Aug 22, 2023 3 min read

STILLWATER, Okla. – Coleman Scott is back at Oklahoma State as associated head coach of the Cowboys’ wrestling program, the school announced Monday.

A Waynesburg native and Olympic medalist, Scott is an Oklahoma State graduate.

Scott spent the last eight years as head coach at North Carolina and comes off a 2023 campaign in which he led the Tar Heels to a 12th-place national finish, UNC’s best since 1995, and coached Austin O’Connor to his second NCAA championship. Scott resigned as the Tar Heels’ head coach last week.

Scott guided UNC to top-20 national finishes in each of his final five seasons for the most successful five-year run at North Carolina in more than three decades. He coached 13 Tar Heel All-Americans and nine ACC champions and led O’Connor to become just the second multiple-time NCAA individual champion in UNC wrestling history.

During Scott’s eight years as head coach, North Carolina compiled a 75-49 dual record that included a 23-17 mark in the ACC.

As an Oklahoma State wrestler, Scott is one of only 15 four-time All-Americans in program history and was a 2008 NCAA champion. He was part of OSU national championship teams in 2005 and 2006 and was the Outstanding Wrestler as a freshman at the 2005 Big 12 Championships.

“Coming back to Oklahoma State and having the opportunity to serve Coach (John) Smith and this program means the world to me,” Scott said. “I’ll be forever grateful to North Carolina for believing in me at such an early stage of my career, but I’m a Cowboy at heart and when the opportunity to return came up, I had to take it.”

Scott originally came to OSU as one of the top recruits in the nation after winning both the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award and the Junior Wade Schalles Award as a senior at Waynesburg.

He became a four-time member of the United States Freestyle World Team and won bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.

After the Olympics, Scott broke into coaching with two years as a volunteer assistant at OSU before getting a full-time assistant position at North Carolina for the 2014-15 season. After one year as a UNC assistant, he was elevated to head coach.

“Coleman is a champion and one of the brightest young coaching minds in our sport,” Smith said. “Success has followed him wherever he’s gone, and we’re excited to have him and his family back home with us at Oklahoma State.”