I wanted to give my thoughts on the coaching staff so far. I am not an insider, so this is just my opinion. I am basing this on the information up til now. The reality is that all of this is a work in progress, and it takes multiple years to get a fair picture of a staff.
Recruiting/Portal - I do not know how much of the portal acquisitions from last off season are from this staff; however, they did keep them around. Adding Figueroa, Ryder, and others this year will be a boost to the team. The recruiting class seems really strong, but they haven't done anything yet. A couple of recruits were flipped to Oklahoma State, so that is another positive. For now the staff gets an A+ because everything looks great from the recruiting and portal perspective.
Wrestler Development - This is a difficult one to determine. The staff has consistently said that the most important part is the NCAA tournament, so I will base my ideas on that. Spratley, Fish, Amine, Hamiti, and Hendrickson all did better than the previous tournament. Witcraft, Jamison, Young/Travis, Plott, and Surber decreased or had a small improvement. I will give an A at this time because I believe the mentality brought by this staff helped a lot, but I can see the argument for A+ ( turned two into national champs, put Spratley in the finals, put Fish on the podium) or a B (Plott decreased, Surber went 0-2, Hamiti did better with an easier weight cut, Hendrickson just needed better partners in the room).
Program Promotion/Excitement - I would have to give an A+ for this one. The attendance was great. There was even a really good crowd for a rescheduled match on a Monday night. I think there is a lot of excitement around the program, and I hope it builds.
It is difficult to say anything that isn't positive at this point for the staff. I'm already excited for next year.
Thoughts?
Recruiting/Portal - I do not know how much of the portal acquisitions from last off season are from this staff; however, they did keep them around. Adding Figueroa, Ryder, and others this year will be a boost to the team. The recruiting class seems really strong, but they haven't done anything yet. A couple of recruits were flipped to Oklahoma State, so that is another positive. For now the staff gets an A+ because everything looks great from the recruiting and portal perspective.
Wrestler Development - This is a difficult one to determine. The staff has consistently said that the most important part is the NCAA tournament, so I will base my ideas on that. Spratley, Fish, Amine, Hamiti, and Hendrickson all did better than the previous tournament. Witcraft, Jamison, Young/Travis, Plott, and Surber decreased or had a small improvement. I will give an A at this time because I believe the mentality brought by this staff helped a lot, but I can see the argument for A+ ( turned two into national champs, put Spratley in the finals, put Fish on the podium) or a B (Plott decreased, Surber went 0-2, Hamiti did better with an easier weight cut, Hendrickson just needed better partners in the room).
Program Promotion/Excitement - I would have to give an A+ for this one. The attendance was great. There was even a really good crowd for a rescheduled match on a Monday night. I think there is a lot of excitement around the program, and I hope it builds.
It is difficult to say anything that isn't positive at this point for the staff. I'm already excited for next year.
Thoughts?
