Chris Basford has been named the next head wrestling coach at Wilmington College.
"Chris has been a quality assistant wrestling coach in a number of very successful programs," said Senior Director of Athletics Bill Wilson. "We are certain that his experiences and leadership will grow our wrestling program and move us to a place of consistent success. We look forward to Chris joining the Wilmington family."
Basford comes to Wilmington from Limestone University, an NCAA Division II school in South Carolina, where he served as an assistant wrestling coach for a season before being elevated to Interim Head Coach for the recently concluded 2021-22 academic year. Basford led the Saints to a 10-4 dual record leading the program. Additionally, he guided Majid Corbett and JaQuez Bostic to first-place finishes at the NCAA Division II Super Regional in the 133-pound and 184-pound weight classes as well as Juan Edmonds-Holmes to a runner-up finish and Kevin Radcliff to a third in the 285 and 125-pound weight classes respectively. The Saints finished fifth at the Super Regional and 17th at the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Kevin Radcliff became the first ever 125-pound All American in Limestone history, and Majid Corbett finished sixth after retiring in his semifinals match due to injury.
"I am excited to continue my head coaching career at Wilmington College and for Senior Athletic Director Bill Wilson," said Basford. "Wilmington College is located in a triangle point of three major cities in Ohio (Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton), and wrestling in Ohio represents the top tier in the country. Being able to coach at the NCAA level in the state of Ohio comes with expectations, and I am excited for that opportunity to grow the wrestling program at Wilmington into a desired place for wrestling."
Prior to Limestone, Basford served as an assistant coach at both Maryville University (St. Louis, MO) and the now defunct program at the University of Nebraska-Omaha under the legendary Head Coach Michael Denney. At UNO, he helped the squad to four NWCA National Dual team titles. Under the assistance of Basford, the Mavericks posted a 62-10 dual match record during his tenure.
An avid wrestling fan, Basford began generating both regional and national team rankings nearly two decades ago and was contracted through the National Wrestling Coaches Association and FloWrestling.org for those rankings. Basford has served as the NCAA Division II Rankings Coordinator and the site manager for D2Wrestle.com in his time in NCAA Division II. Over his coaching tenure, Basford has assisted in the production of 112 national qualifiers, 75 All-Americans and 17 individual national champions. He has also assisted six team national championships and four third-place teams at the national level. Basford holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees, one from West Liberty University in Elementary Education in 2003 and one from Nebraska-Omaha in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2008.
