Former Penn State Wrestler Aaron Brooks Sanctioned for Taking Banned Substance

Brooks, a 2024 Olympics bronze medalist, received a two-year sanction after taking a substance prohibited by the USADA.

Aaron Brooks, right, faces David Taylor during their second match in the best-of-3 championship finals at 86 kilograms at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials in 2024. | Andy Mason/Herald-Mail / USA TODAY NETWORK

Aaron Brooks, Penn State's four-time NCAA wrestling champion and a 2024 Olympic bronze medalist, has received a two-year suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for an anabolic agent. The suspension is retroactive to June 2025 and lasts until 2027, meaning Brooks will be eligible to compete at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The USADA announced the sanction Wednesday after a lengthy process that included a hearing before an independent arbitrator last November. According to the USADA, Brooks tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a natural hormone produced by the human body which also is sold in synthetic form. The arbitrator concluded that Brooks' positive test was unintentional.

The USADA said that DHEA is a prohibited "non–Specified Substance in the category of Anabolic Agents." Brooks' positive test resulted from an out-of-competition test collected in April 2025. At his arbitration hearing, Brooks said that he bought an over-the-counter supplement five days after being released from the hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia.

Brooks said at the hearing that he bought the supplement because he believed it "would increase his testosterone based on the label advertising the promotion of 'optimal hormone levels,'" according to the arbitration report.

The report states that Brooks took the product for two weeks before researching whether "it was providing any benefit." That's when Brooks learned that the USADA considers DHEA to be a prohibited substance, according to the arbitration report.

Brooks' sanction runs through June 12, 2027. The 2028 Summer Olympics begin July 14 in Los Angeles.

Aaron Brooks (right) gestures after defeating David Taylor at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials in State College. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Brooks had surgery in spring 2025 to address injury issues and later contracted double pneumonia, which prevented him from competing at events such as the 2025 U.S. Open and the U.S. World Team Trials.

"I've been dealing with some major medical issues which is why I haven't competed this year," Brooks wrote in a 2025 post on social media. "To the next and upcoming generation, always be mindful of what you put in your body. Ignorance kills and even something that seems innocent at your local grocery store can cause consequences. I'll be back soon."

Brooks won the bronze medal in the 86 kg men's freestyle weight class at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Before the Games, NBC Sports called Brooks the "new face of American men's wrestling."

Brooks swept David Taylor, now the head coach at Oklahoma State, in the best-of-three series at the U.S. Olympic Trials in State College to earn the bid to the Summer Games. Brooks' Olympics run completed a spectacular 12 months of wrestling in which he won a U23 world title, his fourth NCAA championship and the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials

During his senior season at Penn State, Brooks went 22-0 with six pins, 11 technical falls and three major decisions. He won 20 of his 22 bouts with bonus points, helping Penn State to Big Ten and NCAA team titles.

At the 2024 NCAA Championships, Brooks went 5-0 with four bonus-point victories to win his fourth national championship and first at 197 pounds. Brooks was named the most dominant wrestler at the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments and won the Hodge Trophy as the nation's most outstanding college wrestler.

What happens next for Penn State? Stay on top of all the Nittany Lions news by subscribing to the Penn State on SI Daily Digest. The newsletter is your free daily window into Penn State sports.