Nebraska’s Head Coach Mark Manning Breaks Silence on AJ Ferrari’s Official Transfer Portal Exit

AJ Ferrari has announced his transfer from the Nebraska wrestling team after one year of association. The team’s coach, Mark Manning, recently made his feelings known about the wrestler’s decision.

Ferrari was last seen on the mat during the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, where he participated in the heavyweight, 285-pound weight class. After impressive performances, he progressed to the semifinals, where he faced Iowa State’s Yobger Bastida, who secured a win by major decision (15-7) to punch a ticket in the final round.

He then faced Iowa’s Ben Kueter for fifth place; however, he withdrew because of a knee injury. Days after wrapping up his 2025-26 season, he announced his split with Nebraska. Shortly after he announced this decision, his coach, Manning, weighed in on this news, saying:

“We just thought, you know, we thought AJ one, AJ’s an awesome kid. He’s an awesome kid, a lot, you know, people, if you’re not around him a lot, he can be misunderstood, but, you know, AJ’s an entertainer. He wrestles with a lot of energy. He performs with a lot of energy and a lot of passion for the sport, and we loved our time with him, but we just felt that it was time to move on and go a different direction.”

“We have Cade Iola, who redshirted. We got Harley Andrew at heavyweight. We feel really good at the heavyweight position, and then 197 Cam McDaniel has 2 years left. So, you know, we wish AJ the best and, you know, good kid, and we enjoyed our time with them,” he added.

AJ Ferrari was also involved in a controversy after his NCAA loss, after he made a controversial comment on Bastida, accusing him of consuming performance-enhancing drugs.

All about AJ Ferrari’s controversial comment about Yonger Bastida after NCAA loss

After losing to Yonger Bastida in the semifinal round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, AJ Ferrari spoke to the media, where he turned heads with his controversial comments. He accused his opponent of consuming performance-enhancing drugs, talking about his visible differences in his form, his weight switch from 197 to heavyweight, and also pointed out the acne on his body, mentioning HGH testing.

“I weighed in at 224 pounds with my clothes on this morning … he went in there maybe 250, 260?. We wrestled years ago at 197, and you saw how that went…you see what he looks like. I’m not gonna say things and make accusations, because I know the facts. But the facts are, you saw him when he was 19-20 years old, like me, no acne, no backne, no nothing. Look at him now, tons of acne, tons of backne,” said AJ Ferrari.

He added:

“So, whoever’s running the testing protocol for testing HGH probably should go test some people. Not just in season but outside the season. Because he gained 30 pounds of muscle. But hey, I’m not making excuses, because hey, it might have gone my way if I’d have been healthy.”

Shortly after making this statement, AJ Ferrari issued an apology to Bastida, opening up about the respect he has for him.