Teyon Ware wasn’t looking for anything else. 

He enjoyed a steady assistant coaching job at his alma mater, Oklahoma, where he won two individual NCAA titles. Another step in a 14-year span as an assistant coach.

Until Northern Colorado head coach Troy Nickerson left for Army West Point, and Ware’s wife stumbled upon the opening. 

“She was like, ‘What do you think about Northern Colorado?’” the first-year UNC head coach said. “We know Northern Colorado. We like it. It is a good, little, pretty spot. She is like, ‘Could you live there?’ I’m like, yeah, ‘I could live in northern Colorado.’”

Familiarity in the Big 12 — thanks to coaching gigs at Wyoming and Oklahoma — brought Ware closer to his current position as the Golden Bears (0-2) will compete at the Cougar Clash, set for Sunday in Edwardsville, Illinois. 

“My wife, she actually put in my resume and everything like that,” Ware said. “When I got the call, I’m like, ‘All right, well, might as go through the process and see what is going on.’”

UNC announced Ware’s hiring on July 1, which left little time to add pieces. 

No need. Nickerson set the stage.

“(Nickerson) did a good job of laying the foundation and greasing the wheels, man, and we want to keep that going,” Ware said. “At the end of the day, yeah, we don’t have all the resources and everything. We can complain, but that ain’t what we are here to do.”

Ware inherited a starting lineup that disintegrated through graduation and the transfer portal.

Only two healthy starters — Andrew Donahue (197 pounds) and 2025 133-pound Big 12 champion Dominick Serrano — return.

Adding On

As Nickerson left for Army in the offseason, three of UNC’s starters also dashed elsewhere. All-Americans Stevo Poulin (125) and Vinny Zerban (157) landed at Iowa State. Benji Alanis returned home to Arizona State.

Andrew Alirez, a 141 national champion in 2023, exhausted his eligibility. Same with Clayton Ulrey (165) and Jose Valdez (heavyweight). 

Sure, Ware assumed the holdovers from a team that finished fifth at the 2025 Big 12 championships — a program best with individual champions Serrano and Zerban.

But it’s a welcome challenge for Ware, who landed his first head coaching gig after 11 seasons as an assistant coach in the Big 12. 

The Golden Bears, as a mid-major, must tussle with the “big schools” of the Big 12 and a modern college athletics landscape where NIL and usage of the transfer portal is king.

“It really ain’t about familiarity (with the Big 12) because obviously the game is changing,” Ware said. “It ain’t about recruiting and developing. It is about paying and so it really doesn’t matter what conference you are in. If you want the best, you are still going to have to pay. It ain’t even about the best now. 

“Everybody just thinks they deserve to get paid, and so going into that Big 12, it makes it even harder because you've got the big schools and you've got the little schools.”

That didn’t stop Alirez, a homegrown product who became UNC’s first Division I national champion.

“At the end of the day, once again, it is fun to do big things in small places,” Ware said.

Are You In?

Ware presented a question to each UNC wrestler once he accepted the job.

Why are you here?

“‘Why do you want to wrestle?’” he said. “Why do you want to do this?’”

Ware set the expectation. He wanted a written answer, not a vocal one. 

“A lot of you guys are getting to (be) adult boys, but we got four to five years to teach you how to be men,” Ware said. 

Surging Serrano

A junior season unlocked a prolific year for the Colorado man.

Serrano, who spent his freshman year at Nebraska, launched a Big 12 title campaign a season ago, which included an 18-2 mark and the fifth seed at the NCAA Championships.

One goal accomplished. Another remains. 

Serrano, a senior 133-pounder from nearby Windsor, Colorado, went 1-2 at his second NCAA Championships.

“Dom got a taste of being the Big 12 champion and everything like that,” Ware said.  “He got a taste of falling short of his dream. He took that over the summer and Dom came in in shape. Not too many guys are going to do that.”

Serrano wasn’t focused on cutting weight in preseason. His championship aspirations spurred a concentrated offseason, so he sharpened his skills in the preseason.

Serrano steadied at #10 in this week’s national rankings.

“Obviously, he practices what he preaches,” Ware said. “He is a good person, good student, and obviously, I just wish I had more years with him because at the end of the day, he is the type of guy that you are looking for.”

Oklahoma Strong

Ware’s Oklahoma roots aren’t lost some-700 miles northwest of his hometown.

It shows through the roster. 

One from Ware’s alma mater, Edmond North High — Isaac Villalobos (197). Another from Edmond Memorial High in 184-pounder AJ Heeg.

Aydan Thomas? A 125-pounder national powerhouse Stillwater High. 

KJ Evans hails from Oklahoma City.

That’s not to say Ware landed them, though. He inherited them with Nickerson’s roster.

Heeg will medically redshirt this season, Ware said, due to a knee surgery in September. 

Thomas, a freshman who won three state prep titles, slotted in as the starting 125-pounder. 

Evans, who spent the past two seasons at Oklahoma, starts at 141.

Ware’s advice echoes from his past — a high school standout who proved himself at the next level.

That’s the goal for the next generation as Ware hopes to break “their high school habits.”

“If you want that success, go make it happen,” Ware said. “It ain’t just going to happen like it did in high school. Teaching those guys as well as the other freshmen and other guys as well.”

Watch Northern Colorado home duals live this season on Flowrestling.