In his 27th season as the Missouri Head Wrestling Coach, Brian Smith and his "Tiger Style" culture have molded the program into a national powerhouse that continues to pursue NCAA titles.
AT THE HELM
Hired on May 5, 1998, Smith sat down with his team and made a list of goals he hoped would help the 1998-99 squad and future Tigers. The team earned one national qualifier that season, Jeff Urban, but it was the ground floor of what was to be built in the years to come—the birth of Tiger Style.
Since taking over, Smith has coached 64 individual conference champions, 192 NCAA qualifiers, 69 All-American performances and six wrestlers to 10 national titles. Holding a 334-120-3 (.734) record with the Black and Gold, he has led the team to 23 seasons with a dual record at or above .500, including three undefeated campaigns (2014-15, 2017-18 and 2020-21). During that stretch, the program earned 12-consecutive conference championships. Smith secured his first Big 12 Title in 2012 before moving to the MAC and winning nine-straight conference tournaments. The Tigers returned to the Big 12 in 2022 and took home the trophy that season and the next, 2023.
At least one Tiger grappler has been selected to compete at the NCAA Championship in each of Smith's 26 seasons at Missouri, including six seasons qualifying all 10 starters, a feat the program has reached three of the last four years. His squads have finished among the top-20 programs at the NCAA Championship in 21 of the last 22 seasons and concluded nine of the previous 11 national tournaments in the top 10. At the 2009, 2015, 2017 and 2023 national tournaments, Missouri has had a program-high five Tigers earning All-America accolades.
The demands that Smith puts on his wrestlers extend well beyond the mat. Since he took the reins in 1998, his wrestlers have been recognized by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), Big 12, MAC and College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDa) for their academic achievements, totaling 155 academic honors. Among that list is two-time National Champion Keegan O'Toole, the latest Tiger named an Academic All-American. He made the second team in 2023 after securing his second title and maintaining a gpa above 3.5 in Personal financial planning. Â
Upon his return to the Big 12 in 2022, Smith picked up his second and third Big 12 Coach of the Year honors in 2022 and 2023 after earning the award in 2012. After venturing into the MAC, Smith continued to rack up accolades by winning five-consecutive Coach of the Year honors from 2013-17.
Additionally, Smith has been honored as the top wrestling coach in the NCAA twice in his career. WIN Magazine named him the Dan Gable Coach of the Year in 2007, and 10 years later, he was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2017.Â
MILESTONES
• Earned his 100th win Dec. 9, 2006, at No. 11 Central Michigan topping the Chippewas, 31-9
• Recorded his 200th dual win on Nov. 15, 2014 against Truman State with a 54-0 performance
• Became Missouri's first 300-win coach in program history, eclipsing the milestone on January 8, 2021, in a 30-6 triumph over No. 21 Central Michigan
• Surpassed Norm Stewart as Missouri's winningest coach March 5, 2023, after earning a Mizzou record 12th conference championship at the Big 12 Tournament
COACH OF CHAMPIONS
Six Tiger wrestlers have reached the pinnacle of collegiate wrestling, collecting 10 NCAA Championships under Smith's tenure, beginning with Ben Askren. During Askren's Tiger career, Smith guided the 174-pound grappler to the program's first back-to-back National Championship titles in 2006 and 2007. Â
On March 21, 2009, Mark Ellis became the second Missouri wrestler in program history to collect top honors, winning the final in overtime, 3-2.
Max Askren followed in his big brother's footsteps by winning a national title for Mizzou in 2010. M. Askren earned Tiger Style's fourth NCAA Championship and first at 184 pounds.
Starting as a true freshman, J'den Cox claimed the program's fifth, sixth and seventh national titles. Cox is the only wrestler in program history to become a three-time NCAA Champion, taking home the 197-pound title in 2014, 2016, 2017.
In 2015, redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt concluded his historical Tiger Style career with a 149-pound National Championship at the 2015 NCAA tournament. Moreover, Houdashelt sealed four titles in four years for the Tigers.
Becoming the first 165-pound champion for Tiger Style, Keegan O'Toole completed the fourth undefeated individual season in program history on his way to the top of the podium in 2022. O'Toole defending his title in 2023, joining B. Askren and Cox as the only multiple-time champions in program history.
Additionally, Smith has helped guide two wrestlers to the Olympics. Ben Askren was the first wrestler in program history to compete in the Summer Games, with an appearance in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
J'den Cox followed as the second Tiger wrestler to earn a spot in the Olympics. The three-time National Champion continued his strong career with a bronze-medal finish at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Cox was not taken down once in four Olympic matches, after having under five months to prepare for freestyle competition after the completion of the college wrestling season.
BEFORE MIZZOU
In 1997, Smith took his first collegiate head coaching position at Syracuse, coaching Jason Gleasman (HWT) to All-America honors during the 1997-98 season.
Prior to taking the reins at Syracuse, Smith began his collegiate coaching career at Cornell in 1992. While an assistant at Cornell, he put together two of the nation's top-10 recruiting classes, a feat he accomplished without athletic scholarships. Those recruiting classes helped Cornell win two Ivy League Championships, a 10th-place finish at the 1993 NCAA Championship and a 17th-place finish in 1994. At the 1994 NCAA Championship, one of Smith's top athletes, David Hirsch, became Cornell's first national champion since 1960.
Smith's coaching career started at Western High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From 1991-92, Smith led Western High to its first top-10 finish at the state tournament, claiming a second-place finish in 1991 and a fourth place showing in 1992. Smith coached two state champions and led five wrestlers to top finishes at the Florida state tournament.
OTHER LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
One of the most tenured college wrestling coaches in the country, Smith has earned the respect of his peers around the nation, as he has served on numerous wrestling committees during his time at Missouri.
Smith currently serves as a member of the NCAA Wrestling Championships Committee, and from 2010-12, Smith held the role of president of the NWCA. He also works in the role of Wrestling Commissioner for the Show-Me-State Games, an Olympic-style event with 40+ sports for all ages held in Columbia.
HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE CAREER
A competitor himself, Smith was a three-time All-Big Ten wrestler and a four-time letterwinner at Michigan State from 1986-1990. Competing at 126 pounds, Smith finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships in 1988, third in 1989 and second in 1990. Smith stands among the top 25 on Michigan State's all-time wins list, with 84 career victories as a Spartan. He is also tied for 19th on MSU's single-season wins list with 32 victories in 1990, the season in which he was named Michigan State's Most Outstanding Wrestler.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where his father coached football, Smith was a two-time wrestling state champion in 1984 with Oviedo High School and in 1985 while competing at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.Â
PERSONAL
Smith graduated from Michigan State with a degree in education and married the former Denise Dean in 1993. Brian and Denise have three children, Quinn, Kylie and Braden. In the spring of 2009, Smith received his Master's Degree in Athletic Administration from William Woods University.
