Takedown Report

The Citadel Announces Tim McCall as Wrestling Head Coach

CHARLESTON, S.C. – After conducting a nationwide search throughout the offseason, The Citadel officially named Tim McCall as the Bulldogs’ new wrestling head coach Wednesday afternoon. A former standout and two-time NCAA qualifier at the University of Wisconsin, McCall joins the program following a two-year stint at Utah Valley as the head assistant.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to lead the wrestling program at The Citadel,” McCall said. “This is a place built on discipline, toughness and tradition, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to pour into these young men both on and off the mat. My goal is to build on the strong history and foundation already established here while developing a culture centered around accountability, hard work and belief in one another. I can’t wait to get to work with this team, connect with the alumni and community and help lead this program into its next chapter.”
Led by Senior Associate Athletic Director Rachel Fineberg, the search committee conducted an exhaustive evaluation of a highly competitive pool of candidates, selecting McCall based on his ‘vision, character and proven track record of success, all which perfectly align with the mission of The Citadel and the culture of the wrestling program.’
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach McCall, Beth and their children to The Citadel,” said Art Chase, The Citadel Director of Athletics. “Tim’s competitive spirit, value system and proven coaching acumen will continue to push The Citadel wrestling forward. Rachel [Fineberg] and I are confident he will establish a championship culture that will provide a tremendous opportunity for the young men who choose this dynamic path to flourish academically, athletically and socially. We firmly believe our student-athletes will be the beneficiaries of Tim’s intentional commitment to developing each individual both on and off the wrestling mat.
“The passion and pride throughout the program have never been stronger, and we’re grateful for the support from so many individuals, especially General Mike Regner and Coach Ed Steers, who continue to dedicate their time and energy to elevate our standards. Lastly, we are indebted to Coach Ryan LeBlanc and Coach Luke Welch for their tireless leadership while raising the profile of the program.”
Throughout his tenure with Utah Valley, McCall served as a guiding force within the program as the Wolverines garnered national acclaim over the past two years, notably qualifying five NCAA wrestlers for the NCAA Championships during the 2025-26 campaign — good for the second-most in UVU history — while also knocking off No. 14 Stanford in an early-season dual. The year prior, McCall worked directly with the Wolverines’ sixth-ever All-American Terrell Barraclough — advanced into the 165 lbs quarterfinals of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships — while Utah Valley picked up a pair of victories over nationally-ranked opponents No. 23 CSU Bakersfield and No. 23 Oregon State.
Further, he helped foster a balanced environment for student-athletes with 13 Wolverines securing Scholar All-American recognition via the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) — including a team-record nine for the 2025-26 season — while 18 earned distinction as Big 12 All-Academic honorees. As a unit, the program maintained a 3.45 GPA during the 2024-25 season as well as a 3.65 GPA the following year, both good for top 10 marks nationally.
Prior to joining Utah Valley, McCall spent the previous nine years working in and around the wrestling program at North Carolina State, initially starting out as a regional training center athlete and international competitor with the Wolfpack RTC — an extension of USA Wrestling — in 2015 before moving into an assistant coach role ahead of the 2019-20 campaign. As part of the former, he won the 2017 Henri Deglane Challenge and finished as the runner-up at both the 2016 Bill Farrell and the 2018 Dave Schulz tournaments. Further, McCall claimed third at the 2018 World Team Trials while adding a second-place finish at the 2019 Grand Prix of France / Henri Deglane Challenge. … more at … https://citadelsports.com/news/2026/5/20/the-citadel-announces-tim-mccall-as-wrestling-head-coach.aspx

May 31, 2026 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | history, ncaa, sports