Anthony Echemendia grew up watching Nebraska wrestling legend Jordan Burroughs with his father. Now the former Iowa State Cyclone will spend his senior season wearing the same colors Burroughs did after transferring to Nebraska.
“I kind of wrestle the way that Jordan Burroughs wrestles, really,” Echemendia told Hail Varsity. “He’s explosive, I’m explosive, but I do a lot of other different things that he doesn’t do. I’m coming from the Cuban background, so I like throws, and I like taking risks on upper body stuff and things like that. I want to go back to that. Having that excitement of being on the same team as my favorite wrestler, I feel like, I don’t know, that just gives you that extra push.”
The Cabaiguan, Cuba, native moved to the United States when he was 18. He said he never believed he’d live in America or wrestle for the Huskers.
“Being at Nebraska and just being able to get an education and all these things that I’m doing, it’s just a blessing,” Echemendia said. “I’m from a third-world country, and kids that come from where I come from and seeing me doing the things that I’m doing, it’s like a movie for them. It’s like a dream. That’s the best way for me to explain it to be honest with you.”
Echemendia began his collegiate career at Ohio State, where he spent two seasons. He then wrestled one year unattached before joining Iowa State in 2023. He spent three seasons with the Cyclones, before entering his name into the transfer portal once again.
The senior said he had offers from Nebraska, Iowa, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Indiana and many other schools. He committed to the Huskers on May 7.
“When I went to visit Nebraska, I really fell in love with the way the coaches treated me and the way the guys on the team just said ‘hi’ to me right away and made me feel welcomed right away,” Echemendia said. “So that’s something that was very, very important for me to make this decision.”
Echemendia said that he’s enjoyed getting to know Nebraska wrestling head coach Mark Manning and his staff.
“These coaches at Nebraska, they are very genuine people, and they just told me that they wanted to help me become the best version of myself on the mat and off the mat,” Echemendia said. “That’s very important for me, because it’s really easy to get caught up in the sport. We kind of find our identity in the sport a lot, and sometimes we live miserable because the sport is never perfect. These coaches want to help you on and off the mat, and I want to be somewhere where they don’t only support Anthony Echemendia the wrestler, they support me in all areas of my life.”
Echemendia is joining a Nebraska team that focuses on development and support. The Huskers have had a lot of success recently because of that.
In 2024-25, they produced two national champions and finished second at the NCAA Championships, the best finish in school history. This past season, Nebraska took third at the NCAA Championships.
“I’m excited just to get better at setting up my offense, and riding guys when I’m on top, and getting off bottom, but also just learn leadership from them,” Echemendia said. “They’re men of faith, and I’m also a man of faith. I want to learn from them, just the way that they carry themselves every day.”
Heading into the 2026-27 season, Echemendia will move from the 141-pound weight class to the 149-pound division.
“One-hundred-forty-nine is the weight that I should have been competing at all this time,” Echemendia said. “At Iowa State, I did those sacrifices to help that team be more complete, because all their athletes could make 149 pounds but couldn’t make 141. I kind of made that sacrifice for that team even though I knew that I could be the best version of myself at 149.”
Last season, Echemendia posted a 23-5 overall record. He had 16 bonus point wins, seven technical falls and eight major decisions. He also totaled 87 takedowns.
A two-time All-American, Echemendia finished the 2025-2026 season as the Big 12 runner-up in the conference championships. He then placed sixth at the NCAA Championships where an arm injury forced him to forfeit.
“We didn’t have to get surgery because there have been cases where they can do rehab and strengthen the muscles, and let it heal naturally,” Echemendia said. “It has worked out for other people, so I kind of wanted to try that. I went to see the doctor a month later. My arm is still recovering, I’m still doing rehab, but I’m making progress, and I’m not going to have to get the surgery. So I’m going to continue to do my rehab and continue to do my exercises and just heal naturally.”
His arm injury isn’t the first obstacle Echemendia’s had to face in his career. In the 2024-25 season, the senior suffered a season-ending ankle injury that later developed into a staph infection. He underwent three surgeries and six weeks of IV infusion antibiotics three times a day. He returned to the mat in July.
“During that time, I feel like my faith really got stronger because it was a lot of time in prayer, asking God to save my leg and my life,” Echemendia said. “I wasn’t really thinking about wrestling during that time. For me, it was all about being able to walk again. I wasn’t even excited about wrestling. Wrestling wasn’t even in the conversation; it was all about me saving my life and being able to walk again.”
Echemendia faced a lot of physical and mental challenges after the surgery. He said he leaned on his wife and family for support.
“During that time, I was just trying to like stay really positive and not let the negative thoughts win,” Echemendia said. “It’s easy to be depressed when you’re going through a really hard challenge like that, and that’s not what you want. All the negativity that comes to your head is just going to make you more miserable, and sometimes you are going to just stay in the same place if you let those negative thoughts win. For me, it was all about talking to my family, a lot. I know they were always going to encourage me, so I spent a lot of time talking to them, and a lot of time with my wife too.”
Echemendia will continue his rehab ahead of offseason training. He said he will arrive in Lincoln on May 23.
“I’m looking forward to just learning about the city,” Echemendia said. “I want to go on a bike ride with my wife, I want to go to church with the coach and my teammates. Those are things that excite me too besides wrestling. Those are the things that I’m looking forward to.”
