Matt Azevedo - Mert '67 and Joanne '69 Hill Head Coach of Wrestling - Wrestling Coaches

Photo by: Greg Carroccio/Sideline Photos

Matt Azevedo

Title:
Mert '67 and Joanne '69 Hill Head Coach of Wrestling
Email:
Coach.Azevedo@drexel.edu
Phone:
215-895-1592

Matt Azevedo, the Mert and Joanne Hill Head Coach of Wrestling, is in his 15th season as head coach of Drexel Wrestling after joining the Dragons in April 2011 following successful coaching stints at Cornell and Cal Poly. Azevedo has led the program’s resurgence and ushered in a new era of Drexel Wrestling in the EIWA. The 2020 inductee into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame is the eighth head coach in the school's history.

The Dragons have climbed onto the national scene and into the national rankings under Azevedo. Drexel earned their first USA Today/NWCA DI Coaches Poll national ranking under Azevedo and remained ranked in the Top 25 for six weeks during the 2016-17 season. The following year, the Dragons finished the 2017-18 regular season ranked in the top 25 of four separate polls – USA Today/NWCA DI Coaches, FloWrestling, Intermat tournament, and Intermat dual – for the first time in program history.

During the 2024-25 season, the Dragons finished with a 11-10 record, the most since the 2017-18 season. Azevedo was named EIWA Coach of the Year for the first time in his career, as Drexel were the inaugural EIWA Independence Division champions. All ten wrestlers placed at the EIWA Championships, the only ten in the conference to accomplish this feat. Jordan Soriano, Jasiah Queen and Mickey O’Malley all automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. This was O’Malley’s fifth appearance in the tournament, the most in program history.

Overall, the Dragons have won 113 matches, including five 10-win seasons under Azevedo’s guidance. Azevedo has coached 44 NCAA Wrestling Championships qualifiers in his first 14 seasons.

The Dragons have taken down nationally ranked opponents in five of the last nine years – No. 22 Cal Poly, 23-16, in Jan. 2025, No. 22 CSU Bakersfield, No. 20 Purdue, 20-17, in Dec. 2022; No. 21 Rider, 18-14, in Feb. 2018; No. 25 Princeton in Dec. 2016; and No. 20 Northwestern, 21-20, in Nov. 2015. Drexel also dramatically came back to tie the overall score at 20-20 on a late third-period pin against No. 5 Lehigh in Dec. 2017, despite the Mountain Hawks winning on criteria. Drexel has also recorded major victories over power five opponents Michigan State (Dec. 2016), Maryland (Feb. 2017), Oregon State (Jan. 2017), and Iowa State (Nov. 2017). Under Azevedo guidance, the Dragons have been able to end long droughts, including a win over University City foe Penn in 2016, their first since 1989, against Hofstra in 2013, their first since 1997, and against Binghamton in 2020, their first since 2006.

In 2023, three Dragons qualified for the national tournament in Tulsa, Okla. Mickey O’Malley earned his fourth consecutive appearance and Evan Barczak his third. Brian Bonino, automatically qualified, collecting his first ticket and came within one win of All-American status.

Despite having the 2019-20 season cut short and the 2020-21 season shortened due to the pandemic, the Dragons had all 10 wrestlers place at the 2021 EIWA Championships for the first time in program history and sent a program-best (tied with 2002 season) six wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament in St. Louis. Parker Kropman (157) Michael O’Malley (174), and Bryan McLaughlin (197) each qualified for their second appearance in the tournament while Julian Flores (141), Luke Nichter (149), and Evan Barczak (165) each received their first automatic bid to NCAA’s, O'Malley made his third-straight NCAA appearance and came within one win of All-American status in 2022. He was joined at the NCAA Championships by Barczak for the second straight year. In 2020, Antonio Mininno (125), O’Malley (174) and Bryan McLaughlin (197) earned automatic bids to their first-ever championships, and Ebed Jarrell (165) received an at-large selection to the tournament. Additionally, Parker Kropman (157) was named the first alternate in his weight class.

In 2019, Drexel qualified four Dragons for the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh: Kropman (149), Jarrell (165), Stephen Loiseau (197) and Joey Goodhart (285). In 2018, the Dragons sent a then program-best five wrestlers to Cleveland, Ohio for NCAAs.

Four Dragons have gone on to win conference championships during Azevedo’s tenure, including three since the school joined the EIWA. O'Malley was the school's latest winner after taking home the EIWA title at 174 in 2022. Matt Cimato won the EIWA title at 149 pounds in 2016, the year after Kevin Devoy won the EIWA title at 133 pounds in 2015. In 2013, 197-pounder Brandon Palik became Drexel’s final CAA champion. The Dragons have seen the EIWA podium become commonplace over the last eight years as 61 wrestlers have placed at the conference tournament.

In 2021, Drexel had all 10 wrestlers place at EIWA’s, passing the previous program-record eight in 2018. The Dragon's performance was highlighted by a second-place finish by O’Malley (174), a third-place finish by Nichter (149), and three fourth-place finishes by Flores (141), McLaughlin (197), and Barczak (165).

In the classroom, Drexel Wrestling has been a standout academic program in the nation. Drexel finished as an NWCA DI Top 30 All-Academic Team in each of the last 12 seasons and has boasted the top GPA three times in the last five years ('19,'20,'23). Last season, the Dragons had the eight-highest GPA (3.562) in the country, the best in the EIWA.

The Dragons have had 49 NWCA Academic All-America individual selections during that time, including 10 in 2021. They have also had 71 wrestlers earn EIWA All-Academic Team selections since the award began in 2016, including eight in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024. In 2023, the team earned a record-high nine selections. Also, 15 wrestlers have been named Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area At-Large Team selections, including Jarrell in 2020 when he was named a Co-Performer of the Year. Jarrell capped a stellar five-year career in University City with an appearance on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 Men’s At-Large Team.

While at Cornell, Azevedo helped the Big Red earn nine All-America honors, nine EIWA champions, and seven Academic All-Americans. He also guided the team to back-to-back second-place finishes at the NCAA championships, which marked the best performance in school history. Before his time at Cornell, Azevedo spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Cal Poly, where he coached seven All-Americans and eight Pac-10 champions. He also helped guide Cal Poly to its highest finish in school history at the Pac-10 championships by placing second in 2004 and 2006.

Azevedo wrestled collegiately at Arizona State and Iowa State, each for two seasons. He advanced to the NCAA Tournament in three of his four seasons. Azevedo graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Iowa State in 2002. He continued his wrestling career after graduation, a two-time U.S. National Team member and won the 2008 U.S. Open National Championship. Additionally, Azevedo placed fourth at the United States Olympic Trials in 2004 and 2008. He was also selected as an alternate for the World Team in 2007.