Ferrari Named Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year

SAN RAMON, Calif. – The Pac-12 announced its annual major awards on Tuesday following the 2024-25 wrestling season and Cal State Bakersfield was among the league's best. As voted on by the conference's head coaches, AJ Ferrari was named the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year.

A redshirt sophomore in his first year with the `Runners, Ferrari continued his dominant wrestling immediately with the Bakersfield moniker across his chest. The 197 pounder came out hot with a pair of victories on Opening Weekend, including a ranked win over Stanford's Nick Stemmet.

Throughout the season, Ferrari posted an unblemished record on the way to a third-overall seed in the NCAA Championships. The native of Allen, Texas ultimately placed third at the National Tournament with Ferrari's only loss of the season coming in the semifinals to eventual NCAA Champion Stephen Buchanan (Iowa).

Ferrari wrapped up his first season in Bakersfield with a 21-1 overall record including an 8-1 showing against ranked foes. He earned CSUB's first All-American honor since 2014 and his third-place finish is the highest by a `Runner since 1999 (Stephen Neal, first).

CSUB Head Coach Luke Smith continues to grind for recruiting new talent like Ferrari while also developing current `Runners, like fellow NCAA Qualifiers Jake Andrews and Richard Castro-Sandoval. Follow along with the `Runners on social media @CSUBwrestling

~GoRunners.com~

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Players Mentioned

Jake Andrews: 285; 6' 4"; Senior

Richard Castro-Sandoval: 125; 5' 2"; Redshirt Junior

AJ Ferrari: 197; 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Jake Andrews
: 6' 4"; Senior
: 285

Richard Castro-Sandoval
: 5' 2"; Redshirt Junior
: 125

AJ Ferrari
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore
: 197