The EIWA and Ivy League Offseason Recap

This was the first offseason where the EIWA and Ivy League were split into two separate conferences. It turned into a wild offseason for many programs. We had it all – new head coaches, new assistants, transfers, and more. Below is a breakdown to help familiarize the fans.

Conference Alignment

The elephant in the room (as stated many times) is the split-off from the Ivy League schools to form their own conference championship. The Ivy League Conference will compete with 6 teams while the EIWA will contain 11 teams… This was until the recent news of Morgan State being added to the conference. This is historic news, as they are the lone HBCU (Historically Black College or University) in Division 1 wrestling and recently reinstated the program two years ago. Read more about the news here. Also, Kenny Monday’s interview on the move is worth a watch.

Recruiting Rankings

Intermat released the top 25 recruiting rankings It was a slow year for recruiting this season as only two schools made the top 25. 

#25 – Bucknell. This was the 2nd year in a row they’ve cracked the top 25. Assistant Coach, Tyler Smith, is one of the most underrated recruiters in the nation. The 2023 class already showed promise as two true freshmen qualified for NCAAs last season in Noah Mulvaney (165) and Myles Takats (174)

#18 – Cornell. It’s crazy this is a “down year” for recruiting for The Big Red. In 2023 they were #4 while being #3 in 2021. For what it’s worth, they are off to a hot start for the class of 2025 – where they will most likely be a top 3 class next season.

If interested, review the entire top 25 list here: InterMat's 2024 Recruiting Class Rankings

Head Coaching Changes 

Hofstra’s long-time head coach, Dennis Papadatos, stepped down from his role to transition to a role in the athletic department (Dennis Papadatos Opens Up About His New Role). Jamie Franco was named the new head coach after spending years as an assistant under Papadatos and a season at Columbia. I talked to Jamie about his hire. Check it out here: Pride for the Pride: New Hofstra HC Jamie Franco

Columbia’s former head coach left to take a job at Virginia Tech. Check out Zach Tanelli’s decision in an interview with Robbie Wendell here. To replace Tanelli, Columbia went out and hired Donny Pritzlaff – who spent a decade at Rutgers. His name was often thrown around when a new opening became available. He spent much of the summer helping train Sebastian Rivera to a bronze medal at the Olympic games. 

Last week, news broke about LIU head coach Joe Patrovich stepping down. Long Island is in the process of finding a replacement for Patrovich, so the EIWA will have another new head coach for the 2024-25 season. 

Assistant Coaches 

Below is a list of coaching moves made during the offseason. There was much movement, and many new faces to the conferences. These are listed by school they were hired at and where they were previously in parenthesis.

Army – Taylor LaMont (USA wrestling)

Binghamton – Louie DePrez (Binghamton Wrestler) and Sam Schuyler (Iowa State)

Brown* – Micky Phillippi (Director of Ops - Brown)

Bucknell – Dan Neff (Navy)

Columbia – Sebastian Rivera (Skarlet Knight RTC athlete) and Jeff Buxton (SKRTC coach)

Cornell – Scottie Boykin (Air Force) and David McFadden (Drexel)

Drexel – Jimmy Overhiser (Tarleton State) and Chad Walsh (Columbia)

Hofstra – Jesse Dellavecchia (LIU)

Navy – Barry Davis (former Wisconsin Head Coach), Ty Eustice (Davidson) and Director of Ops - Ben Barton (Rudis)

Penn – Darian Cruz (LVWC athlete) and Matt Valenti (Penn admin)

Princeton – Anthony Ashnault (NYC RTC), Cody Brewer (VT), and Nate Jackson (NJRTC athlete)

*In recent news, Michael Kemerer has taken a position at Minnesota. Brown will look to fill his role. 

Transfer Portal Acquisitions 

Below is a list of transfers during the offseason. The first list of transfers who landed at a new school inside the EIWA or Ivy League. The second list is a list of wrestlers who left for another conference. The Ivy League’s big departures include Cardenas and Wolak, who were both All-Americans last season. 

Incoming

Brown – Jacob Joyce (125) - Stanford

Drexel – Malachi Bordovsky (141) - Iowa Western

Drexel – Giuseppe Hoose (184) - Oklahoma

Franklin & Marshall – Michael Duggan (157) - Bloomsburg

Hofstra – Kyle Mosher (174) – Columbia

Lehigh – Rylan Rogers (174/184) – Michigan

Morgan State – Xavier Doolin (285) - Northern Colorado

Morgan State – Darrien Roberts (184) – Oklahoma

Sacred Heart – Braxton Appello (125) - Ohio State

Sacred Heart – Felix Lettini (157) - Wisconsin

Outgoing

Connor Strong 184 (Penn) - Chattanooga 

Angelo Rini 133 (Columbia) – Indiana 

Jacob Cardenas 197 (Cornell) – Michigan 

Nolan Neves 285 (Columbia) – North Carolina 

Michael Baker 197 (Columbia) – North Dakota State 

Nick Babin 125 (Columbia) – Pittsburgh 

Evan Tallmadge 125 (Navy) – Pittsburgh 

Connor McGonagle 133 (Lehigh) – Virginia Tech

Lennox Wolak 174 (Columbia) – Virginia Tech