Iowa State new men’s wrestling head coach Brent Metcalf, speaks as new wrestling director Kevin Dresser and women’s wrestling head coach Alli St.John looks on during a press conference at Hilton Coliseum on April. 16, 2026, in Ames, Iowa
AMES — Four major announcements can be traced back to one fateful Friday night phone call.
Recently-named new men’s head wrestling coach at Iowa State Brent Metcalf and his wife, Kristen, had packed up all their belongings in Iowa City roughly nine years ago, setting their sights on a fresh start in Colorado Springs.
Ring, ring.
Metcalf answered his phone and paused. Kevin Dresser — the Cyclones’ recently-named new head coach back then — had a proposition to make. And the ensuing conversation changed the trajectory of Iowa State wrestling.
“To me, that’s kind of the surreal piece,” said Metcalf, whose new role was announced at a Thursday news conference alongside the news that ISU will add a women’s wrestling program that Alli St. John will lead, and Dresser will be the Cyclones’ director of men’s and women’s wrestling. “I remember coming here and kind of just getting my feet on the ground and then being, like, ‘Hey, I love this place.’ … I hope this is a real thing. I hope this isn’t something that I have to pack up one day and leave, you know?”
Thursday’s newsworthy event in the Pete Taylor Media Room at Hilton Coliseum ensured that won’t be happening. It felt like a full-circle moment for all involved, but particularly for Metcalf and St. John, whose husband, Derek, was also named the men’s program’s associate head coach.
“In 2013, 2014, and 2015 (Metcalf and I) were on the USA world team together,” said Alli St. John, whose program will start competing in the 2027-28 season. “But it is full circle just being able to give women that opportunity, and to be able to compete here at Iowa State is just unreal.”
ISU’s endowed director of athletics Jamie Pollard said adding a women’s wrestling program “fits Iowa State University like a glove.” It also will replace women’s gymnastics, which Pollard announced in a video message on March 3 would be discontinued.
“For whatever reason, whether it was administratively, coaching, student-athletes — it doesn’t matter,” Pollard said of the decision to drop the gymnastics program. “It wasn’t fitting at Iowa State the way the other 17 sports were and that’s unfortunate. It is unfortunate, but that’s what happened.”
Dresser’s nine seasons at the helm happened to revive a proud program that had fallen off the national map. The Cyclones won a team trophy for the first time in 15 years at the 2024 NCAA Championships and finished eighth at nationals this season.
“(Metcalf’s) gonna work his tail off to beat any record that I ever put up, and I love that,” said Dresser, whose contract with the university runs through June 30, 2029. “So you’re stuck with me for three more years. I went to Jamie last week and I said, ‘What the (heck) does a director of wrestling operations do? I don’t know exactly.’ And he said, ‘We’ll figure it out.’”
Dresser said Metcalf is ready to be a head coach — a job he’s dreamed of holding for a long time — and St. John possesses “a tireless work ethic.”
“She’s available 24/7 and that’s what this job’s about, really,” Dresser said. “When you’re a head coach at the Division I level, you’d better be ready 24/7 and both of these people are that, so I’m excited about it.”
St. John, a two-time world silver medalist who was the first women’s wrestler inducted into the Glen Brand National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2020, plans to add two to three assistant coaches to her staff and will have 10 scholarships to use on what’s expected to be a roster consisting of 30 student-athletes.
“Women’s wrestling, like (Pollard) mentioned, is the fastest-growing sport in America, and to be given the opportunity to (get) these girls to be able to come here (at) Iowa State and wrestle is incredible,” St. John said. “Ames is a special place. I’ve always said that. From the moment I moved here, I felt the difference, and our fans and the support system and passion they bring is truly unmatched.”
And a ring that Metcalf answered helped ensure that would be the case. His planned trip to Colorado didn’t happen, but his path moving forward became clear. Now the two-time NCAA champion is elevated — just as women’s wrestling will be under St. John at ISU — and both are just getting started.
“It is completely full circle,” Metcalf said. “And to me, I say a little bit ironic, right? In that she was a world-class wrestler the same time I was. She’s gonna do a phenomenal job. She really is.”
