Gable Steveson returns to bat for the Minnesota Gophers

On By Littum

The Gophers’ wrestling program got a huge boost Monday. One of the world’s best wrestlers will rejoin the team for one final season.

Gable Steveson, who won the Olympic gold medal at 125 kilograms with a dramatic comeback in 2021, will return to the Gophers in the 2024-25 season and seek his third NCAA heavyweight championship, Minnesota coach Brandon Eggum announced Tuesday.

“First, I want to thank the University of Minnesota for their time, their effort and their persistence with me to push me to the man I am today,” Steveson said in a comeback video. “Minnesota has given me everything, and now it’s my turn to give it back to them: to put my feet back on the wrestling mat, to be champion, one more time.”

Steveson, the two-time Hodge Trophy winner as the nation’s top collegiate wrestler, opted to pursue a professional wrestling career with WWE after his gold medal win in Tokyo, but returned to the Gophers to win his second NCAA title in 2022. After the NCAA championship match, he removed his shoes and placed them in the center of the mat, the signal for a wrestler’s retirement.

“Gable has the burning desire to compete for the Maroon and Gold one last time,” Eggum said in a statement. “We are grateful that he has chosen the opportunity to add to his storied legacy with our program. He is one of the best to ever compete in the sport of wrestling and we are grateful for the impact we have had on our program.”

Steveson never achieved the professional popularity WWE hoped for, and the organization released him from his contract in May. The Apple Valley native tried football and spent training camp with the Buffalo Bills as a defensive lineman, though he didn’t play the sport in high school.

Even while with WWE, Steveson continued to train with the Gopher Wrestling Club and he won the 2023 US Open Wrestling Championships, as well as the Final X, earning a spot on the US Senior Team ahead of the 2023 World Championships. He did not compete in the Worlds event and did not participate in the 2024 Olympic Trials due to his WWE commitments.