OU announced the hire of Roger Kish as its head wrestling coach on Tuesday.
𝗔 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀.Sooner Nation, join us in welcoming our new @OU_Wrestling Head Coach, Roger Kish!📰 » https://t.co/dNyTy50dmt pic.twitter.com/JPfQwbyWDr
— Oklahoma Sooners (@OU_Athletics) May 2, 2023
The hire comes after former head coach Lou Rosselli announced his resignation on April 5. Kish previously spent 12 seasons at North Dakota State, where he led it to a 108-70 dual record.
"Coach Kish brings with him a wealth of experience and leadership, as well as a mentality for championship-caliber competition," athletic director Joe Castiglione said in a press release on Tuesday. "Roger knows what it takes to build a championship program, and he's done just that at North Dakota State, with many of his wrestlers having won conference titles and earning All-American honors. His coaching philosophy aligns with our approach at Oklahoma, and I know he'll guide our wrestling program toward achieving the standards we've set for ourselves.
"Outside of coaching, Roger has deep experience engaging with key stakeholders in the wrestling community, which has contributed greatly to his success. From the recruiting trail to championship matches, Roger demonstrates a sincere intentionality in the development of his wrestlers, and I know our student-athletes and our program will benefit immensely from his direction. We can't wait to welcome him, his wife Jessalyn, and their children, Huxley and Emry to the Sooner family."
Kish led the Bison to an 11-3 dual record and fifth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship in his most recent season. Kish also helped 21 North Dakota State wrestlers qualify for NCAA Championships over the past four years, including six in 2023.
OU finished 9-8 in its last season with Rosselli at the helm, including a 21-12 loss to Kish's Bison on Feb. 10.
"I'm incredibly humbled and honored to be joining this tradition-rich program, as Oklahoma has been such a big brand in our sport," Kish said in the release. "I'm really excited for the opportunity and grateful to Joe Castiglione, (sport administrator) Jason Leonard and the rest of the OU administration for their diligence during the hiring process. We got to know each other very well in a short amount of time and I can't wait to get started.
"In terms of my expectations, I think right now it's about getting to Norman, getting a really good gauge of where the program is currently and then working up a game plan of how we want to grow and build it. We're going to come in and probably do things a little bit differently, and I think that's going to be a great start to changing the way our student-athletes view the work they're putting in. Hopefully that can be a positive change and we'll start moving forward. I think there's a lot of great talent already there and I'm excited to meet and start building relationships with all the terrific people associated with OU Wrestling, the entire athletics program and the community in general. My family and I are thrilled for the opportunity to join the Sooner family."
