Bryan Snyder (Photo/Arizona
State wrestling website)
Former collegiate standouts Bryan Snyder, Ben Askren and Raymond Jordan have joined the coaching staff of the Arizona State University wrestling program, head coach Shawn Charles announced Tuesday. They will join current assistant coach Brian Stith on the staff.
Snyder will serve as the head assistant coach on Charles' staff while both Askren and Jordan will serve as volunteer assistant coaches.
All three have worked with Shawn Charles in the past . Charles was a coach during Snyder's senior season and both were on the staff together for two seasons (2003-04 and 2004-05) at the University of Nebraska; Charles was an assistant coach at the University of Missouri for the past two years where Askren was a volunteer coach and Jordan wrestled for the Tigers.
"I am very excited to have all three of these men on my staff," Charles said. "I have worked with them all in the past and I believe they bring a lot to the table as we push to become a very successful program once again. I really feel our coaching staff is second-to-none and I know each of these men are ready to work hard to help our program succeed both on the mats and off. I look forward to watching this program continue to grow with their help."
New head assistant Snyder. As a Nebraska Cornhusker, Bryan Snyder was one of the top wrestlers at 157 pounds from 1999-02 as a four-time NCAA All-American, including two times as a finalist. One of the few four-time champions in the history of the Big 12 conference, Snyder compiled a career record of 136-11 with his .925 winning percentage, best in Husker history.
Snyder was equally as successful in the classroom during his time in Lincoln as he was selected as the school's 2002 Student-Athlete of the Year. He graduated from NU with a pair of degrees (Sociology and Communication Studies) in 2002 before coaching at Harvard for one season. After his stint with the Crimson, Snyder returned to Nebraska where he served as a graduate assistant coach while working toward his Masters in Sociology, which he earned in 2005. Recently, he has spent the past three years at the University of Colorado where he studied as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology.
Ben Askren (Photo/Arizona State)
Askren as volunteer assistant coach. Ben Askren was one of the elite collegiate competitors in the nation during his time at Missouri (2003-07) where his exciting style of wrestling led him to the finals of the 174-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships four times. A three-time Big 12 champion, Askren won the national title in each of his last two seasons by winning 87 matches in a row, with a career record of 153-7. For his dominance, he was a two-time winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy in 2006 and 2007.
A four-time NWCA All-Academic and four-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree, Askren spent the past two years as a volunteer assistant coach with the Tigers while training for and competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where the member of Team USA went 1-1 in the 74kg freestyle competition. More recently, Askren has competed in mixed martial arts (MMA) events in Missouri.
Raymond Jordan (Photo/Arizona
State wrestling website)
New volunteer assistant Jordan. Raymond Jordan is the most recent graduate on the Sun Devils staff, having graduated in December with his degree in personal finance planning from Missouri. A four-time NCAA qualifier, Jordan was a two-time All-American for the Tigers and just the fourth MU wrestler to earn the national honor in multiple weight classes as he finished fifth at 184 pounds as a junior and then was third at 174 pounds as a senior. The 2007 Big 12 champion at 184, Jordan compiled a career record of 123-29 and was the 15th wrestler in the program's history to record 100 or more victories in a career. His win total also stands as the fourth-most in program history.
A three-time high school state champion from North Carolina and a high school All-American, Raymond Jordan was involved with the MU program off the mats as well as he served as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) on campus during his senior year.
Resources
Arizona State article announcing hiring of Snyder, Askren and Jordan
Scott Casber audio interview with Bryan Snyder for InterMat
May 9, 2009 Examiner article: Shawn Charles new head coach at Arizona State
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