Iowa superstar women’s wrestler Kennedy Blades was voted the 2025 USA Wrestling Women’s College Wrestler of the Year on Tuesday.

The award was voted on by wrestling journalists, women’s wrestling coaches, and fans. Blades won the vote in all three voting groups.

Blades, a third-year at Iowa, went 25-0 in her first season with the Hawkeyes and claimed the national championship crown at 160 pounds, defeating Kaylynn Albrecht of McKendree University in the final by tech fall, 10-0, in the first period.

Blades came to Iowa with massive expectations, coming off a silver medal at 76 kilograms at the 2024 Paris Olympics and multiple world medals, including a U20 World gold medal in 2021. Blades dominated from the jump, winning 23 matches by technical fall and two by pin. 

“Kennedy, I call her a showstopper,” head coach Clarissa Chun told USA Wrestling. “She brings a lot of great energy. She draws a lot of great people to her and does a great job being respectful to her opponents … She’s fun because she cares about wanting to put points on the board for her teammates, for the team title.”

Blades secured 11 of the 18 first-place votes from the wrestling journalists, 23 of 58 in the coaches poll, and 30 percent of the fan votes to win the award. This was the third year that the award has been given with the previous winners being Adaugo Nwachukwu of William Penn University in 2024 and Yelena Makoyed of North Central College in 2023.

The dominant season from Blades helped lead the Hawkeyes to a perfect 19-0 duals record and a national team title for the second consecutive season. Blades was also named the NCWWC Most Outstanding Wrestler at the National Championships tournament where she outscored her four opponents 43-0.