Parker to Join Northern Iowa Staff

Northern Iowa filled a vacancy on their coaching staff today as they announced the hiring of Ian Parker. The Panthers had an opening as Lee Roper left in April to become the executive director of Oklahoma State’s Cowboy RTC. 

Parker comes to Cedar Falls after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia. In each of his two years in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers sent four wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament. UVA had an ACC champion each season, including Dylan Cedeno in 2025, who wrestles at Parker’s collegiate weight (141 lbs). 

Though he’s a Michigan native, Parker is no stranger to the state of Iowa. He spent his entire collegiate career in Iowa wrestling for Iowa State. Parker qualified for the NCAA Championships on four occasions at 141 lbs. In 2020, Parker won a Big 12 title and was seeded fourth at the NCAA Tournament; however, it was canceled at the outset of the COVID pandemic. The following year, Parker made the Big 12 finals and was seeded seventh at nationals. 

Parker has also had a lot of recent success on the freestyle circuit. Though he appeared undersized, Parker took third at the 2025 US Open. His run included wins over Doug Zapf, along with collegiate All-Americans Yahya Thomas, Bryce Andonian, and Will Lewan. 

After falling in the first round of the World Team Trials to 2025 NCAA champion, Ridge Lovett, Parker wrestled back for third and defeated Lovett in his final match. 

At Final X, Parker won a bout against Andonian to clinch a spot on the 2025 Senior National Team. 

Also in 2025, Parker was selected to represent the United States at the Pan-American Championships and finished with a silver medal. His lone loss came in the finals to former Iowa State teammate Austin Gomez, who was representing Mexico.