SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University director of athletics Roberta Page has announced Army West Point director of wrestling development Jeff Breese as head coach of The Rock 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 SRU after the program previously competed at the Division I level before being discontinued in 2006.
 
"We are thrilled to add Jeff as the head coach of our wrestling program," said Page. "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 West Point, where he was responsible for overseeing all team operations and processes. The Black Knights enjoyed success during his tenure on the staff, sending 20 wrestlers to the NCAA Division I National 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 am grateful to President Riley, Roberta Page and the search committee for providing me with this opportunity to guide the return of Slippery Rock Wrestling," said Breese. "I am thrilled to be back home in western Pennsylvania working for an institution that not only sees the value in collegiate wrestling, but is invested in supporting the program at a high level. Slippery Rock University wrestling has a strong tradition and an enthusiastic alumni group. I am honored to be the coach chosen to bring back the program that means so much to them and carry it into the future."
 
Prior to his tenure at 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 during his tenure at Lake Erie.
 
Before his stop 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 University and a three-year starter for the Wolfpack wrestling team, Breese helped guide NC State to the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship. He returned to his Alma Mater in 2012 and spent two seasons as the director of operations at NC State, where he assisted with all facets of running a program that jumped from 70th to 19th in the NCAA Division I rankings.
 
Breese also spent brief 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.
 
A western Pennsylvania native from Claysville in Washington County, Breese was a two-time PIAA state champion while wrestling at McGuffey High School. His father Jeff has been on the wrestling staff at Washington & Jefferson College since 2012.
 
Breese will begin his tenure at SRU this summer and will have the 2026-27 academic year to recruit student-athletes and build the foundation for the program to begin competing in 2027-28. Information for prospective recruits will be available in July shortly after Breese is onboarded.
 
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