DAVIDSON, N.C. – Head coach Nate Carr Jr. has announced the hiring of John Stutzman and Alan Clothier to the Davidson Wrestling coaching staff.

Stutzman, who was previously the head coach at the University of Buffalo, will hold the title of Associate Head Coach. He reunites with his former assistant coach at Buffalo in Alan Clothier.

Coach Carr's Thoughts

'I am excited to welcome John Stutzman and Alan Clothier to Davidson," said Head Coach

Nate Carr Jr.

"John brings an elite level of experience, passion, and energy to our program. His leadership and mentality have impacted many young wrestlers, and as a coach, he has produced 58 NCAA qualifiers and 12 individual conference champions. I am thrilled to have him in our corner."

"Alan also brings elite experience to our program," said Carr. "He was a four-time NCAA qualifier that wrestled at App State at Northern Colorado," Carr added.

"Along with the experience wrestling at the NCAA tournament, Coach Clothier has also been able to develop three NCAA qualifiers in just two seasons at Buffalo as an assistant."

The Stutzman File

As head coach at UB, Stutzman led the Buffaloes to double-digit dual wins five times and 71 dual wins in the team's last eight seasons. He also coached four individual Mid-American Conference Champions and over 20 NCAA qualifiers.

In 2023-24, Stutzman led Buffalo to ten dual wins with five in MAC duals. He coached 184-pounder Chase Kranitz to 23-12 record and a third-place finish at the MAC Championships.

During the 2023-23 season, Stutzman coached a pair of 20-win wrestlers in Guiseppe Hoose and Sam Mitchell. Hoose was an NCAA Qualifier at 184 pounds after posting a 21-13 record, and Mitchell took third at the conference tournament finishing with a 21-8 mark at 197 pounds.

In 2021-22, the Bulls won 12 duals for the second time in three years and went 7-2 in MAC duals, their best conference record since joining the conference. They placed fourth at the MAC Championships after putting eight on the podium. Three wrestlers also qualified for the NCAA Championships. The Bulls finished 14th in final NWCA Mid-Major Poll.

During the 2019-20 season, Buffalo was able to produce a conference champion and two national qualifiers. Troy Keller repeated as the MAC Champion at 165 lbs., becoming the first 165-pounder in school history to repeat. Derek Spann also qualified for nationals for the second straight season. Both wrestlers were named Scholar All-Americans.

In 2018-19, Stutzman led the Bulls to their most successful season since joining the MAC in 1998. UB's 12 dual wins tied the most since 2004 and its five conference wins were the most since joining the MAC. Two Bulls, Troy Keller (165) and Brett Perry (197) were MAC Champions. Buffalo also produced six national qualifiers that season, including Bryan Lantry, UB's first four-time national qualifier.

Buffalo finished second at the 2019 MAC Championships, its highest finish in program history. For his efforts, Stutzman was named the 2019 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year.

During the 2018-19 campaign, Bryan Lantry (133) became the first wrestler in school history to advance to the national championship match after beating the nation's second and third-ranked wrestlers along the way.

In 2016-17, Buffalo finished with an 11-6 record in duals, the second most since 2004. The Bulls also posted a then school-record four Mid-American Conference wins. Jake Gunning won the MAC Championship at 285 pounds marking the Bulls' first individual champion since 2011 along with two other NCAA qualifiers.

Before Buffalo, Stutzman coached at Bloomsburg where he guided the Huskies to a 97-56-1 record over eight seasons. He earned EWL Coach of the Years honors three different times (2007, 2010, and 2013).

Prior to coaching, Stutzman wrestled at Buffalo with a 95-27 record in his three-year career. He left as the school's all-time leader in career wins and went 35-4 in the 1996-97 season which was the fourth-highest single-season winning percentage in UB history.

"I am extremely excited and very grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Coach Carr and the entire Davidson College Athletics Department," said Stutzman. "I look forward to building on past successes and helping the young men in the program reach their full potential while elevating Davidson wrestling to greater heights."

Cut from a Different Clothier

Alan Clothier joins Coach Nate Carr Jr.'s staff after serving as Buffalo's assistant coach during the 2023-24 season. He was also a volunteer assistant for the Bulls in 2022-23 before being promoted to full-time assistant.

Before coaching, the Lawrence, Kansas native wrestled at App State for three years before transferring to the University of Northern Colorado. He was a four-time NCAA Qualifier at 184 pounds, a three-time placer at the Big 12 Championships, an NWCA Scholar All-American, and a First Team Academic All-Big 12 selection.

Over his five-year career, Clothier amassed a 97-51 overall record including a team-leading 26 wins in his first season (2019-20) at UNC where he placed fourth at the Big 12 Championships. That season, he went 9-2 in duals, placed seventh at the Southern Scuffle, and won both the Northern Colorado Open and the Cowboy Open.

At App State, Clothier went 47-25 during his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons. He was a two-time All-Southern Conference selection and a back-to-back runner-up at the SoCon Championships at 184 pounds while also helping the Mountaineers to conference titles in 2017 and 2018.

"I am really looking forward to joining Coach Carr's team and getting started at Davidson," said Clothier. "This is an incredible opportunity to have an impact on the student-athletes and help the Davidson wrestling program continue to grow."

Davidson adds Stutzman and Clothier to Wrestling staff

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