And then there was one. There is just one final head coaching gig available in Division II right now. The promotion of three-time Division III finalist Bebeto Yewah to head coach at Davenport University means that only Southwest Minnesota State University is without a leader. The clock is ticking for the Mustangs to add a captain to steer this ship and we have seen no real sense of urgency thus far.
The Mustangs are coming off their best NCAA finish in the last 22 years. This is a program that will return All-Americans in sophomore Cade Steffen and super senior Jackson Ryan. Ryan became the first Mustang to reach the semifinals of the national tournament since Steffen’s father, Link, accomplished the feat in 1998 on his way to winning the only NCAA title for SMSU. This is a team that put two unseeded wrestlers onto the podium in this crazy season and will return them both. What a place to build from!
After the season, Southwest Minnesota State University athletics went through a bit of an upheaval, losing head coach Jesse Nelson and athletics director Chris Hmielewski. That is a recipe for, if not disaster, then at the very least apathy towards locking down a new Mustang coach. That being the case, I feel like I should just go ahead and make the program a perfect landing spot; I have even found them their new head coach.
Why Southwest Minnesota State University? Who better to sell SMSU than their last NCAA champion, Link Steffen? I asked him this question and here is what he had to say. Continue reading at intermatwrestle.com →