Columbia Tabs Donny Pritzlaff as New Head Coach

Columbia concluded its long coaching search by naming Rutgers associate head coach Donny Pritzlaff their new head coach. At the time, the school has not publicly announced the hiring; however, multiple sources have confirmed the move. Pritzlaff comes to Columbia after spending the last ten years on Scott Goodale’s staff at Rutgers. 

While at Rutgers, Pritzlaff has seen 66 wrestlers qualify for the national tournament, 16 earn All-American honors and five Big Ten champions. In 2019, the Scarlet Knights finished ninth in the country after crowning a pair of national champions. During his tenure, Rutgers went 102-58 in dual competition. 

Prior to his time at Rutgers, Pritzlaff was on staff at Michigan, and had two stints at his alma mater Wisconsin, and Hofstra. 

At Michigan, Pritzlaff assisted as Kellen Russell captured his second national title and became the Wolverines first four-time Big Ten champion. 

During his most recent spell on the Wisconsin staff, Pritzlaff worked closely with NCAA champion Andrew Howe. In 2010, when Howe captured his national title, the Badgers claimed an NCAA team trophy with a fourth-place finish. Pritzlaff was instrumental in signing Howe and four-time All-American Tyler Graff - two standouts in the 2008 recruiting class that was ranked second in the nation. 

As a student-athlete at Wisconsin, Pritzlaff was a four-time NCAA All-American and two-time national champion. He took fifth as a sophomore and sixth as a freshman. In both NCAA finals matches, Pritzlaff defeated eventual champion Joe Heskett of Iowa State. Pritzlaff went 135-15 at Wisconsin with three Big Ten titles. He was only the fourth Wisconsin wrestler to claim multiple championships and the third four-time All-American. 

Internationally, Pritzlaff grabbed a bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships. 

Pritzlaff is a native of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, which should work out well when on the recruiting trail at Columbia. 

Pritzlaff has been one of the names thrown around as a strong candidate during head coaching searches over the last decade-plus.