Army West Point Athletics
Wrestling
- Title:
- Head Wrestling Coach
- Email:
- kevin.ward@westpoint.edu
- Phone:
- 3123
Kevin Ward was named Army West Point's 10th head wrestling coach on Aug. 1, 2014. Through 11 seasons at the helm, Ward has led Army to a 59-53 dual record and has coached 54 wrestlers to the NCAA Championship. Ward has improved the Black Knights in many ways in his time at West Point, most notably defeating Navy in his first season to snap a 17-year winless drought. His tenure has also been highlighted by four-consecutive Star Series victories over the Mids from 2016-17 to 2019-20, becoming the first coach in program history to do so.
In 2025, the USMA Class of 1972, through a class gift and individual donations, raised one million dollars to name the head wrestling coach position, giving Ward the title of Class of 1972 Head Men's Wrestling Coach.
The 2024-25 campaign was a highly successful one for Ward’s program, with seven wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, the most since 2021 and tied for the second-most in program history. Army was 8-3 in dual matches during the season and went 5-2 vs. EIWA opponents.
The Black Knights opened the season with three champions at the Princeton Open and followed with a win on the deck of the USS Yorktown in a dual vs. Gardner-Webb.
On November 17, Army recorded its first dual win over a power conference opponent since 2019-20, sweeping a tri-meet against Purdue and Buffalo. One week later, Ethan Berginc won the 133 lb championship at the Black Knight Invitational.
Army featured in the CFFC Match Day: Uncivil War December 6 vs. Iowa in St Charles, Mo., dropping a competitive dual but notching four bout wins, including a Dakota Morris win by fall.
Ward guided the Black Knights to a team championship at the Southern Scuffle in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tenn., with Gunner Filipowicz capturing the individual title at 165 lbs.
Army defeated Navy 22-10 in the star dual match, the Black Knights’ seventh win over the past 11 years over its rivals from Annapolis.
At the EIWA Championships, Trae McDaniel won the 149 lb title and Army tied for third place overall in the team standings. Charles Farmer (125 lbs), Dalton Harkins (174 lbs) and Brady Colbert (285 lbs) each finished in the top three and clinched automatic berths to the NCAA Championships.
Harkins, making his debut in the championships as a senior, was the last Black Knight standing at Wells Fargo Center. The firstie won two matches in the arena roughly 30 miles from his hometown of West Chester, Pa., notching an upset in Thursday's first round over No. 8 seed Lenny Pinto of Nebraska, before keeping his career alive in cons. Round 2 with a last-second takedown over Brody Bauman of Purdue to avenge a regular season loss.
The 2023-24 season was one of Army’s most storied in its recent history. Ward led the Black Knights to a 6-1 dual meet record against EIWA teams, including a thrilling 18-17 win at Navy February 16, in a dual decided by the final bout. Seven wrestlers placed at the EIWA Championships, six qualifying for the NCAA Championships and Ward was named EIWA Coach of the Year. The year culminated in Kansas City, Mo., with Ben Pasiuk becoming the 20th All-American in Army history, with an eighth place finish at 174 lbs in the NCAA Championships. Pasiuk also became just the fourth four-time NCAA qualifier in program history.
2022-23 was highlighted by three NCAA Qualifiers, including freshman Ethan Berginc at 125 lbs and three-time qualifier Ben Pasiuk at 174 lbs. Joining the duo was junior Nate Lukez at 157 lbs. As a team, Army went 6-7 overall and 4-4 in EIWA action, finishing sixth overall at the conference championships.
In 2021-22, the first full season after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Knights won half their EIWA duals and finished eighth in the conference at the EIWA Championships. Ward also guided the program to a first place finish at the Franklin & Marshall Open. Four wrestlers also qualified for the NCAA Championships, with PJ Ogunsanya (149 lbs), Markus Hartman (157 lbs), Ben Pasiuk (174 lbs) and JT Brown (197 lbs) all representing Army at the national championships.
Despite facing numerous challenges throughout the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ward and the Black Knights turned in another successful campaign. Under Ward's guidance, Army West Point had a program-record third straight season with seven qualifiers for the NCAA Championship. In addition, the Black Knights captured two individual Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association titles, had five total EIWA finalists and placed third as a team at the tournament while amassing the second-most team points in program history. The postseason was highlighted by Ben Pasiuk, who became the first freshman EIWA Champion in the program's history, doing so at 174 pounds. The program also shined in the classroom, as the team earned four EIWA Academic Achievement Awards and had two wrestlers accept two-year fellowships with Lincoln Laboratories at MIT and Harvard.
Ward kept expectations high headed into the 2019-2020 season, leading the team to a 10-3 overall record and 4-1 in EIWA matches. The Black Knights finished the year with a national dual meet ranking of #13 in the country and were a consensus top-20 team in the country throughout the entire season. To close out the 2019 portion of their season, the Black Knights made their presence known at one of the most premiere college wrestling tournaments in the country, finishing 7th overall at the Midlands Championship and bringing home their first ever finalist at The Midlands with sophomore Markus Hartman notching second overall in the 157lb bout. Ward’s dedication to chasing greatness was then made apparent in the team’s performance at the EIWA Championships. The Black Knights finished 3rdoverall as a team (highest team finish in almost 15 years), posting their second highest team score in program history (112 pts). The team’s collective success marked the first time since the 2007-08 season that the Black Knights have finished third overall as a team at the conference tournament as well as the second consecutive year that the Black Knights have posted a top four finish as a team and the fourth time in the last five years. Following the conclusion of the tournament, seven wrestlers earned bids to the NCAA tournament, marking another milestone for the Black Knights as this was only the first time in program history that the team had seven qualifiers in back-to-back seasons.
Army finished the 2018-19 season with an 8-3 overall team record -- 7-1 in EIWA matches. The Black Knights entered the NWCA Division I Coaches Poll for the first time since 2005 and also won their third straight Star Meet against service-academy rival Navy. Under Ward, seven wrestlers were NCAA qualifiers, marking just the third time in program history there was at least seven Black Knights to qualify, and first since 1987. Ward was named the 2019 EIWA Coach of the Year and named a finalist for the Division I National Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)
In 2017-18, Army sent three wrestlers to the NCAAs in Cleveland. The Black Knights placed eighth at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships, while six cadet-athletes earned podium finishes. Additionally, Army earned runner-up honors at the All-Academy Championships and defeated service-academy rival Navy, 18-15, in the annual Star Match in Annapolis, Md., for the first time since 1961.
In 2016-17, Ward guided Army to a 7-5 record in duals, including a thrilling 19-14 victory over service-academy Navy at Christl Arena. The historic victory made him the second coach in program history to defeat the Mids multiple times and the first to win two of his first three Star Matches. He also coached the Black Knights to their second-straight fourth-place finish at the EIWA Championships, marking the first time since the 1990-91, ‘91-92 seasons Army has posted back-to-back top-five finishes at the conference tournament.
He also took the Cadets from 33rd to 10th at the Southern Scuffle, a program-best 14th-place finish at the Las Vegas Cliff Keen Invitational in his second year and the first All-Academy Championship in eight years. He followed that up with another All-Academy Championship in 2016-17, documenting the first time Army has won consecutive titles at the tournament.
During the 2015-16 season, Army posted a 3-7 record overall and placed fourth at the EIWA championships, the team’s highest finish at the tournament since the 2006-07 season. Ward led five Black Knights to the NCAA championships, the most for the program since 2008. Logan Everett (141), Parsons Jr. (157), Harvey (174), Samson Imonode (184) and Barnes (197) all represented the Academy at Madison Square Garden. Both Barnes and Harvey competed to second-place finishes at the EIWA championships.
In his first season at West Point, Ward led Army to a 3-6 record and sent four wrestlers to the NCAA championships. Russell Parsons Jr. (157), Cole Gracey (164), Brian Harvey (175) and Bryce Barnes (197) all represented the Academy in St. Louis, Mo. Both Parsons and Barnes placed fifth at the EIWA championships in Ward’s first year at the helm.
Ward, who turned a wrestling program built from scratch at Ouachita Baptist University into a national contender, was named Army’s 10th head wrestling coach on Aug. 1, 2014. As the first head coach of Ouachita Baptist’s wrestling program, Ward led the Tigers to top-15 finishes at the NCAA Tournament in each of the program’s first three seasons. Ward coached 10 All-Americans and two NCAA finalists, Dallas Smith and Josh Myers, during his time at Ouachita.
Ward was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year after guiding the Tigers to a fourth-place finish at the NCAAs and an 8-5 dual match record last season. Five of Ward’s wrestlers claimed All-America honors in 2014, including Myers, who was the national runner-up at the 141-pound weight class. After the program’s inaugural 2010-11 campaign, Ward coached three All-Americans and steered the Tigers to a 15th-place showing at the NCAA Tournament the following season. The program took another step forward during the 2012-13 season with its first-ever national runner-up in Smith, while the team placed 12th overall at the NCAAs.
Ward was also a major factor in fundraising for the wrestling squad. He helped raise more than $300,000 in donations to the up-and-coming program during his four-year stint. Over his first two months at Ouachita, Ward led the renovation effort of the team’s weight room, which hadn’t been updated in nearly 30 years.
An accomplished wrestler at Oklahoma State, Ward started his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Cowboys during the 2006-07 season, while earning his master’s degree in health and human performance. He assisted legendary head coach John Smith with drill sessions and preparing the team for competitions, as well as coaching at open tournaments. Oklahoma State posted a 14-5 overall record and took third place at the Big 12 Championships with Ward on staff. The Cowboys placed fifth at the NCAA Championships and had four All-Americans, including two national runner-ups, Coleman Scott and Johny Hendricks.
As a member of one of the most storied programs in the country, Ward had a tremendous amount of success as a wrestler at Oklahoma State. Ward was on four NCAA National Championship teams (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006) and two undefeated squads (2002-03 and 2004-05). In 2005, Ward beat three opponents in a row to grab the Big 12 title at the 157-pound weight class. He won 12 of his first 14 matches that season and posted a 23-12 record overall. Ward returned to the conference championship the following season, earning a runner-up finish.
Ward qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice and was a three-time National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Academic All-American. The Cowboys won four Big 12 championships in a row during Ward’s time in Stillwater. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Along with his coaching duties over the years, Ward has served on the NWCA Executive Committee and Board of Directors, as well as handling the role of Vice President-elect of the Division II Coaches Association. Ward and his wife Hannah, along with their sons Holt and Hank and daughter Margot, reside at West Point.
