Wrestling News and Updates

Jamill Kelly to Stanford

Jamill Kelly to Stanford

Sep 19, 2014 by Christian Pyles
Jamill Kelly to Stanford
Courtesy Stanford Athletics

STANFORD, Calif. – Jamill Kelly, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, has joined the Stanford wrestling staff as an associate head coach, Jason Borrelli announced today.

“As a coach, Jamill's track record for developing elite student-athletes speaks for itself,” said Borrelli, now in his seventh season as the head coach of the Cardinal.

Kelly comes to The Farm after serving two years as an assistant at North Carolina State (2012-14). In 2014, NC State produced its sixth individual national champion as 285-pounder Nick Gwiazdowski knocked off the tournament’s No. 1 seed for the title. Additionally with the assistance of Kelly, the Wolfpack has posted back-to-back nationally-ranked recruiting classes in 2013 and 2014.

Kelly, originally from Atwater, Calif., has also spent time at Cal Poly and Harvard as an assistant coach. While at Cal Poly, four Mustang wrestlers qualified for the NCAA championships with two garnering All-America honors.

"North Carolina State and Cal Poly had wrestlers in the NCAA finals while Jamill was on staff, and Harvard also produced All-Americans during his tenure." added Borrelli. “Additionally, adding an Olympic silver medalist to our program places Stanford in rare company among the collegiate wrestling teams.”

Kelly, who was a two-year starter and team captain at Oklahoma State, travelled to the 2012 Olympics in London as part of the support staff for USA Wrestling. He also coached the U.S. Junior World Freestyle Team in 2007 and on the U.S. Freestyle Tour Team in 2006.

“Even more impressive than Jamill's coaching and competitive resume is his integrity, work ethic and charisma,” said Borrelli. “Jamill is the epitome of perseverance and excellence and will make an immediate connection with our student-athletes. We are thrilled to bring him on board!”

Following the 2013 season, Kelly was named the Social Media Assistant Coach of the Year by Elite Level Sports Marketing and the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Cardinal assistant coach Ray Blake took home the honor after the 2014 campaign.