Jun 3, 2026 By John Sacco 4 min read

Slippery Rock University is not Claysville.

But it’s as close to home as Jeff Breese has worked in collegiate wrestling in some time.

Breese, a McGuffey High School graduate, and most recently Army (West Point) director of wrestling development was named Tuesday as the head coach of Slippery Rock’s wrestling program.

Breese will begin his tenure at SRU in July and will be charged with launching an NCAA Division II wrestling program that is set to begin competing during the 2027-28 academic year. It will mark a return of the wrestling team at The Rock after the program previously competed at the Division I level before being discontinued in 2006.

“The number one attraction was honestly, home in Western Pennsylvania,” said Breese, a two-time PIAA champion at McGuffey in 1999 and 2001. “I’ve been coaching for 20 years trying to figure out how to coach and make a real living as close to Claysville as I could possibly be. This gives me that opportunity. When I first saw that they were bringing wrestling back, I was kind of following the search from afar.

“As it became closer to something that looked like it was really going to happen, I did more research. I thought it became a better opportunity for me, my family and my career.”

“We are thrilled to add Jeff as the head coach of our wrestling program,” said Roberta Page, SRU’s director of athletics. “He has proven himself both as a wrestler and a coach at the highest levels of collegiate wrestling and we are excited to see what he brings to the relaunch of Slippery Rock wrestling.”

Breese has spent the last four seasons as the director of wrestling development at Army, where he was responsible for overseeing all team operations. The Black Knights enjoyed success during his tenure on the staff, sending 20 wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Championships over the last four seasons, including seven during the 2024-25 season.

In addition to his role with the Division I wrestling team at Army, Breese also served as head coach of the Army Prep team and the West Point Wrestling Club. He also directed West Point wrestling camps with more than 300 attendees annually.

During his tenure at Army, Breese helped coach and develop three U23 Pan-American champions, 19 U23 All-Americans, 20 NCAA qualifiers and 34 EIWA medalists. Just last weekend he guided a trio of wrestlers from the West Point Club to All-America honors and two national runner-up finishes at the U23 National Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

“I’ve been trying to figure out how to (get closer to home) since I first left,” Breese said. “I never really wanted to leave Western Pennsylvania. It’s just the way the coaching world is. You usually have to go away so you can come home.”

Prior to West Point, Breese spent four seasons as the head coach of the Division II wrestling program at Lake Erie College, where he led the team to a Great Midwest Athletic Conference title and three trips to the GMAC finals. He coached 40 Scholar All-Americans, 10 NCAA qualifiers and three NCAA All-Americans at Lake Erie.

Breese was the head coach at Buena Vista University in Iowa for four seasons from 2014-18. He coached two IIAC Freshman of the Year honorees, sent one athlete to nationals and established a USA Wrestling Regional Training Center on campus.

A 2006 graduate of North Carolina State and a three-year starter for the Wolfpack, Breese helped guide N.C. State to the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference championship. He returned to his alma mater in 2012 and spent two seasons as the director of operations as the program jumped from 70th to 19th in the national rankings.

Breese also spent stints as an assistant coach at Seton Hill, as head coach at Penn State New Kensington, as an assistant at Northern Illinois and working with the National Wrestling Coaches Association early in his career before returning to North Carolina State in 2012.

Breese will have the 2026-27 academic year to recruit student-athletes and build the foundation for the program that will begin competing in 2027-28.

“I’m really excited to get started,” Breese said. “I think I must even, in some ways, temper my expectations, because I do see a ton of opportunity and potential here. I know the level of support that I’m expecting to get from both the institution and our alumni group. It is going to be a special place. The challenge for me is remembering to build it the right way from day one, from scratch, and not get in too big of a hurry.”