FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State head wrestling coach Obenson Blanc announced the hiring of Matt Malcom to finalize the NDSU wrestling coaching staff on Tuesday, June 18.

Malcom joins the Bison after serving as the head coach and a teacher at Bellevue East High School for two years after wrapping up a decorated collegiate career as a two-time national champion and a five-time All-American at Nebraska-Kearney.

"Matt fits well into our coaching staff as he brings a wealth of experience and success as a multiple-time NCAA champion into our wrestling room," said Blanc. "He compliments our staff well as a middleweight coach, where we have a lot of talented student-athletes on the roster and in our recruiting classes."

Malcom, a native of Glenwood, Iowa, claimed the NCAA Division II 157-pound national championship as a sophomore, and then won the 165-pound title in his senior season to lead the Lopers to the team 2022 National Championship. Malcom was later named the prestigious Ken B. Jones Award winner for the MIAA Men's Athlete of the Year, following the 2021-22 season.

"I'm truly excited to be joining the North Dakota State wrestling staff," said Malcom. "I want to thank coach Blanc, Jack Maughan and the rest of the staff at NDSU for the opportunity, and I am looking forward to being a Bison and getting into the room and working with our promising student-athletes."

Over the course of his career in Kearney and one year at Iowa, Malcom recorded a 144-30 overall record with 46 tech falls majors, 31 majors and 24 falls.

"Being a Midwesterner who has wrestled and coached across the region, Matt knows and understands our primary recruit footprint and will be an asset on the recruiting trail to bring in and develop high-level talent."

Malcom graduated from Glenwood High as the 2016 Iowa state champion at 152 pounds and the school record holder for wins, falls and takedowns in a career.

Matt is married to the former Lily Lutter, who was a collegiate basketball player at Eastern Wyoming and has been a teacher and head track & field and cross country coach and assistant basketball coach at Westview High School in Nebraska.

Along with the addition of Malcolm, Blanc also announced the promotion of two assistants. Scott Mattingly has also been elevated to Head Assistant Coach, while Ceron Francisco has been elevated to a full-time role as an Assistant Coach. Both Mattingly and Francisco joined the NDSU wrestling staff last year after Blanc took over the head coaching position.

"I'm excited to continue working with and building a strong coaching dynamic with Scott and Ceron," said Blanc. "They have both shown great commitment to Bison wrestling and our student-athletes since arriving in Fargo last summer. Their knowledge and experience are a huge asset to our program and I look forward to the growth they can foster in our student-athletes on and off the mat."
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Mattingly came to Fargo with nine years of coaching experience at the Division I level and has coached 21 NCAA DI qualifiers. He spent five years at Gardner-Webb University, as an assistant coach and then the associate head coach. Prior to his time at GWU, Mattingly served as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan.

Francisco joined the NDSU after wrapping up his freestyle wrestling career with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at Penn State. He also had stints with the wrestling clubs at Minnesota and Virginia after becoming a two-time All-American at Concordia (Neb.) University. Francisco also coached one season at Doane in 2019-20.