Ryan LeBlanc named Head Coach at The Citadel

Graphic courtesy of Citadelsports.com.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Ryan LeBlanc has been named the new head wrestling coach at The Citadel, it was announced by director of athletics Mike Capaccio on Thursday.
"I would like to thank Mike Capaccio, Geoff Von Dollen and the rest of the search committee for entrusting me with the opportunity to serve as the next head wrestling coach at The Citadel," said LeBlanc. "It is an honor and privilege to join an institution with such a rich tradition of developing cadet-athletes on and off the wrestling mat. I will always be grateful to JohnMark Bentley for preparing me for this opportunity, and I look forward to connecting with the Bulldog fans, alumni and the South Carolina wrestling community to continue to build on this tradition. My wife, Morgan, and I could not be more excited to join The Citadel family."
"We are very excited to have Ryan join our Citadel family as our next head wrestling coach," said Capaccio. "Ryan has competed at the highest level, both athletically and academically. He will bring a new energy to the wrestling program and he is very familiar with The Citadel and its mission. We had a strong candidate pool and I want to thank the search committee for doing an outstanding job. In the end, Ryan separated himself from the group and we look forward to his arrival and future success at The Citadel."
LeBlanc comes to the Lowcountry after spending the previous four years as the assistant wrestling coach at Appalachian State. He was promoted to co-head wrestling assistant for the final two years.
In his four seasons at App State, the Mountaineers finished in the top two in the Southern Conference each year, including three regular season championships. LeBlanc helped to mentor 13 individual conference finalists, seven conference champions and 10 NCAA qualifiers.
The 2019-20 season saw the Mountaineers go 9-3 overall and establish a new school record with six NCAA qualifiers. App State ranked 14th nationally in win percentage, while leading the country with four dual-meet shutouts. The Mountaineers were also just one of three Division I schools with four conference champions, and one of six teams that had all 10 starters finish the season with a winning record.
Off the mat, LeBlanc led fundraising efforts that helped to renovate the wrestling practice facility and team locker room, as well as increase the scholarship endowment.
LeBlanc joined the Mountaineers after spending two years working for the State University of New York at Cortland. He started as a graduate assistant before transitioning to a dual position in coaching and alumni engagement.
LeBlanc helped guide the team to a seventh- and 13th-place finish in the NCAA Championships, totaling seven national qualifiers, four NWCA Scholar All-Americans, four NCAA All-Americans and two separate individual national champions. He also helped create the periodization plan for wrestling, strength and cardiovascular training throughout his seasons.
Prior to SUNY-Cortland, LeBlanc amassed a career wrestling record of 103-51 at Indiana University. During his collegiate career, he was a three-time NCAA qualifier (with a finish in the round of 12 as a senior), a three-time academic all-American, a two-year captain and a Big Ten Academic all-Conference team member for four straight seasons.
LeBlanc was also selected as the Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, one of the most prestigious conference awards in college athletics. First awarded in 1915, the Medal of Honor is given to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who attains "the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work."
He graduated from Indiana in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science before receiving his master's in sports management from SUNY-Cortland in 2016.

App State release

BOONE, N.C. — Ryan LeBlanc, App State Wrestling's co-head assistant coach, has been hired as the head coach at The Citadel.
In another case of an App State assistant earning a college head coaching opportunity after working under head coach JohnMark Bentley in Boone, LeBlanc takes over a Division I program that also competes in the Southern Conference.
"I'm extremely happy for Ryan — he is extremely deserving of this opportunity," Bentley said. "I believe he is well-prepared, and The Citadel is getting a good man. I consider Ryan a close friend and am thankful for all his contributions to App State Wrestling."
Earlier this offseason, co-head assistant coach Josh Roosa became the head coach at King's College close his hometown in northeast Pennsylvania. With Bentley, Roosa and LeBlanc working together for the last four seasons, the Mountaineers won three straight SoCon titles before producing a school-record six NCAA qualifiers from a 9-3 team in 2019-20.
"It's a testament to the type of championship culture we have at App State," Bentley said. "I think it says something when you have two assistants who are both offered head coaching jobs at the same time. I am extremely happy for Ryan, and now I'm focused on the opportunities ahead to continue our growth."
In LeBlanc's four seasons as an App State assistant, the program totaled 18 NCAA Championships qualifiers and had a combined record of 40-17 in dual meets. That included a 25-2 record in SoCon duals.
After a standout career at Indiana and his first post-college coaching stint at SUNY-Cortland, LeBlanc arrived in Boone in 2016. The 2016-17 team finished 13-3 and climbed to as high as No. 16 in the national rankings from Intermat.
This past season, a young App State team with new starters at six positions led Division I wrestling with four dual meet shutouts, was one of only three Division I teams with at least four conference champions and was one of only six Division I teams that had all 10 starters finish the season with a winning record.
Off the mat, App State posted a school-record GPA of 3.45 in the spring of 2020, pushing the cumulative GPA to a program-best 3.11, and its number of community service hours recorded by the Helper Helper platform in 2019-20 ranked No. 4 among all Division I wrestling programs. A year earlier, the Mountaineers led all Division I wrestling programs in community service hours.
"I would like to thank JohnMark Bentley, Doug Gillin and the rest of the Appalachian State University athletics department for helping to shape me into the coach I am today," LeBlanc said. "I will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to coach alongside Coach Bentley and work with the amazing student-athletes who have been part of the wrestling program these past four years. I would also like to thank his family for helping my wife and I become part of this community and always opening their door to us."
During his collegiate career at Indiana, LeBlanc amassed a career record of 103-51. He was a three-time NCAA qualifier (with a finish in the round of 12 as a senior), a three-time academic All-American, a two-year captain and a Big Ten Academic All-Conference team member for four straight seasons.
LeBlanc was also selected as the Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, one of the most prestigious conference awards in college athletics. First awarded in 1915, the Medal of Honor is given to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who attains "the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work."
A native of Morrisville, N.Y., he graduated in 2014 from Indiana with a bachelor's degree in exercise science before receiving his master's in sports management in 2016 at SUNY-Cortland and relocating to Boone with his wife, Morgan.