AMES — Iowa State announced Thursday that Kevin Dresser will step down as head coach of the Cyclones men’s wrestling team after nine seasons and will be replaced by assistant coach Brent Metcalf. Dresser will serve as Iowa State’s director of wrestling, overseeing both the men’s and women’s programs.
The move comes after a successful 2025-26 season in which the Cyclones finished with a 12-2 dual record, including an 8-1 mark in Big 12 competition, and were ranked No. 4 in the final NWCA dual poll. Iowa State defeated Iowa for the first time since the 2004-05 season, placed second at the Big 12 Championship with 144 points and crowned two conference champions. At the NCAA Championships, the Cyclones finished eighth with 52 points and produced three All-Americans.
Metcalf takes the helm for his ninth full-time season with Iowa State. After serving as a volunteer assistant for the 2017-2018 season, he was brought on as an assistant coach.
“Metcalf is an exceptional technician and has a warm personality for both newcomers and veterans,” senior Rocky Elam said. “He has a fire in his heart for coaching.”
Metcalf has been on staff for the entirety of Dresser’s tenure at Iowa State. Before his stint with the Cyclones, he was the national freestyle developmental coach for USA Wrestling.
A gifted wrestler himself, Metcalf, a Michigan native, is a legend at the University of Iowa. He claimed NCAA championships in 2008 and 2010 for the Hawkeyes and was awarded the 2008 Dan Hodge trophy, a prestigious award given to the best collegiate wrestler each year.
Before his collegiate career, he recorded a 228-0 record in high school and after he continued his career as a freestyle wrestler. He is a four-time member of the U.S. Freestyle World Team and won the freestyle World Cup in 2014 and 2015.
Metcalf will take the reins of one of the most storied collegiate wrestling programs in the country as his first head coaching job.
Dresser served as the coach of the Cyclones for nine seasons. During his tenure, he was the 2019 and 2025 Big 12 Coach of the Year and was named the NWCA Coach of the Year in 2019.
A wrestling guy through and through, Dresser won two state championships at Humboldt High School and won a pair of Big 10 Championships at Iowa as a wrestler. He went on to have a legendary high school coaching career before revitalizing the program at Virginia Tech.
When he came to Iowa State in 2017, Dresser began turning around Iowa State’s program from a skid that it had been on over the years before. He coached David Carr to a national championship at 157 pounds in 2021 and the Cyclones to a team Big 12 title in 2024.
The departure coincides with that of several of Iowa State’s top wrestlers. Starters Yonger Bastida, Elam, Isaac Dean, Vinny Zerban and Stevo Poulin all wrapped up their career as Cyclones at the NCAA Championship in March.
