Drew Black - Strength & Conditioning Coach,
Head Wrestling Coach

      Drew Black enters his 15th year at the helm of Wesleyan wrestling in 2012-13 as an associate professor of physical education. Drew also serves as strength and conditioning coach as well as fitness center coordinator at the college. He is certified through both the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and USA Weightlifting as a Level I club coach.
     The 2011-12 season proved to be one of the most memorable in Wesleyan wrestling history as the Cardinals hosted and won the 2012 New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Championship.  This was Wesleyan's second team championship with the first one attained in 1984.  It was also the second time in school history that Wesleyan sent four individuals to the NCAA Championships with Jefferson Ajayi '13 coming home as an All-American, placing seventh at 184 lbs. The team won the championship with eight conference placers including five finalists and three champions.  In addition, Drew received the NEWA Coach of the Year, the second time in the past three seasons he has received the honor.
     During his tenure at Wesleyan, Drew led the team to its winningest finishes in school history with a 17-2 mark in 2001-02, the most wins in a season at the college, and a 16-3-1 record in 2010-11, the second highest number of victories ever in a season.  Included in 2010-11 was a school-record 11-match win streak.  No previous squad had captured more than eight in a row. The Cardinals have been in the national rankings the past three seasons, finishing 29th for the 2011-12 dual season, as well as #1 in the New England poll.  In addition, with the 16 dual victories in the 2010-11 season, Drew became the winningest wrestling coach in Wesleyan history and now has 142  career victories over his 14 seasons.  The Cardinals finished third in the NEWA Championships with seven conference placewinners in both 2010 and 2011 before vaulting to the top spot in 2012.  The team has had 10 winning seasons over the past 12 years with a 131-85-3 cumulative mark over that span. Wesleyan has been represented in the NCAA Division III Tournament six of the last seven years, most recently sending Joey Schwartz '14 (133), Kyle Roosa '13 (174- 2x NCAA qualifier), Jefferson Ajayi '13 (184 - All-American), and Luke Erickson '12 (197) to Nationals.
     Year in and year out, the Wesleyan wrestling team competes nationally for wrestling and academic recognition. The team has earned team scholar All-America status in 11 of the last 12 years (all but 2003), most recently finishing fourth  in the country for the third consecutive year with a 3.44 team GPA.
     Drew served as president of the NEWA Coaches Association for five years and is a six-year veteran board member of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. In addition he is Connecticut's national team director with USAWCT for freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
     Before coming to Wesleyan, Drew was the head wrestling coach, fitness center coordinator and strength and conditioning coach at Phoenix (AZ) College from 1995-1998. There he directed his squad to a #6 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCCA) ranking and an 11-3 dual-match record in 1997-98. One of his grapplers won a national title while another finished third.
     A 1992 graduate of Syracuse University who went on to earn his Master's degree at Kent St. University in 1994, Drew took over as head wrestling coach and strength and conditioning coach at Wesleyan in 1998-99. A four-year varsity wrestler for the Orangemen and a team co-captain as a senior, Drew was a two-time runner-up at the N.Y. state collegiate wrestling championships, seventh-place finisher at the 1991 Midlands Tournament and a fifth-place finisher in the E.I.W.A. Tournament in 1992.
     Prior to enrolling at Syracuse, Drew was a 1987 state champion at 108 pounds while a senior at Mahwah (N.J.) High School. He also placed third in the state his junior year.
     Drew is looking to have a nationally recognized, consistently winning program by attracting quality student-athletes from around the country who have a solid commitment to both academics and wrestling.
     Drew and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Middletown with their two children, a son Sean (13), and a daughter Leah (8).