WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Wrestling head coach Tony Ersland announced the final piece of the 2023 class by signing of high-level transfer James Rowley on Friday afternoon. He comes to West Lafayette with four years of eligibility after redshirting his lone season at Wisconsin and will wrestle at either 174 or 184 pounds for the Boilermakers.
"James is an athlete we've liked for a long time, and we are thrilled to finally get him in our room," Ersland said of Rowley. "He has a resume of success so far in his young career and we are excited to see what he can accomplish here at Purdue."
Rowley adds to what is already an impressive group coming in the '23 class for Ersland and company. A four-time Oregon state champion, he was named Outstanding Wrestler at his final high school state tournament in 2022 and finished his prep career with a 154-10 record.
He was also named Oregon's representative for the 2022 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, a prestigious honor that recognizes and celebrates the nation's most outstanding high school senior male wrestler. He now gives Purdue three incoming Dave Schultz award winners, as Joey Blaze and Greyson Clark both won the award this season.
The Corvallis native has a plethora of honors beyond his high school achievements. Internationally, he won a silver medal at the Cadet Freestyle World Championships and a bronze medal at the U15 Freestyle World Championships. He is also a Reno Tournament of Champions winner and Ironman, Doc B and Super 32 finalist. A Folkstyle Nationals champion and runner-up, Rowley earned multiple Oregon state championships in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle competitions.
In his redshirt season with the Badgers, he went 8-8 and saw action in four duals with a 1-3 record. He picked up his first career win in a 4-3 decision over fellow freshman and highly touted prospect MJ Gaitan (No. 4 in his class according to FloWrestling) in Wisconsin's dual loss to Iowa State. He also wrestled to a close 6-3 decision against Cornell's Chris Foca who would go on to finish third at the NCAA Championships. Three appearances in open tournaments were highlighted by a third place finish at the Don Parker Open, taking an 8-5 win over Minnesota's Devin Wasley in the medal match.
"James is an athlete we've liked for a long time, and we are thrilled to finally get him in our room," Ersland said of Rowley. "He has a resume of success so far in his young career and we are excited to see what he can accomplish here at Purdue."
Rowley adds to what is already an impressive group coming in the '23 class for Ersland and company. A four-time Oregon state champion, he was named Outstanding Wrestler at his final high school state tournament in 2022 and finished his prep career with a 154-10 record.
He was also named Oregon's representative for the 2022 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, a prestigious honor that recognizes and celebrates the nation's most outstanding high school senior male wrestler. He now gives Purdue three incoming Dave Schultz award winners, as Joey Blaze and Greyson Clark both won the award this season.
The Corvallis native has a plethora of honors beyond his high school achievements. Internationally, he won a silver medal at the Cadet Freestyle World Championships and a bronze medal at the U15 Freestyle World Championships. He is also a Reno Tournament of Champions winner and Ironman, Doc B and Super 32 finalist. A Folkstyle Nationals champion and runner-up, Rowley earned multiple Oregon state championships in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle competitions.
100% Committed🚂⬛️#Family pic.twitter.com/lHGDjlIec1
— James Rowley (@JamesRow_1) May 19, 2023
In his redshirt season with the Badgers, he went 8-8 and saw action in four duals with a 1-3 record. He picked up his first career win in a 4-3 decision over fellow freshman and highly touted prospect MJ Gaitan (No. 4 in his class according to FloWrestling) in Wisconsin's dual loss to Iowa State. He also wrestled to a close 6-3 decision against Cornell's Chris Foca who would go on to finish third at the NCAA Championships. Three appearances in open tournaments were highlighted by a third place finish at the Don Parker Open, taking an 8-5 win over Minnesota's Devin Wasley in the medal match.