CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Illinois wrestling signed North Carolina transfer Spencer Moore on Monday.

Moore went 17-9 as a senior in 2024-25 for the Tar Heels. He comes to Champaign as a grad transfer after many expected him to end up elsewhere.

Moore’s fiancé is on the women’s wrestling team at Presbyterian College in South Carolina.

“That was originally where I thought I was going to end up,” Moore admitted.

However, he considered Illinois at first for reasons outside of wrestling. The location worked for him, a nice middle ground between his hometown, in the Kentucky, and his fiancé’s family in the St. Louis area. Plus, he can pursue his masters degree in actuarial science at Illinois.

Then, when visiting Champaign he realized it was a great fit for wrestling too.

“It was a little difficult, but I think once I was able to feel confident of the places outside of wrestling and I got to campus this past weekend and talked to the coaches and met the team and it truly made it feel like the perfect place,” Moore said. “It was like okay now the wrestling side can slide in along with everything else.”

Moore wrestled at 125 for the Tar Heels and made it to the round of 16 in the 2025 NCAA Championships.