Iowa State wrestling adds multi-time Pan-American champion Osmany Diversent to roster
The Cuba-to-Iowa State wrestling pipeline remains strong.
Coach Kevin Dresser and the Cyclones added Osmany Diversent to the roster on Tuesday, the third Cuban-born wrestler currently with Iowa State. Diversent, a two-time Junior Pan-American champion in 2021 and 2022, is a highly accomplished wrestler in freestyle. He most recently took third in the senior level of the Pan-American Games.
"Osmany is an extremely talented and athletic young man," Dresser said in a release. "We have had some very good results with our recruiting efforts in Cuba in recent years. I'm excited to see how he makes the adjustments from freestyle to folkstyle wrestling."
Diversent joins Yonger Bastida and Anthony Echemendia as Cuban-born wrestlers on the roster. He'll also join Reineri Andreu Ortega, a two-time U23 World Champion for Cuba, in the Cyclone Regional Training Center.
Echemendia earned All-American status 141 pounds last season, while Bastida fell in the blood round despite being a trendy heavyweight national title pick.
Diversent, while he will have a learning curve in folkstyle wrestling, has beaten some big names as well. Most notably Richard Figueroa at the 2021 Pan-American games. Figueroa should be a familiar name for Iowans after he defeated Iowa's Drake Ayala to win a national title for Arizona State in 2024.
Diversent's addition to the roster may see him slot into the starting spot in the 125-pounds. He may also slot in at 133 pounds if All-American Evan Frost bumps up to 141 pounds, as Dresser told the Register could be a possibility. If he struggles with the transition to folkstyle, Ethan Perryman had a successful campaign as the backup to Kysen Terukina last season.
This is the second non-high school addition the Cyclones have made this offseason, with Utah Valley's Evan Bockman transferring to Iowa State. The Alaska native is a three-time NCAA qualifier and should slot in at 197 pounds.
“Evan brings a lot of experience and will be another veteran guy on our team,” Dresser said. “We feel he can enhance our room and we think he has the ability to score a lot of points throughout his final season. He is just arriving in town and I can tell he is ready to get to work.”
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State wrestling adds Osmany Diversent to roster
