ Ferrari made a huge splash in the 197-pound category as a freshman in the NCAA under legendary coach John Smith. Yes, you guessed right; that’s former Oklahoma State University head coach John Smith. Ferrari immediately realized his potential under Smith and, by the end of the season, became only the third true freshman from OSU to win a national title. Naturally, the hype was through the roof, but a season-ending (2021-22) injury would derail him.

Now, after overcoming several challenges, AJ Ferrari may be all set to reunite with his old college wrestling team. However, this time, Ferrari won’t be wearing OSU’s orange one-piece. Instead, he’ll look to put a dent in the David Taylor-led Cowboys’ upcoming season in a Nebraska jersey. That’s because, as per MatScouts, two of the 2025 NCAA Championships’ top three teams are reportedly all set for a face-off.

“OK State and Nebraska have agreed to dual. Dec. 21st in Lincoln,” posted MatScouts, reportedly setting the stage for a huge face-off. This is a huge deal for AJ Ferrari, who could face his former and now third-best team in all of the NCAA after recently committing to Nebraska. What’s more? It’s been well over a decade since the last time the two teams faced one another during a regular-season dual.

The Huskers and the Cowboys last faced off in a wrestling dual before the Huskers left the BIG 12 Conference after the 2010-11 season. A quick look at the Dusty Duals stats book shows that the Cowboys have a 51-4-1 all-time record against Nebraska. It’s important to note that they are 3-2 in their five most recent meetings, which shows Nebraska’s improvement (9th in 2024 vs. 2nd in the 2025 NCAA Championships).

Surely, adding AJ Ferrari to the roster will only boost Nebraska’s chances of landing the 197-pound title. However, David Taylor has done a stellar job in his first season as OSU’s coach. The rookie coach improved the Cowboys from 10th place in 2024 to third in 2025. With that being said, there’s one catch with the 23-year-old wrestler committing to the Huskers.

AJ Ferrari’s rocky road to Nebraska

While the college wrestler has no shortage of talent, his NCAA journey has been plagued with injuries, time away from the sport, and worst of all, unfulfilled commitments. And right now, that’s the biggest catch about Ferrari heading to the Nebraska Huskers wrestling team. The former NCAA champion has withdrawn commitments not once, but twice in his NCAA career.

AJ Ferrari was the No. 1, 197-pounder in the NCAA with a 10-0 record when he sustained the injury in the 2021-22 season. It put him out for the rest of the season before he committed to Iowa and took an Olympic Redshirt in 2023. Yet, when the former Big 12 champion returned to the mat, he wasn’t wearing an Iowa jersey. Ferrari had transferred to Cal State Bakersfield.

The wrestler proved that he could still hang with the best after two and a half seasons away from the sport, making it to the 2024-25 National Champion semifinals before losing to the eventual champ, Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan. Yet, Bakersfield wouldn’t be his final destination, as the wrestler entered the transfer portal again in April 2025 and committed to North Carolina.

But guess what? Those plans fell apart in May. “We decided to part ways. Nothing but respect for Rob Koll and all the coaches there,” AJ Ferrari announced during an Instagram Live session. Now it’s barely been a day since he announced his move to Nebraska. “For me, it was bigger than any type of monetary value. It was a camaraderie of people where I feel like I fit in. I like the coaching staff,” Ferrari told FloWrestling. That being said, the question is, will this commitment stick till the reported dual against OSU in December?