Iowa State Wrestling Coach Kevin Dresser recently addressed the rumors of him leaving the Cyclones wrestling program. Dresser joined the Iowa program in February 2017 as the eighth coach. From then on, he led the team to the 2024 Big 12 title and fourth-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships, which was the program’s best finish since 2010.
The program had no conference champion and no wrestler with All-American status till 2017. Since Coach Dresser joined, he has produced 11 Big 12 champions and 14 NCAA All-Americans.
Under his tutelage, David Carr arrived in Ames and went on to win four individual Big 12 titles and a pair of NCAA titles. AA titles in 2021 and 2024. In 2024, he led the Cyclones program to its first Big 12 Conference title since 2009 and its highest NCAA Championship placement since 2010.
Following this, the ISU Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced the extension of Coach Dresser’s contract for four years through June 30, 2029. Recently, as the rumor of him leaving the program and assistant coach Brent Metcalf replacing him sparked, Coach Dresser cleared the speculations and wrote:
“My contract at Iowa State expires on June 30,2029! I’m not leaving yet 🌪️💪🏼🤪”
In 2024, Coach Dresser was honored with the Big 12 Coach of the Year Award.
Iowa State Wrestling Coach Kevin Dresser Opens Up On Program’s Eighth-Place Finish at the 2026 NCAA Championships
Iowa State Wrestling Coach Kevin Dresser made his feelings known after the program finished in eighth place at the 2026 NCAA Championships. The program collected 52.0 points to follow Michigan (66.0). In an interview, Coach Dresser also highlighted the Cuban wrestler Yonger Bastida’s performance, who cruised to the finals in the 285 lbs category before losing to NC State’s Isaac Trumble by decision 5-0.
“That obviously was tough. But great season. You disappointed guy here. It’s no fun losing in the finals when you’re the number one seed, but obviously we have seen a few guys do that tonight. So tough tournament. Really proud of Yonger Bastida.”
“You know, it’s sad but winning and losing is part of our business. So anyway, it’s a tough one tonight but I think when the dust settles, he will be proud of everything he did at Iowa.” (2:40 onwards)
Only Mikey Caliendo of Iowa State competed in the final round of the Championships besides Bastida. Caliendo also faced defeat at the hands of Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink in the 165 lbs.
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