Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan University athletics announced this morning that head men's wrestling coach Casey Mouw is stepping down after four years to pursue a new career opportunity. South Dakota State University wrestling assistant Martin Mueller will become the 13th head men's wrestling coach in program history.
Mouw has led the DWU wrestling program for four-seasons; he's coached one NAIA All-American, two NAIA All-American Scholar-Athletes, six All-GPAC performers, and four NAIA National qualifiers. Under Mouw's leadership, Marcus Urban was a three-time All-GPAC performer and earned All-American honors in 2020 at 165 pounds. Coach Mouw's latest national qualifier, for the second time, was Darien Malone at 133 pounds.
"Coach Mouw has done a phenomenal job leading this program for four years," Director of Athletics Jon Hart stated. "Casey fully revitalized this program in all facets during his tenure. We have taken major strides in developing our roster and identity under his direction. He is leaving the program in a much better place than where he found it and I couldn't be more excited for the future thanks to his transformational leadership."
Mueller will begin his first head coaching role for DWU after serving as an assistant for SDSU for the last two years. Mueller, a native of Rapid City, S.D., graduated from SDSU in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He then returned to SDSU for his Master's in Sports Administration while serving as a graduate assistant for the Jackrabbits. As part of a 13-4 overall 2021-22 season, Mueller had a wide range of responsibilities for Jackrabbit wrestling including alumni relations, fundraising, social media and recruiting efforts.
Before his stint as a graduate assistant, Mueller was a four-year student-athlete for the Jackrabbits. He tallied a career record of 46-34 overall and a 23-17 dual record. During the 2017-18 season, earned a spot at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in the 184-pound class.
"I'd like to thank Mr. Hart and everyone at Dakota Wesleyan University for this opportunity! Coach Mouw has done spectacular things for this program. South Dakota is home for me. I have grown up in this great state, and my competitive career originated in South Dakota. I am excited to take this next step and coach this program to new heights." Stated Mueller.
Mueller comes to DWU after having worked with two renowned wrestling coaches, Damion Hahn, current head coach of SDSU and formerly of Cornell, and Chris Bono, current head wrestling coach at Wisconsin. Mueller was a part of SDSU's successful transition into the NCAA's Big 12 conference.
"Martin comes to DWU with a great pedigree of working with successful programs and head coaches. He has competed and coached at the highest level, and he will be a great fit to lead our program going forward," Hart stated.
Coach Mouw stated on his time with Tiger wrestling, "I would like to thank Jon Hart and the DWU community as a whole for the opportunity to lead this program. It was a lifelong goal to give back to wrestling in a head coaching role and the past four years have been a blessing. The strides we have made are largely due to the people around this program both on and off campus. I'm excited see Coach Mueller bring a high level of experience and energy, and look forward to seeing our young team continue to progress."
Coach Mueller will begin his role in early April. Mouw's last day with the program will be June 1.