Iowa State Media Relations
Ames, Iowa – After leading the Iowa State wrestling program to its first Big 12 Conference title since 2009 and its highest NCAA Championship placement since 2010, head coach Kevin Dresser has been rewarded with a four-year contract extension thru June 30, 2029, ISU Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced today.
“We are excited that Kevin has agreed to a contract extension through 2029,” Pollard said. “Kevin and his staff have done a tremendous job revitalizing our wrestling program and we look forward to continued success under their leadership. The success and excitement surrounding the program is exactly what we expected when we hired Kevin to lead our program. It is very important to Iowa State University and our athletics department that our wrestling program be successful. Kevin has more than delivered in helping us achieve that goal. I could not be more pleased with the direction of our wrestling program.”
A two-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year (2019, ’24) and the 2019 National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year, Dresser begins his eighth season leading the Cyclone program on Nov. 8 when his sixth-ranked team takes on No. 20 Stanford in a 7 p.m. match at Hilton Coliseum. The eighth head coach in program history has reinvigorated the tradition-rich Cyclone program since returning to his native Iowa for the 2017-18 season. He owns a 241-79 (.753) record in 18 years as a head coach, including an 81-28 (.743) mark at Iowa State.
“On behalf of my staff and our team, I want to thank Jamie (Pollard) and everyone in this department for helping us get to this point,” Dresser said. “College athletics are becoming more challenging each year and this staff is committed to putting a great product on the mat every season. This will be a fun team to watch in 2024-25! We look forward to the future in Ames with great anticipation and we look forward to the challenge of winning at the highest level.”
His efforts have seen Iowa State climb on the national stage, highlighted most recently by a 2024 Big 12 title and fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, ISU’s best since 2010. Dresser inherited a program that had scored just one point and finished tied for 57th at the 2017 NCAA Championships. Since then, Iowa State has finished T-45th, 16th, T-13th, 17th, 11th and 4th at the national tournament and qualifying eight or more individuals to the NCAA Championships in six of seven years.
Iowa State had no conference champion in 2017 and failed to have a wrestler reach All-American status. Since then, Dresser’s program has produced 10 Big 12 Champions and 13 NCAA All-Americans. One of Dresser’s top priorities when arriving on campus in 2017 was bringing blue-chip recruit and Cyclone legacy David Carr to Ames. A catalyst in turning the program around, Carr won four individual Big 12 titles and a pair of NCAA titles in 2021 and 2024.
Fan support has been crucial to Dresser's program revival and Cyclone fans are once again turning out in droves to watch wrestling in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State averaged 6,690 fans per dual at home during the 2023-24 season, which ranked third nationally and was its highest average home attendance in the Big 12 era.
The 2023-24 season was ISU’s best under Dresser’s direction, as four Cyclones - Evan Frost (6th, 133), Anthony Echemendia (5th, 141), Casey Swiderski (7th, 149) and David Carr (1st, 165) - earned All-America honors. It marked ISU’s most All-Americans since 2009 and Iowa State’s 68.5 team points and fourth-place finish were both its best at nationals since 2010. Carr won his second NCAA title to become the 17th Cyclone to win multiple national titles and the first since 2010 (Jake Varner, 2009-10).
Dresser was named the 2024 Big 12 Coach of the Year as Iowa State won its first league title since 2009 aided by individual championship performances from Echemendia (141) and Yonger Bastida (285). The Cyclones put 152.5 points on the board at the Big 12 Championship, the fourth-most in a tournament in league history and the most-ever by an ISU team in the Big 12 era. The Cyclones finished with a 13-2 overall dual record, a 6-1 Big 12 record and an 8-2 mark against ranked foes, losing only to No. 4 Iowa and No. 5 Oklahoma State, teams they would go on to finish ahead of at the NCAA Championships.
Ames, Iowa – After leading the Iowa State wrestling program to its first Big 12 Conference title since 2009 and its highest NCAA Championship placement since 2010, head coach Kevin Dresser has been rewarded with a four-year contract extension thru June 30, 2029, ISU Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced today.
“We are excited that Kevin has agreed to a contract extension through 2029,” Pollard said. “Kevin and his staff have done a tremendous job revitalizing our wrestling program and we look forward to continued success under their leadership. The success and excitement surrounding the program is exactly what we expected when we hired Kevin to lead our program. It is very important to Iowa State University and our athletics department that our wrestling program be successful. Kevin has more than delivered in helping us achieve that goal. I could not be more pleased with the direction of our wrestling program.”
A two-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year (2019, ’24) and the 2019 National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year, Dresser begins his eighth season leading the Cyclone program on Nov. 8 when his sixth-ranked team takes on No. 20 Stanford in a 7 p.m. match at Hilton Coliseum. The eighth head coach in program history has reinvigorated the tradition-rich Cyclone program since returning to his native Iowa for the 2017-18 season. He owns a 241-79 (.753) record in 18 years as a head coach, including an 81-28 (.743) mark at Iowa State.
“On behalf of my staff and our team, I want to thank Jamie (Pollard) and everyone in this department for helping us get to this point,” Dresser said. “College athletics are becoming more challenging each year and this staff is committed to putting a great product on the mat every season. This will be a fun team to watch in 2024-25! We look forward to the future in Ames with great anticipation and we look forward to the challenge of winning at the highest level.”
His efforts have seen Iowa State climb on the national stage, highlighted most recently by a 2024 Big 12 title and fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, ISU’s best since 2010. Dresser inherited a program that had scored just one point and finished tied for 57th at the 2017 NCAA Championships. Since then, Iowa State has finished T-45th, 16th, T-13th, 17th, 11th and 4th at the national tournament and qualifying eight or more individuals to the NCAA Championships in six of seven years.
Iowa State had no conference champion in 2017 and failed to have a wrestler reach All-American status. Since then, Dresser’s program has produced 10 Big 12 Champions and 13 NCAA All-Americans. One of Dresser’s top priorities when arriving on campus in 2017 was bringing blue-chip recruit and Cyclone legacy David Carr to Ames. A catalyst in turning the program around, Carr won four individual Big 12 titles and a pair of NCAA titles in 2021 and 2024.
Fan support has been crucial to Dresser's program revival and Cyclone fans are once again turning out in droves to watch wrestling in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State averaged 6,690 fans per dual at home during the 2023-24 season, which ranked third nationally and was its highest average home attendance in the Big 12 era.
The 2023-24 season was ISU’s best under Dresser’s direction, as four Cyclones - Evan Frost (6th, 133), Anthony Echemendia (5th, 141), Casey Swiderski (7th, 149) and David Carr (1st, 165) - earned All-America honors. It marked ISU’s most All-Americans since 2009 and Iowa State’s 68.5 team points and fourth-place finish were both its best at nationals since 2010. Carr won his second NCAA title to become the 17th Cyclone to win multiple national titles and the first since 2010 (Jake Varner, 2009-10).
Dresser was named the 2024 Big 12 Coach of the Year as Iowa State won its first league title since 2009 aided by individual championship performances from Echemendia (141) and Yonger Bastida (285). The Cyclones put 152.5 points on the board at the Big 12 Championship, the fourth-most in a tournament in league history and the most-ever by an ISU team in the Big 12 era. The Cyclones finished with a 13-2 overall dual record, a 6-1 Big 12 record and an 8-2 mark against ranked foes, losing only to No. 4 Iowa and No. 5 Oklahoma State, teams they would go on to finish ahead of at the NCAA Championships.
