The college sports landscape has undergone many changes in recent years. The NCAA's transfer portal, which was introduced in 2018, has helped student-athletes formalize the transfer process and give them more autonomy. Student-athletes across all sports, including wrestling, are utilizing the transfer portal to find a new home. 

Here is a look at five new transfers who shined on college wrestling's opening weekend. 

One could argue that Utah native Terrell Barraclough held the unofficial title of the nation's best backup in college wrestling for the past few years. Barraclough spent five years in Happy Valley wrestling for the three-time defending national champion Penn State Nittany Lions, backing up NCAA champions and NCAA All-Americans. He performed well when he was called on, beating All-Americans and going toe-to-toe with NCAA champions. But after five years at Penn State, Barraclough transferred to Utah Valley this year to wrestle for first-year head coach Adam Hall. On the opening weekend of the season, Barraclough posted a 5-0 record, which included a win over returning All-American Hunter Garvin of Stanford. Barraclough has climbed to No. 3 in The Open Mat's NCAA Division I wrestling rankings at 165 pounds.

Cameron Soda's college wrestling journey started at Division I Edinboro where he spent three seasons. He competed at the MAC Wrestling Championships multiple times but never earned a trip to the NCAAs. This year he transferred to Division III wrestling power Johnson & Wales to compete for longtime head wrestling coach Lonnie Morris. Soda shined in his debut for JWU at 141 pounds, winning a title at the Ithaca Invitational, beating two-time All-American James Rodriguez of Castleton in the semifinals before pinning returning national champion Josh Wilson of Greensboro in the finals. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the event. Soda went from unranked at 141 pounds to No. 7 in The Open Mat's NCAA Division III wrestling rankings.

Hayden Pummel, like Cameron Soda, transferred out of a Division I MAC wrestling program. The 174-pounder from Ohio spent the last three season at Northern Illinois where he compiled a record of 29-28. On March 21, Pummel posted on social media that he was entering the transfer portal, and exactly two months later he announced his commitment to Glenville State, a Division II program in West Virginia. Pummel made his Division II debut this past weekend at the Glenville State Invitational, where he went 5-0 en route to claiming the title at 174 pounds. Two of his victories came over ranked wrestlers. Pummel entered the 174-pound rankings this week at No. 12. 

Rayana Sahagun, a Michigan native, is a 2021 NAIA All-American at 109 pounds for the University of Jamestown in North Dakota. This year she returned home to Michigan to compete for a brand-new program at Grand Valley State, located near Grand Rapids, coached by former University of Minnesota wrestler Jake Short. Sahagun is one of several high-profile wrestlers to join the GVSU wrestling program. She made the decision to move down in weight this year to 103 pounds. If last weekend was any indication, it appears Sahagun made the right decision on her new home and new weight class. She captured a title at the Pointer Women's Open, beating North Central's Maddie Avila, a 2023 national champion and two-time All-American, in the finals. Sahagun climbed from No. 14 to No. 4 in The Open Mat's NCAA women's wrestling rankings at 103 pounds.  

Marisol Nugent has been a trailblazer in women's wrestling. The Massachusetts native started her college career at Lehigh before transferring to North Carolina where she became UNC's first women's wrestler ever and also the first ACC women's wrestler. After graduating from UNC, Marisol made the decision to transfer to Aurora University in Illinois to continue her college wrestling career. While at UNC, Marisol was unable to compete against NCAA wrestlers at the NCWWC postseason tournament. Now she has that opportunity at Aurora. On the opening weekend, Nugent posted a 5-0 record at the Pointer Women's Open, picking up falls in each of her first four matches before getting a technical fall in the finals. Her strong performance catapulted her to No. 7 at 138 pounds in The Open Mat's NCAA women's wrestling rankings.