New Faces in the ACC for 2024-25

Another season ushers in another wave of new ACC wrestlers and coaches. We’ve already seen breakdowns of the recruiting classes, let's take a look at the new coaching hires and transfers that join the ACC this fall. 

Duke

Erkin Tadzhimetov joins the coaching staff in Durham after a long tenure at his alma mater Utah Valley. He will work with the lightweights, marking a big change in the staffing in the Lanham era. Coach Lanham has had an upper-weight heavy coaching staff over the past decade and the addition of a lightweight coach could pay dividends for the Blue Devils. 

Tyler O’Boyle (285) Franklin and Marshall

Spencer Von Savoye (141/149) California Baptist

North Carolina

Vincenzo Joseph will join the Tar Heels staff in the role of Recruiting Coordinator. The two-time NCAA Champion for the Nittany Lions will be reuniting with Coach Koll having served on staff under him at Stanford. For the new position, Joseph will “assist the program in team travel, on-campus recruiting, match day planning, and operations, donor relations, and all program-related events”. In his short time in the college coaching ranks, Joseph has shown that he can be a valuable asset to the Tar Heel staff. 

Nolan Neves (285) - Columbia

Ethan Oakley (133) - Appalachian State - SOCON Champ 2x NCAA Qualifier

Josh Ogunsanya (174) - North Carolina - EIWA Runner-Up 2x NCAA Qualifier

North Carolina State

Zack Esposito steps into the Associate Head Coach position after the departure of Adam Hall to Utah Valley. Espo brings a wealth of experience on the folkstyle and freestyle side. He was the RTC coach at Oklahoma State prior to taking the Associate Head Coach role, where he served for seven years. Most recently he was in Colorado Springs as the Freestyle Developmental and Resident Coach for USA Wrestling. 

Pittsburgh

Lou Rosselli joins the Panthers, adding another experienced and successful coach to the staff. Rosselli brings some impeccable credentials to Pittsburgh in both freestyle and folkstyle. He served as the Head Coach at the University of Oklahoma for seven years and had a successful tenure. He is most lauded for his success at Ohio State where he served as the Associate Head Coach and led the Ohio RTC--Coach Gavin was a resident athlete under Coach Rosselli at Ohio RTC.  

Nick Babin (125) - Columbia - NCAA Qualifier (R16 in 2022-2023)

Mateo de la Pena (165) - California Baptist

Chase Kranitz (184) - Buffalo

Evan Tallmadge (125) - Navy

Stanford 

The biggest transfer of them all is the move for Stanford into the ACC from the PAC12. A Pacific Coast team in the Atlantic Coast Conference seems counterintuitive, but here we are. The logistics of travel for conference duals will be interesting to watch, but the addition of the Cardinal will bolster an already strong conference. 

Hayden Hidlay will return to the ACC, joining Coach Chris Ayres’ staff in Palo Alto after starting his coaching career as the Student-Athlete Development Coordinator under Obe Blanc at North Dakota State. Hidlay had a phenomenal career under Pat Popolizio at NC State where he was four-time ACC Champion and five-time All-American. 

Virginia

The Hoos are the only team in the ACC that did not add a new member of the staff this season! They maintain a coaching staff loaded with former Iowa State stars - Associate Head Coach Travis Paulson and Assistant Coaches Trent Paulson and Ian Parker.  

Justin Phillips (157) - California Baptist - Returns to UVA after one year at Cal Baptist.

Virginia Tech

Zach Tanelli comes to Blacksburg after eight successful seasons as the Head Coach at Columbia. He turned around the Lions program both on the mat and off; in his final season, he coached two wrestlers to EIWA titles and Lennox Wolak to All-American honors for the Lions. Wolak will join Tannelli in Blacksburg for his final year of eligibility as a grad student as the Ivy League doesn’t allow grad students to compete. 

Connor McGonagle (133) - Lehigh - 2x NCAA Qualifier (Turned down at-large bid due to injury in 2022-2023)

Lennox Wolak (174) - Columbia - EIWA Champ All-American-6th 2x NCAA Qualifier

Tyler Stewart (285) - Morgan State