Five Years of Navy Wrestling Under Cary Kolat

We’re about two months removed from the fifth anniversary of the Naval Academy sending shockwaves through the wrestling community as they hired Cary Kolat to become their next head coach. Just days after the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Championships, the Navy athletic department wasted no time filling their head coaching vacancy with one of the most attractive candidates possible. 

Kolat the previous six seasons as the head coach at Campbell University. During his tenure in Buies Creek, Kolat helped turn the Camels into a nationally recognized program after only producing nine NCAA qualifiers in their previous 15 seasons. In just his third season, Kolat saw Nathan Kraisser earn All-American honors, making him the first Campbell wrestler to do so at the DI level. 

The 2020 season saw Campbell go 11-2 in dual competition and push six wrestlers to the ill-fated national tournament. Three Camels were seeded in the top ten and two ended up earning NWCA first-team All-American honors. 

Fresh off a great season at Campbell, Kolat was a hot commodity. Or he could have been - had Navy let him test the market longer than March 20th. 

With five years of leadership at the Naval Academy under his belt, it seems like the right time to take a look at the Navy program and how it has evolved under Kolat. 

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