OSU’s Logan Stieber (right) wrestles with North Carolina State’s Kevin Jack in a 141-pound semifinal during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 20 in St. Louis.
Credit: Courtesy of TNS
Ohio State wrestling coach Tom Ryan announced that Logan Stieber will be returning to the Steelwood Training Center after the Olympic Trials in April.
Only this time, the most decorated wrestler in OSU history will be setting up residence as a member of the coaching staff.
The addition of Stieber will now give a total of six national titles, seven NCAA finals appearances and 11 All-American honors to the coaching staff for the Buckeyes.
Stieber earned four national championships, 119 victories and a Hodge Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding wrestler during his career with the Scarlet and Gray. All of those marks were firsts by an OSU wrestler.
“I am very excited to be joining the Buckeye staff next year,” Stieber said in a press release. “I love Ohio State, so it’s a dream come true that I can start my coaching career here as well as pursue my Olympic dreams.”
After enjoying incredible success while in high school at Monroeville High School, where he won four state titles, Stieber came to OSU and helped the Buckeyes earn their first team title in the team’s 94-year existence in the 2014-15 season.
Ryan expressed his excitement for the return of Stieber to OSU and what the return means for the team.
“Logan has been a tremendous example here as a student-athlete,” Ryan said in the release. “He completed one of the most illustrious careers in both Ohio high school history and NCAA history by winning four Big Ten and NCAA championships while leading the Buckeyes to our first team title.”
Ryan said Stieber’s contributions to the Buckeyes have been more than anyone else in the program’s history, and he expects him to be a great influence to the wrestlers he will coach.
“I am excited for the current and future student-athletes that will have the opportunity to learn from Logan,” Ryan said.
Ryan also made a note of the importance of volunteer coach Ross Thatcher had on the victory, expressing how much of a powerhouse he believes his coaching staff is.
“(Thatcher) had a tremendous influence on bringing our first NCAA team title to Ohio State as well as he mentored our upper weights, especially Nick Heflin and Kyle Snyder,” Ryan said.
The Scarlet and Gray wrestling facility will now boast an Olympian (Tervel Dlagnev), a World champion (sophomore Kyle Snyder) and a four-time NCAA champion (Stieber).
Those accolades just so happen to make the wrestling room for the Buckeyes the only one with these kind of credentials in the NCAA.
After winning a national championship last year and getting off to a 6-2 start this year, it would appear the Buckeyes are looking to build a collegiate dynasty in wrestling with the addition of Stieber, along with the experience of other coaches.
After finishing second in the 165-pound class at the U.S. Senior Nationals, Stieber will be attending the U.S. Olympic Team Trials from April 8 to 10 in the hopes of joining the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Stieber’s younger brother, Hunter, is also a member of the OSU team, but, as he is currently a redshirt senior, he will not be coached by his brother.
