Clarissa Chun has scored her first recruiting win — and it’s quite a catch for the new Iowa coach. 

Kylie Welker, the top-ranked pound-for-pound prospect in the star-studded Class of 2022, has signed with the Hawkeyes, becoming the first recruit to join the first major college women’s program. 

“It’s such an opportunity,” Welker said. “It feels surreal at the moment. It’s like, ‘Wait a minute, what’s going on?’ It’s definitely an honor, especially to be brought into such a big fan base. I’m really excited to see what’s to come in these next few years. Definitely being the first is more exciting. It’s history. Everything about this program is history.” 

In September, Iowa announced its plans to launch a women’s program the fall of 2023. In November, the Hawkeyes hired Chun, a World champion and Olympic bronze medalist, to lead the program. 

Now Iowa has a centerpiece to anchor its first team. 

Welker reached the finals of the Olympic Trials last year as a high school junior. She followed that up by winning a Junior World title, a U23 World bronze and she made the Senior World team at 72 kilograms, vaulting her to the top of the high school pound-for-pound rankings. 

The Wisconsin native spent the past month pondering all possible options for her wrestling future — latching on with a regional training center, staying home and continuing to train with her personal coaches in Wisconsin, joining the World Class Athlete Program, moving to the Olympic Training Center and exploring her college options. 

She visited Iowa last weekend and was captivated by the wrestling environment in Iowa City, where a sellout crowd packed Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the Hawkeyes’ dual meet against Penn State. 

“It’s such a unique opportunity,” Welker said. “Obviously, the first (major college) D1 women’s program out there. My main goal in wrestling is to be an Olympic gold medalist and Chun has the same goals for me and for everyone she wants to bring on that team. Going to college comes with a lot of opportunities. One, getting a degree. Two, wrestling at Iowa and all the publicity and the amazing Hawkeye fans, that was really intriguing. It just felt right when I went out to visit. The visit definitely helped me because I got to check everything out and being there kind of felt right.”