Iowa City High's Kael Voinovich chooses Iowa Hawkeyes for collegiate career

Iowa wrestling had added yet another member to its 2024 class, once again dipping into Iowa City High to pick up 157-pound senior Kael Voinovich.

Kael Voinovich is the younger brother of Iowa sophomore 149-pounder Victor Voinovich, who transferred from Oklahoma State to Iowa this past offseason and has rotated in and out of the lineup for the Hawkeyes this year.

At the Dan Gable Donnybrook, Voinovich told the Iowa City Press-Citizen his college decision was coming down between Iowa and Iowa State, but Iowa coach Tom Brands was able to seal the deal before the boys state championships.

Kael Voinovich followed his brother from Stillwater, Okla., to Iowa City after finishing second at 150 pounds in the Oklahoma State Championships.

In Iowa, Kael has been a force. He is 33-1 on the year, with his only loss coming in the finals of the Dan Gable Donnybrook against an out-of-state opponent. He's pinned his opponents 21 times this season, with all but one of his wins being a bonus-point victory. He is the No. 19 157-pounder in the nation per Flowrestling's rankings.

More:Iowa wrestling adds Joey Kennedy, another younger sibling, to its 2024 class

Voinovich chose Iowa City High for one big reason, and that’s coach Cory Connell. The 157-pounder felt then that Conell would help him reach his goals of wrestling in college and then finding success in freestyle wrestling in the Olympics. Now, step one is complete.

"He's such a great kid. He works so hard, and he's so dedicated to (wrestling), and he puts a lot of thought, effort, time, everything to it," Connell said in December. "I know he has high goals for himself, and he'll get there."

Voinovich is the sixth known commit of Iowa's 2024 class, the second in-state product. Fort Dodge's Dru Ayala is the other Iowa commit, pledging to the Hawkeyes back in October. Along with the chance to wrestle with his brother, Drake Ayala, Dru Ayala said the coaching staff was a big selling point in his decision.

The Hawkeyes have been active out of state as well, nabbing 165-pounder Brady Benham (Oklahoma, three-time state champion), 184-pounder Angelo Ferrari (Texas, No. 2 overall recruit in Flowrestling's rankings), projected 157-pounder Miguel Estrada (California) and projected 125-pounder Kenyan Hernandez (Montana) For comparison, Iowa's 2023 class had all five of its recruits come from the state of Iowa, with Gabe Arnold moving to Iowa City High for his senior season much like Voinovich.

Iowa has also already gotten to work on its 2025 class, adding blue-chip recruit Leo DeLuca out of New Jersey and Colorado native Leister Bowling IV.

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.