InterMat Staff

Minnesota’s Class of 2026 continues to grow after a huge commitment from one of the fastest-rising prospects in the senior class. #39 overall Michael White (Lawrence North, IN) has given the Gophers staff a verbal commitment - giving Minnesota four top 100 recruits from the Class of 2026 and six Big Boarders overall. White is currently ranked 21st in the nation at 190 lbs. He is a two-time Indiana state placewinner, taking sixth as a sophomore and making the state finals at 190 lbs in 2025. White burst onto the scene last spring when he won a 16U title at Folkstyle Nationals. Last fall, White was a finalist at IndianaMat’s Hoosier Preseason Open. After making the Indiana state finals, White went out and captured a championship at NHSCA Junior Nationals. A month later, he finished seventh at the UWW U17 World Team Trials in freestyle. While White announced his commitment today, he is not kicking back and celebrating. At least in the traditional sense. White is competing at the NHSCA Duals and knocked off #2 Saleh Tsarni (MD) in the tournament’s Round of 16. Already in the Gopher Class of 2026 are #25 Tyler Dekraker (Chantilly, VA), #79 Mason Carlson (Syracuse, UT), #93 Cooper Rowe (Mound Westonka, MN), #121 Titan Friederichs (Watertown, MN), #200 Trey Beissel (Hastings, MN), along with unranked Joel Friederichs (Watertown, MN. The majority of these recruits are in the 133/141/149 range, so White’s addition will be much needed. The Gophers graduated Big Ten champion and All-American Isaiah Salazar at 197 lbs. His immediate replacement is likely redshirt sophomore Gavin Nelson. Having White aboard shores up this weight for the long term. This spring, White had also taken visits to Oklahoma, Purdue, and Virginia Tech before choosing Minnesota. White jumped into MatScouts Class of 2026 Big Board at #39 despite not being noted at all during the last update. We’ll see how this young man continues to ascend. For Minnesota’s Class of 2026: Click Here For more information on Michael White’s incredible backstory, check out the Indianapolis Star’s feature.

Lawrence North

It’s about that time! In the past couple of weeks, we’ve spent time loosely discussing Final X; however, it’s time to start talking about the individual matches themselves. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll break down all 20 Final X matchups - leading into the event itself on June 14th, from Newark, New Jersey. Our previews will go in order, so what better way to start us off than with a returning Olympic medalist against one of the top collegiate freshmen from this past season! 57 kg Men’s Freestyle Spencer Lee vs. Luke Lilledahl It’s a matchup of the future versus the present. For the longest time, Spencer Lee was viewed as the “next big thing” or the future; however, with a 2024 Olympic silver medal and a collegiate career that includes three NCAA titles and two Hodge Trophies, he’s the guy right now. This matchup pits two of our best age-group superstars against one another. The pair are responsible for five age-group world titles (2 Cadets and 3 Juniors) and seven medals total. Each has a title at the Cadet and Junior level. In addition, each was deemed the top overall recruit in their respective recruiting class. Lee in 2017 and Lilledahl in 2024. How they got here Lee: He unseated returning Olympian and fellow Iowa alum Thomas Gilman at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials to clinch a spot on the team. Since the United States wasn’t qualified for the Olympic Games at 57 kg, Lee had to travel to Turkey to take place in the Olympic Games Qualifier. In Turkey, Lee survived a test from China’s Wanhao Zou in the Round of 16 before crushing his next two opponents and securing a place in the Olympics. In Paris, Lee had another tough test against Zou in the opening round, but survived and teched opponents from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to make the gold medal match. In the finals, Lee came up a bit short in a 4-2 loss to Japan’s Rei Higuchi. Since Lee earned an Olympic medal and intended to return to 57 kgs in 2025, he automatically advanced to Final X. Lilledahl: The age group accolades were enough for Lilledahl to receive the top seed at the 2025 US Open. In his four matches at the Open, Lilledahl posted three techs and a 10-4 win over Nico Provo in the semifinals. His first-period tech over former Nebraska All-American Liam Cronin in the finals gave him the title. Since Lee was already waiting in Final X, USA Wrestling rules stipulated that the Open winner would punch their ticket to Final X. Recent Form Spencer Lee has only competed in two official events in 2025, but has won both. The Henri DeGlane and the Zagreb Open, which is a Ranking Series event. In Zagreb, Lee downed one of Lilledahl’s Nittany Lion Wrestling Club teammates, Roman Bravo-Young (Mexico), 8-3. Bravo-Young’s firsthand experience against Lee combined with the NLWC’s brainpower should develop a game plan against Lee. Lilledahl was understandably more focused on his freshman year at Penn State rather than the international scene, at least for the first three months of 2025. At the collegiate level, Lilledahl won a Big Ten title and finished third in the nation. His placement was the first for a Penn State 125 lber since 2016. Prior History These two have met before - at the 2023 Bill Farrell. Lee needed less than a minute and a half to tech the high school senior. Keys to Victory Lee: Keeping the pace up and scoring points. A methodical, slow-paced, one or two flurry match always gives Lee’s opponents a much better chance than one with plenty of action. Just like in college, but with different methods, Lee can end a match with just one takedown and plenty of mat work. Lilledahl: Keep it close until late in the match. That has been the game plan for Lee dating back to college. The only rub? It sounds much easier on paper than in practice. Lilledahl will have to make sure his par terre defense is airtight. Giving up a takedown to Lee is fine, but for the Olympic silver medalist, the par terre can be a backbreaker. Here from Lilledahl after his 2025 US Open Championship:

Orange County

Tallwood

Liberty Center via Cleveland State

The 2020 coaching carousel got off to a quick start as Oregon State announced that Jim Zalesky would not be retained as the Beavers head coach on March 9th. Less than a month later, the school announced that they had hired Chris Pendleton as the program’s next head coach. A two-time NCAA champion and a key figure on one of the best teams in the history of DI wrestling (Oklahoma State’s 2005 squad), Chris Pendleton spent almost a decade competing on the Senior level. Pendleton got into the coaching ranks as an assistant at Wyoming and then moved on to Arizona State. Pendleton spent six years with the Sun Devils and was likely instrumental in the development of two-time national champion Zahid Valencia. Results Under Pendleton’s direction, Oregon State has gone 31-27 in dual meets since the 2020-21 campaign. During his time in Corvallis, Oregon State captured the 2023 Pac-12 championship and finished in second on two other occasions. The Beavers were also awarded the 2025 title after it was found that Little Rock used an ineligible wrestler. From a dual standpoint, the 2021-22 season was the best under Pendleton as OSU wrestled to an 8-3 record. 2021-22 was also memorable from an NCAA Tournament standpoint, as the Beavers finished in 12th place behind four All-Americans. That was the best finish for the program since the 2013 tournament. It was the first time that four Oregon State wrestlers got on the podium in one year since the feat was accomplished in 1995. All told, six wrestlers have combined to earn seven All-American honors under Pendleton at Oregon State. In addition, three Beavers have fallen one match shy of the NCAA podium. In conference action, 10 wrestlers have combined to win 12 Pac-12 crowns in that span. During the Pendleton era, Oregon State has been a fixture at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and produced 18 placewinners. That total includes one champion (Gary Traub) and two other finalists. Recruiting Prior to Pendleton’s arrival, Oregon State seemed to be a bit of a non-factor in the recruiting game. According to MatScouts, the Beavers only appeared in the national recruiting rankings once between 2015 and 2020 (22nd in 2017). It has been a totally different story under Pendleton and his assistants. The first full class for Pendleton (2022) came in at #22 in the nation. A year later, they improved to #15. The 2025 class features seven Big Boarders and three top 100 prospects and is sure to secure a place in the forthcoming rankings. Under Pendleton, Oregon State has poached plenty of talented prospects from his home state of California. Four of Oregon State’s seven Big Boarders are from Cali. All three of Oregon State’s early commitments from 2026 are as well. In addition to California, Oregon State has plenty of space in the Pacific Northwest to recruit from without any local DI teams. They’ve taken advantage of this opportunity and have plenty of recruits from the overall region. Miscellaneous Pendleton made strong assistant coaching hires upon his arrival. Then-Stanford assistant coach Nate Engel and then-Clackamas CC head coach Josh Rhoden. Both remain with the team in 2025. The pair is also very instrumental in the Beavers recruiting success. Oregon State’s Beaver Dam RTC has been a key player in the women’s freestyle world. Notables such as Adeline Gray, Mallory Velte, Alex Glaude, Alyssa Lampe, and Skylar Grote have spent time in the RTC. Also in reference to the Beaver Dam RTC, Oregon State athletes have found success on the international stage. Aden Attao captured a U20 world medal in Greco-Roman before arriving on campus and added a second in the summer of 2024. In the freestyle portion of the 2024 U20 World Championships, Justin Rademacher earned a bronze medal, as well. Another highly decorated international competitor, Joel Adams, will join the Beaver for the 2025-26 campaign. During the 2023-24 campaign, Oregon State established a Gill Coliseum attendance record for wrestling with 8,540 fans for the Beavers dual with Penn State. The 2025-26 Oregon State starting lineup could feature six out of the ten wrestlers with NCAA experience.

Late last week, news broke that Army West Point head coach Kevin Ward had stepped down from his position leading the Black Knights after 11 years. On Monday, we found out the reason Ward left his position at West Point was to head to his alma mater, Oklahoma State, as an assistant coach. Ward’s move might have helped give a jump start to the coaching carousel for the 2025 offseason. As of now, it has been unusually quiet. With his former position open, there are a pair of head coaching opportunities currently available. Aside from Ward’s move, the only coaching hires that we have seen are a pair of graduates staying with their respective teams in a coaching role. Two-time national champion Keegan O’Toole being the first and, yesterday, Binghamton announced that 2025 EIWA champion Brevin Cassella would stay on the Bearcats coaching staff. Below are the moves that we’ve tracked thus far - along with some open DI coaching positions that we’re aware of at this time. This list will surely grow in the coming weeks and months. Coaching Changes Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach) Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach) Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach) RTC/Club Lee Roper (Cowboy RTC) Open Appalachian State: Assistant Coach Army West Point: Head Coach Bellarmine: Assistant Coach George Mason: Assistant Coach Kent State: Head Coach Little Rock: Assistant Coach Maryland: Assistant Coach NC State: Assistant Coach Northern Iowa: Assistant Coach Penn: Assistant Coach

Gilman School

St. Plus X

Delsea

Milton

Waukesha West

SPIRE Academy

Holmen

Holmen

San Marcos via Umpqua CC

WF West

Earlier this week, we wrote about how the US men’s freestyle team was in a bit of a transition period with some longtime stalwarts being out of the world team qualification process. While that is true, there is plenty of experience on both the men’s and women’s freestyle teams. Today, we’re looking at Final X experience. This will be the fifth year where Final X has been the method to determine the world team in men’s and women’s freestyle. Both the men’s and women’s team each have two wrestlers who have been qualified to wrestle in Final X each time it was available. We’ll start with them and work our way down with Final X experience for wrestlers competing in the 2025 version of the event. Five-Time Final X Qualifiers Kyle Dake (86 kg men’s freestyle) - Record (4-0) Kyle Snyder (97 kg men’s freestyle) - Record (4-0) Jacarra Winchester (59 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (4-0) Kayla Miracle (62 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (3-1) Four-Time Final X Qualifiers Yianni Diakomihalis (70 kg men’s freestyle) - Record (1-2) Zahid Valencia (86 kg men’s freestyle) - Record (1-2) Helen Maroulis (57 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (3-0) Three-Time Final X Qualifiers Vito Arujau (61 kg men’s freestyle) - Record (1-1) Hayden Zillmer (97 kg men’s freestyle) - Record (1-1) Amit Elor (72 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (2-0) Two-Time Final X Qualifiers Joey McKenna (65 kg men’s freestyle) - Record (0-1) Audrey Jimenez (50 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (0-1) Felicity Taylor (53 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (0-1) Abby Nette (59 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (1-0) Adaugo Nwachukwo (62 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (0-1) Macey Kilty (65 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (1-0) Kennedy Blades (68 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (0-1) Alex Glaude (72 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (0-1) Dymond Guilford (76 kg women’s freestyle) - Record (1-0) First Time Final X Qualifiers Spencer Lee (57 kg men’s freestyle) Luke Lilledahl (57 kg men’s freestyle) Jax Forrest (61 kg men’s freestyle) Real Woods (65 kg men’s freestyle) PJ Duke (70 kg men’s freestyle) Mitchell Mesenbrink (74 kg men’s freestyle) David Carr (74 kg men’s freestyle) Evan Wick (79 kg men’s freestyle) Levi Haines (79 kg men’s freestyle) Trent Hidlay (92 kg men’s freestyle) Josh Barr (92 kg men’s freestyle) Wyatt Hendrickson (125 kg men’s freestyle) Trent Hillger (125 kg men’s freestyle) Erin Golston (50 kg women’s freestyle) Brianna Gonzalez (53 kg women’s freestyle) Cristelle Rodriguez (55 kg women’s freestyle) Everest Leydecker (55 kg women’s freestyle) Amanda Martinez (57 kg women’s freestyle) Aine Drury (65 kg women’s freestyle) Brooklyn Hays (68 kg women’s freestyle) Kylie Welker (76 kg women’s freestyle)

VESTAL, N.Y. - Following a stellar five-year career with the Binghamton wrestling team, Brevin Cassella is returning to the program as an assistant coach, Head Wrestling Coach Kyle Borshoff announced Thursday. "Brevin is one of the best Binghamton wrestlers in our Division I era," Borshoff said. "He has acted as a leader on the team for years, and I am excited to add him to our staff. Brevin has a great wrestling IQ and is positionally very strong. I look forward to seeing the impact he makes on the team as a coach." Cassella stands as one of the most accomplished wrestlers in program history. While competing for the Bearcats from 2020-25, the Clinton, Mass., native won 102 matches during his collegiate career, including 47 in dual competition. He also recorded 16 major decisions, 12 technical falls, eight pins and posted 178 team points for Binghamton in duals. Cassella spent his first four seasons wrestling at 165 lbs., before moving up to 174 lbs., for his final year in 2024-25. "I would say it's a real full circle moment," Cassella said. "From the second I set foot on campus, Binghamton has always felt like home. Now I get to give back to the place and the team that has given me so much. I'm very excited, grateful and can't wait to get to work with this group of guys." In each of his final four seasons, Cassella qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, winning a combined five matches at the national tournament. The furthest he reached in the tournament was in both 2024 and 2025, when he made it to the third round in the consolation bracket. His final appearance at nationals came off the heels of Cassella winning the 2025 EIWA championship, the fifth in program history. Cassella won all three of his matches, including a thrilling 4-1 decision in the second tiebreaker against No. 1 seed Danny Wask of Navy in the finals. That final victory was Cassella's 100th of his career. For his performance throughout the tournament, Cassella became the first Binghamton wrestler to receive the Coaches' Trophy for being voted as the outstanding wrestler of the EIWA Championships. Cassella ultimately reached the podium at the EIWAs in each of his five seasons, improving his finish at the tournament each year (eighth in 2021, fifth in 2022, fourth in 2023, third in 2024 and first in 2025). Cassella also found success in the classroom. Earlier in May, he received the EIWA's Academic Achievement Award. In order to qualify for the honor, Cassella maintained a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 while competing in nationals. Last week, he graduated from Binghamton with a bachelor's degree in human development. Cassella will continue to help lead a program that is coming off another strong season. In 2024-25, the Bearcats went 10-9 overall in dual competition, including a 5-3 mark against EIWA opponents. It is the first season where Binghamton won at least 10 duals since 2018-19. After going 9-4 in 2023-24, the Bearcats have won at least nine duals in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2017-18 and 2018-19. Those seasons, Binghamton went 12-5 and 10-3 respectively.

We’re a ways away from the deadline to enter the transfer portal (May 2nd), but there are still wrestlers who are in the portal who are making decisions regarding their next step. Since our last update, there weren’t any earth-shattering moves; however, a few teams quietly got better. Most notably, Central Michigan. The Chippewas have picked up Gianni Maldonado who spent the last year at the Air Force Academy’s Prep School. Just a year ago, Maldonado was deemed a top 150 recruit (#146) coming out of high school in Florida. He put together a 4-2 record at 157 and 165 lbs while competing for the prep school in 2024-25. CMU also picked up Seth Larson who went 1-7 at 157 lbs for Campbell. All of Larson’s action came in dual meets as a true freshman in 2024-25. The addition of Maldonado gives CMU some depth in the middle weights, so the Central Michigan could redshirt Larson during the upcoming season. Northern Colorado is a school that has used the portal well, of late. The Bears latest addition is Murphy Menke, a Colorado native, who started for most of the year at Oregon State. Menke began the year at 165 lbs, but moved up and was the postseason entry for Oregon State at 174 lbs. He made the Pac-12 finals and lost to Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) who was later deemed ineligible. Remember, there are still avenues for a wrestler to enter the transfer portal at this time. Any additional entries will be tied to a coaching change or perhaps from a graduate student. The first list of wrestlers we’ve listed have already publicly committed to a new transfer destination. That new school is listed first, along with their projected weight, followed by their former school. Below them are notable wrestlers that have gone into the transfer portal. It is not a comprehensive list. Transfers Appalachian State: Joe Fongaro (149) - Rutgers Arizona State: Gavin Bauder (133) - Clackamas CC Arizona State: David Szuba (285) - Rider Arizona State: Leo Tukhlynovych (174) - Rochester CTC Arizona State: Ane’e Vigil (125) - Clackamas CC Army West Point: Jake Crapps (133) - Missouri Bloomsburg: Eric Alderfer (157) - Lock Haven Buffalo: Connor Jacobs (184) - Clarion Buffalo: Kelin Laffey (165) - Pittsburgh Buffalo: Gianni Silvestri (141) - Clarion Cal Poly: Caesar Garza (174) - Michigan State Cal Poly: Luke Gayer (165) - Rutgers Cal Poly: Andre Gonzales (141) - Ohio State Campbell: Ethan Ducca (184) - Wyoming Central Michigan: Seth Larson (157) - Campbell Central Michigan: Gianni Maldonado (165) - Air Force Prep Chattanooga: Cooper Flynn (125) - Minnesota Chattanooga: Hunter Mason (141) - Virginia Tech Chattanooga: Billy Meiszner (149) - Kent State Chattanooga: Carter Neves (285) - Ohio State Clarion: Brandon Bauer (141) - Little Rock Clarion: Peyton Costa (133) - Cleveland State Clarion: Connor Eck (157) - Lock Haven Clarion: Ky Szewczyk (133) - Ohio Davidson: Anwar Alli (165) - Virginia Drexel: Nate Schon (285) - Iowa State Edinboro: Brycen Arbogast (133) - West Virginia Edinboro: Tate Geiser (165/174) - Cleveland State Illinois: Ryan Boersma (285) - Triton College Illinois: Michael Gioffre (157) - Virginia Illinois: Cade Lautt (197) - North Carolina Illinois: Spencer Moore (125) - North Carolina Indiana: Orlando Cruz (174) - Purdue Iowa: Sammy Alvarez (149) - Rider Iowa: Nasir Bailey (133/141) - Little Rock Iowa: Massoma Endene (197) - Wartburg Iowa: Dean Peterson (125) - Rutgers Iowa: Jordan Williams (149) - Little Rock Iowa State: Isaac Dean (184) - Rider Iowa State: Rocky Elam (197) - Missouri Iowa State: Malton Powe (165) - Pratt CC Little Rock: Brock Herman (157) - Ohio State Little Rock: Draegen Orine (133) - NC State Lock Haven: Sam Gatreau (165) - Maryland Maryland: Chase Horne (285) - NC State Michigan: Taye Ghadiali (285) - Campbell Michigan: Lachlan McNeil (149) - North Carolina Michigan: Diego Sotelo (125) - Harvard Minnesota: Jore Volk (125) - Wyoming Missouri: Maxx Mayfield (165) - Northwestern Morgan State: Anthony Ferrari (157) - Long Island NC State: Zach Redding (133/141) - Iowa State Nebraska: Chance Lamer (149) - Cal Poly North Carolina: AJ Ferrari (197/285) - CSU Bakersfield North Carolina: Bryce Hepner (157/165) - Ohio State North Carolina: Kysen Terukina (125) - Iowa State Northern Colorado: Murphy Menke (174) - Oregon State Northern Illinois: Ali Adel (184) - Harper College Northern Iowa: Caleb Rathjen (149) - Iowa Ohio State: Cody Chittum (157) - Iowa State Ohio State: Dylan Fishback (184) - NC State Ohio State: Ethan Stiles (149) - Oregon State Oklahoma: Tyson Charmoli (133) - Wyoming Oklahoma: Jack Gioffre (149) - Virginia Oklahoma: Peyton Kellar (157) - Ohio Oklahoma: Brian Soldano (184) - Rutgers Oklahoma: Tyler Wells (133) - Minnesota Oklahoma State: Alex Facundo (165) - Penn State Oklahoma State: Richie Figueroa (125/133) - Arizona State Oklahoma State: Zack Ryder (184) - Penn State Oklahoma State: Gary Steen (133) - Penn State Oklahoma State: Casey Swiderski (149) - Iowa State Oregon State: Joel Adams (149) - Michigan/CKWC Penn State: Rocco Welsh (184) - Ohio State Purdue: Blake Boarman (133) - Chattanooga Purdue: Gavin Brown (149) - Ohio State Rider: Brendon Abdon (165) - Little Rock Rider: Eli Griffin (141) - California Baptist Rider: Dylan Layton (149) - Cleveland State Rider: Hogan Swenski (285) - Ohio State Rutgers: Hunter Catka (285) - Virginia Tech Rutgers: Remy Cotton (197) - Michigan State Rutgers: Lenny Pinto (174) - Nebraska Sacred Heart: Anthony Clem (133) - West Virginia Sacred Heart: Joey Clem (133) - West Virginia Sacred Heart: John Hildebrandt (133) - Drexel SIU Edwardsville: Kevin Zimmer (285) - Wyoming Utah Valley: David Evans (149) - Penn State Virginia: Colton Washleski (157) - Rider Virginia Tech: Sergio DeSiante (174) - Chattanooga Virginia Tech: Ethen Miller (157) - Maryland West Virginia: Louie Gill (125) - NC State West Virginia: Willie McDougald (149) - Oklahoma Wyoming: Christian Carroll (197/285) - Iowa State Wyoming: Sefton Douglass (125) - Western Wyoming Wyoming: Cody Phelps (133) - Michigan State Portal Chris Cannon (133/141) - Northwestern Lucas Daly (184) - Michigan State Jordan Decatur (141) - Kent State Kyle Dutton (149) - Little Rock Rafael Hipolito (157 - Virginia Tech Caden Horwath (125) - Michigan Daschle Lamer (184) - Cal Poly Tate Picklo (174) - Oklahoma Isaiah Powe (141) - Chattanooga Mike Slade (184/197) - Campbell Sean Spidle (133) - Central Michigan TJ Stewart (184) - Virginia Tech Jesse Vasquez (149) - Arizona State John Wiley (157) - Oklahoma

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. Results Navy put together an 8-6 record during their final season under Joel Sharratt, which wasn’t necessarily a bad record; however, they lost on criteria to Army West Point. The loss was the fourth in a row against their rival - a feat that had previously never been accomplished by Army. In Kolat’s abbreviated first season, the Midshipmen went 5-1 with a loss to Pittsburgh the only blemish on their record. Kolat started his career in Annapolis on the right foot with a 20-13 win over Army. Navy has gone 30-22 in duals under Kolat. They are coming off a 2024-25 campaign in which they went 6-4 and finished in a third-place tie with Army in the new-look EIWA with 116.5 points. The 2025 NCAA Championships ended up being the best showing for Navy in almost a decade. Their 21st-place finish was the best for the program since 2016. Navy also put two wrestlers (Josh Koderhandt/Danny Wask) on the NCAA podium since 2009. With David Key’s All-American finish from 2024 taken into consideration, it also marked the first time since 2008-09 that Navy produced All-Americans in back-to-back seasons. Koderhandt became Navy’s first two-time EIWA champion since 2020-21 and became the highest-seeded Navy wrestler (fourth) at the NCAA Tournament since 2008. In the five years that Kolat has been at the helm for Navy they have sent 25 wrestlers to the national tournament. During the five years before Kolat’s arrival the team totaled 24 qualifiers. Recruiting Navy has been able to recruit well under Kolat. They received national notice from InterMat with rankings in each of his first two years at the helm for Navy. The team was #18 in 2021 and #21 in 2022. Perhaps going hand-in-hand with the recruiting rankings was Navy’s ability to sign high-profile talent. His program inherited and retained a top 20 overall recruit in 2020 (#13 Andrew Cerniglia) and inked another in 2022 (Danny Wask). The chart below shows how Navy has fared in recruiting top 200 recruits. Recruiting at service academies has really heated up in the last five years as Air Force, Army, and Navy have all appeared in the national rankings twice during this span. Looking at the 2025 and 2026 classes, that should only continue. Miscellaneous Kolat brought Blaize Cabell with him from his staff at Campbell and he has been with Kolat through five years in Annapolis. After the 2023-24 season, Kolat remade the coaching staff - retaining Cabell but adding Barry Davis and Ty Eustice. In 2023, one of Kolat’s longtime proteges, Chance Marsteller, knocked off Jordan Burroughs to make the Senior world team. Kolat won his first three star matches against Army, but has dropped the last two. He’ll have a new rival as Kevin Ward recently stepped down from his position leading the Black Knights. In 2021, Navy finished in second place at the EIWA Championships. The last time they hit that mark was in 2013.

Union County

Union County

Washington Township