McFadden Added to Cornell Coaching Staff

Cornell rounded out their coaching staff today with the announcement that David McFadden has come aboard as the team’s volunteer assistant. McFadden comes to Cornell after spending the last three years on the Drexel coaching staff. 

During his time at Drexel, the Dragons sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships and saw two of them (Mickey O’Malley and Brian Bonino) advance to the bloodround. O’Malley also captured an EIWA championship in 2022. 

While coaching, McFadden also was a member of the Penn RTC and was a fixture on the freestyle circuit. In 2022, McFadden captured a title at the US Open over Vincenzo Joseph at 79 kg. He earned a spot in the 2024 Olympic Team Trials after posting a 12-2 tech over former Penn State national runner-up Morgan McIntosh at the Last Chance Qualifier at 86 kg. 

In his excellent post-match interview, McFadden described returning from an injury at Senior Nationals and his desire to continue competing for another Olympic quad. 

At the Trials, McFadden went 0-2 after getting knocked off in the opening round by Penn State signee Connor Mirasola and a consolation loss to Evan Wick. 

McFadden competed collegiately at Virginia Tech where he earned All-American honors on three occasions (6,5,5) and captured a pair of ACC titles. He was named an NWCA first-team All-American in 2020 after the NCAA Tournament was canceled at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. McFadden was slated to be the seventh seed at his final national tournament. 

McFadden is the second coach added to Mike Grey’s coaching staff during this offseason. In May, Grey brought aboard Scottie Boykin as an assistant coach. 

Cornell finished second in the nation in 2024 and has claimed NCAA team trophies in each of the past two seasons under Grey’s leadership. The Big Red lost Vito Arujau and Jacob Cardenas in the offseason, but return All-Americans Meyer Shapiro and Chris Foca, along with two-time EIWA champion Julian Ramirez.