Iowa State Coach Kevin Dresser: By The Numbers

Iowa State Coach Kevin Dresser: By The Numbers

Let's take a look at new Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Dresser's accomplishments from over the years.

Feb 23, 2017 by Earl Smith
Iowa State Coach Kevin Dresser: By The Numbers
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Over a weekend highlighted by National Duals Bowl Series matches and various high school state tournaments, the headlines were partially stolen by the rumored head coaching hiring of Kevin Dresser by Iowa State. On Monday, the rumors turned to reality as the Cyclones officially got their man.

Dresser was the architect of Virginia Tech's transformation from relative anonymity to a consistent top 10 team over the past 11 seasons. He took over a team bereft of true Division I talent in 2006-07 and last year finished with an NCAA team trophy, ahead of his predecessor Tom Brands' Iowa Hawkeyes. Those were likely some of the reasons why v was the "leading candidate for the job," according to Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard. A self-professed "builder" of programs, Dresser will head to Ames, Iowa, and try to turn around an ISU team that was 1-12 in dual competition this season.

When Dresser's signing was made official, the terms of his deal, seven years and $2.25 million, were eye-popping by college wrestling standards. While he may not be the highest-paid coach in wrestling, he is on the very short list. The figures associated with Dresser's salary are his most recent accomplishment but take a look back at some of the numbers and statistics compiled by Dresser at during his stay in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Remember this does not include anything that the 2016-17 Hokies may accomplish during the postseason.

Dresser By The Numbers:


Prior to the Dresser Era at Virginia Tech (2000-06), Virginia Tech produced 23 NCAA qualifiers, an average of 3.3 qualifiers per year.

During the Dresser Era at Virginia Tech (2007-16), Virginia Tech produced 65 NCAA qualifiers, an average of 6.5 qualifiers per year.

Prior to the Dresser Era (2000-06), Virginia Tech had four wrestlers who were All-Americans a total of five times, an average of 0.71 per year. Also prior to Dresser, Tech had only six All-Americans...EVER.

During the Dresser Era at Virginia Tech, the school had 13 wrestlers who were All-Americans a total of 20 times, an average of two per year. (Also, he did not have an All-American prior to 2010, so that would be an average of 2.9 per year from 2010-16).

Prior to the Dresser Era at Virginia Tech (2000-06), there were seven wrestlers who combined to win 10 conference titles (Eastern Wrestling League and Atlantic Coast Conference), an average of 1.4 per year.

During the Dresser Era at Virginia Tech, 14 wrestlers won a combined 26 ACC Championships, an average of 2.6 per year.

The Hokies have had at least three All-Americans every year since 2013.

His All-Americans have come from all over, mainly the East Coast: four from Virginia, three from Ohio, two from Delaware, and one from each of Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Since the 2013-14 season, four Virginia Tech freshmen earned All-American honors (Joey Dance, Zach Epperly, Solomon Chishko, and David McFadden). These are the only four freshman All-Americans in school history.

Under Dresser's tutelage, Devin Carter rewrote the VT record book becoming the first Hokie to make the NCAA finals, earn All-American honors three times, and win four ACC titles.

Dresser led the Hokies to top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in each of the last four seasons, topped off with a fourth-place finish in 2015-16.

The Dresser-led Hokies have cleaned up in the ACC postseason honors category, as well. Six of the last eight ACC Freshmen of the Year went to school in Blacksburg. Dresser himself won the ACC Coach of the Year award in each of the last four seasons, culminating with a NWCA National Coach of the Year award in 2016.

I mentioned that Dresser took over a Virginia Tech program sorely lacking in talent. The only two wrestlers on the roster he inherited in 2006-07 with prior NCAA Championship experience were Justin Staylor and Steve Borja. The pair had combined to win one bout at Nationals and never qualified again under Dresser. In his first season, Dresser had a pair of freshmen qualify for the NCAA Championships in ACC champion Jon Bonilla-Bowman and Eric Decker. Both wrestlers ended up transferring.

Every year that my D1CW site produced team recruiting rankings, (since 2008) Kevin Dresser's Hokies finished in the top 25. Four times they were ranked in the top 10.

On top of signing highly sought-after recruits, the Dresser-led coaching staff was also able to develop a significant amount of diamonds in the rough. Austin Gabel, Chris Moon, Nick Vetterlein, Jesse Dong, and Peter Yates (shocks me too!) were all not among the top 150 recruits of their respective recruiting classes, yet qualified for NCAAs at least twice. Also you have Chris Penny, a one-time NCAA qualifier who made the NCAA semifinals and finished sixth.