NWCA Announces NAIA Men’s National Coach of the Year Winner

Wichita, KS – On Thursday evening the NAIA hosted their National Championship Coaches Social hosted by the Hyatt Regency.  At the conclusion of the event, the National Wrestling Coaches Association honored the nine finalists for the NAIA Men’s National Coach of the Year and announced the winner as selected by his peers. This award is presented to the coach that has demonstrated outstanding effort throughout the season in developing and elevating their program on campus and in the community. The awards are presented by Defense Soap, the official Hygiene partner of the NWCA.

“In continuing our mission, Defense Soap is proud to partner with the NWCA, to keep wrestlers on the mat with our products and education in hygiene.” Guy Sako, Founder and CEO of Defense Soap.

The recipient of this year’s NAIA Men’s National Coach of the Year is Jeff Bedard of Reinhardt University.  Coach Bedard is in his fourth year as head coach and his achievements include a 17-2 dual meet record with six wins being against ranked NAIA schools and two others against Division II foes. Bedard coached twelve academic all-conference wrestlers and ten conference champions this year alone. All twelve of his starters are ranked in the top twenty in the nation and his team has an overall GPA of 3.1.

“We are excited to honor such an outstanding Coach as Jeff Bedard, he continues to grow his program and push his athletes to new heights.” Said Mike Moyer, NWCA Executive Director.

2020 NAIA COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALISTS

• Appalachian Athletic Conference: Jeff Bedard – Reinhardt University
• American Midwest Conference: Steven Bradley – Marian University
• Cascade Collegiate Conference: Joey Martinez – Menlo College
• Great Plains Athletic Conference: Levi Calhoun – Concordia University
• Heart of America Athletic Conference: Zach Mullins – Graceland University
• Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference: Chuck Kearney – University of St. Mary
• Mid-South Conference: Jordan Countryman – University of the Cumberlands
• Sooner Athletic Conference: Thomas Pompei – Indiana Institute of Technology
• Sooner Athletic Conference: Sam Hazewinkel – Oklahoma City University

ABOUT THE NWCA
The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a non-profit organization for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on developing coaches who work in academic environments. The three core competencies of the NWCA are: Coaching Development, Student-Athlete Welfare, and the Promotion of Wrestling.