InterMat Staff

News continues to break on the coaching front as a new vacancy emerged in New York as Hofstra head coach Dennis Papadatos stepped down to pursue an opportunity within the Hofstra athletic department. Papadatos had led Hofstra, his alma mater, for the prior ten seasons. During his tenure, Papadatos oversaw 18 wrestlers qualifying for the national tournament and tallied 63 dual victories. One of his wrestlers, Michael Hughes, got onto the NCAA podium with a sixth-place finish in 2018. Three years later, Holden Heller captured the only EIWA crown during that span, as well. Heller and Hughes were the two EIWA finalists for Papadatos. In 2023-24, Hofstra went 8-6 and sent 285 lber Keaton Kluever to the NCAA Tournament. Hofstra finished 16th in the 2024 EIWA Championships with a pair of placewinners. Prior to coming back to Long Island, Papadatos was an assistant at North Carolina, Binghamton, and Northern Illinois. As a student-athlete, Papadatos qualified for two NCAA titles while wrestling for Tom Ryan at Hofstra. We will continue to monitor the Hofstra head coaching position along with others that have arisen during this offseason.

Parkersburg South via Mount Olive

Cartersville

Union County

Evergreen

Springfield

Olentangy Berlin

Mount Vernon

Clovis

Gilroy via McKendree

Othello via Adrian

Billings Senior

Bemidji

Klein

Ramsey

Poway

Uintah

Lewis Central

New Princeton head assistant coach Cody Brewer stops by to talk about his new position. He and second-year head coach Joe Dubuque developed a mutual respect when their lightweights (Pat Glory/Sebastian Rivera) clashed in 2019. That led to a friendship and Dubuque claiming Brewer would be his "first call" if Dubuque ever got a head coaching position. A few years later, they are teaming up to lead a young Princeton squad that is looking to bring the program up to new heights. Brewer also talks about his experiences on the coaching bench and his own career - how it has helped him relate to wrestlers he's coached and how he's at peace with his career ending, from a freestyle standpoint. On a lighter note, we also discuss his hometown, Kansas City, as an NCAA host city, his love for New Jersey dining options, a fantasy bracket between him and other Oklahoma lightweight greats, and the possibility of ending up in a Reece Humphrey dance video. All that and more:

Rio Grande City

Francis Howell Central

Sullivan

Mexico

Francis Howell Central

Sikeston