Anybody, anytime, anywhere.

If there was doubt of what University of Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands is focused on after the Hawkeyes won their 24th national championship last March, it was answered in an unlikely place: Kinnick Stadium, home of the school’s football team. During an on-field recognition Oct. 9 at the Penn State-Iowa game, Brands commandeered a microphone and turned a planned question-and-answer into a bold declaration.

“Look at these guys, they’re hungry and lean and mean,” Brands said. “Anybody, anytime, anywhere; State College, Detroit, Lincoln, Nebraska, we don’t care. We love these guys.”

Of course, State College refers to Penn State, perhaps Iowa’s biggest challenge to an NCAA championship repeat. Those teams meet Jan. 28 in Iowa City, Iowa. Detroit is site of the 2022 NCAA Championships from March 17-19. Lincoln, Nebraska, will host the 2022 Big Ten Championships from March 5-6.

Iowa features a loaded and veteran lineup with seven 2021 All-Americans, four Big Ten champions, and three-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee. Lee enters his final season with a career record of 75-5 after going 12-0 last season and winning his third NCAA title and second Big Ten title. 

“The real focus for me is getting better every day,” Lee said Wednesday at the team’s media day in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, the most important match for me is the next one. That’s the most important match in the world, that’s how I have to think about it. Every season is a big season, every match is a big match at this level, especially if you think you have a target on your back.”

Lee is one of eight seniors in a probable lineup that also includes juniors Nelson Brands at 184 and Tony Cassioppi at 285. The other Hawkeye seniors are Austin DeSanto (133), Jaydin Eierman (141), Max Murin (149), Kaleb Young (157), Alex Marinelli (165), Michael Kemerer (174), and Jacob Warner (197). Lee, Eierman, Marinelli, and Kemerer won Big Ten titles a year ago; DeSanto and Young were runner-ups. All-Americans were Lee (first at 125), DeSanto (third at 133), Eierman (second at 141), Young (seventh at 157), Kemerer (second at 174), Warner (fourth at 197), and Cassioppi (third at 285). Also returning with postseason experience are senior Vince Turk at 149 and sophomore Abe Assad at 184.

The Hawkeyes are experienced and talented. Without a doubt they will be hunted, just the way Brands likes it. 

“If you're not a predator in this sport all the time, if you're not hungry for more and you're complacent, it's probably time to take your shoes off at center mat and kiss the mat goodbye,” Brands said. “I want to say that we operate the same — we try to win a national title every year.”

Iowa was 5-0 in Big Ten duals last season, extending its consecutive league winning streak to 23. The Hawkeyes scored 129 points at the 2021 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, outlasting Penn State and its four individual champions by 15.5 points.

Lee’s 7-0 win over Arizona State’s Brandon Courtney highlighted an otherwise discouraging final session for Iowa in St. Louis. Eierman and Kemerer lost to Penn State opponents they defeated 13 days earlier at the Big Ten Championships — Eierman dropped a 4-2 overtime decision to Nick Lee and Kemerer fell to Carter Starocci, 3-1 in overtime.

The losses in the NCAA finals were the lone setbacks for Eierman (12-1) and Kememer (11-1). That is a glaring reason why both returned for a final season.

“That is an extra layer of motivation,” Kemerer said. “Being on top of the stand is what you want at the end of the year. You can’t ask for much more than having a chance to come back and finish on top at the end of the year.”

Iowa begins its title defense Nov. 19 at home against Princeton. A school-record 11,600 season tickets have already been sold and Brands looks forward to giving Hawkeye fans plenty to cheer.

“We do it in a way that is exciting, we are performance-minded, and we are entertainers,” Brands said. “It is about scoring points and getting the job done at the end of the day. Any way you have to get the job done, you do that with attitude, accountability, work ethic, pizzazz and all the things that go with Hawkeye wrestling.” 

In other words, bring on anybody, anytime, anywhere.