Less than one month after the search for a new head coach began, the Terrapin wrestling team welcomed Kerry McCoy, former head coach of the Stanford Cardinal, as its new leader Monday.
McCoy will replace former head coach Pat Santoro, who left the team April 16 to go to Lehigh University.
“Maryland is committed to the sport of wrestling, which excites me. I am really looking forward to the next step of my coaching career,” McCoy said.
A national search began almost immediately after Santoro’s departure by a committee made up of members of the athletic administration and a faculty member from the athletic council, according to Chris Boyer, a senior associate athletics director.
McCoy said he actually learned of the job opening from Santoro, who he knew when they were both assistant coaches at Lehigh.
“The opportunity came, and, all things said and done, it was a great opportunity, and they chose me,” McCoy said.
In three seasons, McCoy took Stanford from a losing record in the season before his arrival to a 13-4 mark and 19th place in the NCAA championships this past season, the second-best finish in program history.
But the Terps already went through this rebuilding stage – with Santoro.
Santoro brought the program the national prominence it had lacked since the early 1970s by recruiting three wrestlers and leading the team to the program’s first ACC championship in 35 years.
Santoro’s departure surprised team members, who had big plans for next season, but they seem ready and willing to work with McCoy. Both sophomore captain Hudson Taylor and sophomore Brendan Byrne emphasized that the whole team was pleased by the decision.
“McCoy is an excellent coach and we are lucky to have him,” Taylor said. “I feel that with McCoy’s guidance, the team will become a national contender.”
The new coach does not anticipate any problems with the transition, especially since he and the team share the same goal: a national championship.
McCoy’s connections to Santoro and to the entire Terp program will help bring continuity, he said. He knew some of the players when they were in high school, and the rest he knows from following the school’s recruiting.
“We are excited to work with him and see what he has to bring to the table,” Byrne said. “We feel, as a team, that Kerry has the tools to continue where Pat Santoro left us, and that was heading for a national title.”
Right now, the team wants to move forward and began its training with McCoy, so that by the time the season comes, the coach and the wrestlers will be completely adjusted and ready to compete for the national championship.
“As the semester comes to an end, the team is excited and ready to begin training with McCoy to accomplish our goal of becoming a national powerhouse,” Taylor said.
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