Coleman Scott is coming back to Stillwater.
Scott left the head coaching position at North Carolina to become the associate head coach at Oklahoma State — a position recently vacated by Zack Esposito. OSU officially announced the move Monday.
“Coming back to Oklahoma State and having the opportunity to serve Coach Smith and this program means the world to me,” Scott said in OSU’s release. “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 was the head coach at North Carolina for eight years, making the Tar Heels nationally relevant with its best finish at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 25 years in 2019. There were multiple reports Thursday of Scott leaving Chapel Hill and North Carolina posted its head coaching job Thursday morning.
In eight seasons under Scott, North Carolina had a 75-49 dual record. Scott coached 13 Tarheels to All-American status and nine to individual ACC championships.
Before his coaching career, Scott was a 133-pound national champion in 2008 and four-time All-American at Oklahoma State. After his collegiate career, Scott qualified for the United States National Team four times, even winning a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Scott still has his hand in international wrestling, recently serving as the U.S. Women’s Freestyle National Team coach.
When his wrestling career ended, Scott became an assistant coach at North Carolina in 2014 before eventually taking over. Scott is also originally from Pennsylvania, a recruiting hotbed for wrestling.
Scott’s addition continues a lot of movement within the Oklahoma State staff this offseason. Esposito’s departure was also announced Thursday. Earlier in the offseason, the Cowboys announced the promotions of Tyler Caldwell and Gary Wayne Harding.
“Coleman is a champion and one of the brightest young coaching minds in our sport,” OSU coach John 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.”