North Carolina State University at Raleigh Wrestling

The 2025-26 wrestling season marks Pat Popolizio’s 14th at the helm of the NC State wrestling program, as he was named head wrestling coach of the Wolfpack on April 10, 2012. Popolizio was named the 2018 Dan Gable co-NCAA Coach of the Year and the 2016 National Coach of the Year by FloWrestling. He has also been a finalist for the NWCA Division I National Coach of the Year each of the last five years in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. He has been named ACC Coach of the Year three times, in 2018, 2020, and 2021. In 13 seasons under Popolizio, NC State Wrestling has had: 4 National Champions 8 NCAA Finalists 31 All-Americans 36 ACC Champions 5 ACC Wrestlers of the Year 4 ACC Rookies of the Year 5 ACC Scholar-Athletes of the Year Popolizio has captured seven ACC Championships, including six straight (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024). He has led NC State to a school record 10 straight top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Over the last 10 NCAA Championships, NC State has finished 19th in 2014, 16th in 2015, 11th in 2016, 17th in 2017, t-4th in 2018 (earning its first-ever team trophy), 17th in 2019 (2020 was canceled due to COVID-19), 6th in 2021,10th in 2022, 10th in 2023, tied for 11th in 2024, and 8th in 2025. The '21, '22', and '23 seasons, the Pack brought home consecutive top-10 finishes for the first time since 1992 and 1993. NC State has earned 31 All-America honors in the last 10 years. In 2018, NC State set a school-best with four All-Americans, including

Ben Broussard joined NC State University as Executive Director of the Student Aid Association (Wolfpack Club) on June 1, 2020. As the leader of the Wolfpack Club — the fundraising arm of NC State University Athletics — Broussard oversees all philanthropic strategy and operations supporting the department's 22 varsity sports programs. Under his leadership, the organization has expanded donor engagement, strengthened annual giving, and positioned the Wolfpack Club for sustained long-term growth. Broussard came to NC State after serving as Assistant Vice Chancellor of Advancement and Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he led the Buff Club and delivered record fundraising results, including closing three of the five largest gifts in school history. Prior to Colorado, he served in multiple leadership roles at Louisiana State University, including Vice President for Development at the Tiger Athletic Foundation, where he helped lead philanthropic efforts exceeding $250 million. A graduate of LSU with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology (1999) and a master's degree (2001), Broussard was a member of the school's club rugby team. Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, he is a graduate of Acadiana High School, where he lettered in basketball and baseball, and previously served his country as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Cam joined NC State Athletics staff as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for wrestling and tennis in August of 2025. He brings an enormous ...

Armstrong has spent two seasons in Raleigh, as he joined the Wolfpack's Sport Medicine team in the summer of 2024 as the primary trainer for the wrestling program. He played a crucial role in helping Isaac Trumble recover from his major knee injury in March of 2025 to then be able to claim the heavyweight national title at the 2026 NCAAs in Cleveland just a year later. The Bellingham, Washington native brings almost a decade of experience with him as he previously worked at Air Force (2021-24) and Chattanooga (2018-21), interned at Washington State (2017-18), and was a graduate assistant at Eastern Michigan (2015-17). He earned a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Washington State University and a Master of Science in Sport Management from Eastern Michigan. In his free time he enjoys golfing, fishing, and hunting.

Cole Malone serves as the Associate Director of Creative Services for NC State Athletics, joining the staff full-time in August 2022. Malone previously serve...

Eric McGrovern, Assistant Director and Academic Coordinator, joined ASPSA in June of 2018. In her current role Erin is the Academic Coordinator for Gymnastics, Wrestling, and Women's Soccer where she provides academic support. Originally from New Hampshire, Erin attended Roanoke College where she obtained her B.S. in Biology. She would later attend Virginia Tech where she would obtain her M.A.Ed in Higher Education and Student Affairs. She joined ASPSA after attending Graduate School at Virginia Tech. Currently Erin resides in Raleigh with her husband Lewis and their dog Cabella.

NC State wrestling's first-ever five-time All-American returned to Raleigh to rejoin the NC State wrestling staff, this time as an assistant coach, at the en...

Kevin Hansen joined NC State in January, 2023 as Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance and was promoted to Associate Athletic Director in April, 2024. Hansen serves as primary liaison to the sports of football and wrestling for all compliance matters and serves as compliance contact for NIL and the 1PACK Collective. He came to the Wolfpack after spending six years at Texas Tech University where he oversaw financial aid monitoring, practice and competition eligibility, and roster management for all 17 sports. He also served as compliance liaison to football and baseball in his last year and a half as a Red Raider. Hansen, native of New Berlin, WI, is a 2012 graduate from Saint Norbert College in De Pere, WI, where he played quarterback on the football team. Hansen then graduated from Valparaiso University and Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University where he earned his JD and LL.M degrees, respectively.

Mackenzi joined the wrestling program in August of 2022, completing four seasons with the Pack, she plays a vital role for the team in addition to the Wolfpack RTC as well. Prior to moving to Raleigh, she spent one season as the Director of Volleyball Operations at Wake Forest University where she coordinated the team's travel and daily activities. She also assisted with community service and marketing efforts. Prior to Wake Forest, Wood was a member of the West Virginia University Wrestling Program where she worked alongside staff; coordinating coaches and athletes schedules, planning travel, organizing meals during competitions, and assisting in their fundraising efforts which led to a state of the art wrestling lounge being constructed before her graduation. She graduated from West Virginia University in 2020 with her Bachelors in Political Science and minors in Sports Communications and Entrepreneurial Studies.

Malik McDonald joined the NC State wrestling staff in June of 2025, the Wolfpack alumnus brings several years of experience as a DI assistant coach. In his f...

Dr. Rachel Conway is a Clinical and Sport Psychologist and serves as the Assistant Athletics Director for Mental Health & Performance Psychology at NCSU. Dr. C graduated with her B.A. from Luther College (Decorah, Iowa) – double majoring in Psychology and Athletic Training – and went on to receive both her M.S. and Psy.D. in clinical psychology from Pacific University School of Professional Psychology (Hillsboro, Oregon). She completed her internship at Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) and her postdoctoral fellowship at Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania). From 2018-2024, Dr. C served as the first full-time sport psychologist at Wake Forest University Athletics, building the sport psychology department and improving relationships between athletics and mental health. At NCSU, Dr. C oversees the continuing growth and maintenance of an impactful Mental Health & Performance Psychology Program. In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Dr. C works with individuals, teams, and coaches through an acceptance and commitment therapy lens to enhance holistic well-being and improve performance. Dr. C is certified and licensed to work with individuals and groups on performance enhancement and mental health concerns. She enjoys working with student-athletes on peak performance, eating/body image concerns, substance use, injury recovery, and adjustment to life changes. In her spare time, Dr. C enjoys outdoor pursuits, fostering animals, travel, theater & dance, and S

Rachel Miller joined the Wolfpack as an Assistant Director of Communications in July 2024 and serves as the primary contact for the men's soccer, wrestling and men's tennis programs. In her time since joining as a full-time staff member, she has led social media and communications efforts for men's soccer during its NCAA Sweet Sixteen berth in 2024 and first-ever National Championship feature in 2025 which led to the program's first-ever No. 1 overall pick in the MLS Draft, wrestling's two individual national champions, five All-Americans, and three individual ACC Champions, and men's tennis' third-ever NCAA Super Regional berth in 2024 and three All-Americans. The native of Jackson Springs, N.C., graduated from NC State in May of 2024 with her Bachelor of Science in Sport Management and a minor in Business Administration. She was heavily involved with the athletics communications department while completing her undergraduate degree. Her junior year (2022-23) she served as the secondary contact for women's basketball and primary contact for women's tennis and her senior year (2023-24) she remained the secondary contact for women's basketball and became the primary contact for wrestling. As a student intern she gained experience across several sports at big name events, covering women's tennis when they won their first-ever ACC Championship in Cary, N.C., and advanced to the NCAA Championship Finals in Orlando. She also traveled with women's basketball when they competed in th

Zack Esposito joined the NC State wrestling staff in April of 2024, and jumped right in the position by helping coach Trent Hidlay and Isaac Trumble at the U.S. Olympic Trials which resulted in both earning a spot on the national team. In his first season in Raleigh, he helped coach the Pack to boast a national champion for the first time since 2018, three All-Americans, and an ACC Champion. After the collegiate season concluded he also led the Wolfpack RTC members at the 2025 U.S. Open in Vegas which resulted in all five of his senior division athletes placing, as well as Trent Hidlay winning the 92 kg bracket to earn a ticket to Final X. "Zack is a big impact hire", said Popolizio. "He comes from an elite background of wrestling, has produced at all levels and is a proven winner. His values mirror everything that our program stands for and I am confident that we will continue to build on the momentum that has continued to grow in the past several seasons. He shares the same goals as the rest of us, to win a national title." After previously holding the associate head coach position at Oklahoma State for seven years, he was most recently the National Freestyle Development and Resident Coach for USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States. In his position, Esposito coordinated the U.S. Pan American and World Teams at the U15, U17 and U20 levels. He also managed USA Wrestling's Elite U20 Resident Program, which trains at the U.S. Olympic & Par