There is a new head man in Ames, Iowa that will be leading the Iowa State wrestling program when they take to the mat next weekend. The Cyclones open the season hosting the Harold Nichols (Cyclone) Open and while Dresser has been the team’s head coach since last February, this will be the first time that he will appear in the corner for his athletes during NCAA competition.
A lot has happened to lead the Cyclones to where they are today, which is a team looking to improve from the program’s worst recorded season to national title contender. The team likely still has a ways to go, but we have put together a timeline up to this point.
1/31/17: Kevin Jackson announces he will step down as head coach at the end of the season. Cyclones’ Athletic Director Jamie Pollard begins search for new head coach.
1/31/17: Hours later, Austin Gomez requests his release from scholarship. Jake Allar announces he requested his release a week prior, and Ethan Smith requests his release several days later.
2/1/17: KJ Pilcher of the Cedar Rapids Gazette speculates which coaches Pollard may be targeting. Kevin Dresser appears near the top of the list.
2/18/17: Ben Visser of the Iowa State Daily reports Virginia Tech head coach Kevin Dresser has accepted the head coach job for Iowa State.
2/20/17: The hiring is confirmed by the school.
2/21/17: Ross Bartachek of IAwrestle speculates who might join Dresser in Ames. Among the names listed are future assistant coaches Mike Zadick and Derek St. John.
2/22/17: Dresser is introduced by Pollard to the media for the first time. Dresser states his goals, among others, are to beat Iowa.
2/22/17: Jarod Verkleeren gets his release from Iowa State.
2/23/17: Jackson steps down early and the Cyclones promote Travis Paulson to interim head coach for the 2017 postseason.
2/26/17: Dresser wastes little time in getting Gomez to commit to Iowa State. Allar and Smith would commit to Minnesota and Ohio State respectively.
3/30/17: Derek St. John accepts offer to coach at Iowa State, becoming Dresser’s first staff addition.
4/3/17: Mac Southard becomes the first official commit of the Kevin Dresser era.
4/4/17: Mike Zadick and Brent Metcalf announced as the final members of the Iowa State staff.
4/5/17: Dresser introduces his staff at ISU Presser.
5/11/17: Dresser flips Dowling Catholic’s Kaden Sauer from Wisconsin-Lacrosse.
6/28/17: Former Cyclone NCAA champion Kyven Gadson announces he will remain in Ames and continue training as a part of Dresser’s Cyclone-Regional Training Center.
7/3/17: Dresser lands his first recruit for the class of 2018 in Fort Dodge prep Cayd Lara, joining Weston DiBlasi, a Jackson era commit.
7/5/17: Dresser wins first major instate recruiting battle by getting #43 overall Joel Shapiro. The WDM-Valley prep also considered UNI.
7/6/17: Skyler St. John transfers in from Iowa, giving him a chance to wrestle for his brother. The former Hawk gives Dresser another option at 165 pounds.
7/20/17: Earl Hall and Ben Durbin join Gadson as members of the Cyclone-Regional Training Center.
7/27/17: Jarrett Degen follows Dresser from Virginia Tech to ISU. Degen is the only wrestler to follow Dresser to the new school.
10/18/17: Even though Dresser had a assembled a strong 2018 class to this point, he struck gold adding blue chip wrestler and Cyclone legacy David Carr to it. The number five ranked wrestler in the country, Carr picked the Cyclones over other blue blood programs Oklahoma State, Cornell, Ohio State, and Nebraska.
10/21/17: 2019 recruit Chris Foca of New Jersey becomes Dresser’s first recruit of the class.
11/4/18: The Iowa State Cyclones take the mat for the first time with Kevin Dresser in the corner…..the rest is to be continued.