As the NCAA Championships got under way on Thursday, veteran heavyweight and three-time NCAA qualifier Hunter Catka entered the transfer portal after spending the past five years at Virginia Tech, as reported by MatScouts.
Hunter Catka is in the portal
— MatScouts (@MatScouts1) March 19, 2025
During his time at Virginia Tech, Catka qualified for the NCAA Championships three times and was one victory away from earning All-American status in 2024. This past season, Catka lost the starting heavyweight job to redshirt freshman Jimmy Mullen, with Mullen going on to reach the top 15 in the country, qualify for the NCAA Championships, and reach the final of the ACC Championships at HWT.
With no starting spot available, Catka has chosen to enter the portal and head elsewhere in search of a new opportunity for his final season of collegiate wrestling.
Catka was a highly-regarded recruit out of high school and showed lots of promise early in his career but was never able to make the jump to being an All-American contender. He will definitely have plenty of suitors as a veteran heavyweight who may not bring a lot of offense, but brings strong defense to the table and not only should qualify for NCAAs next year but can contend for an individual conference title in the right situation.
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