Anthony Ashnault Returns as Wrestling Associate Head Coach
Apr 21 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Four-time All-American and 2019 NCAA Champion Anthony Ashnault is returning to Rutgers wrestling as associate head coach. The Scarlet Knights' all-time wins leader with 123 career victories, Ashnault rejoins the program after serving as an assistant coach with Princeton for the past two seasons.
The only four-time All-American and three-time Big Ten Champion in Rutgers wrestling history, Ashnault competed "On the Banks" from 2014-19 and capped his collegiate career with an individual title at the 2019 NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh. A two-time Rutgers University graduate, Ashnault previously worked as an assistant coach with the Scarlet Knights during the 2021-22 season under head coach Scott Goodale.
"I'm incredibly excited to return to my alma mater as Associate Head Coach," Ashnault said. "When I arrived at Rutgers as a student-athlete, my vision was to help build Rutgers wrestling into a premier destination for the nation's top high school talent and one that could compete at the highest level with sustained success.
"After gaining valuable experience at Princeton, I'm thrilled to bring that perspective back to the Banks. We're in a strong position with a talented roster and rising momentum, and I'm confident we will continue elevating the program and make that original vision a reality."
"Anthony has established himself as one of the top young coaches in the country, and I could not be more excited to welcome him back home on staff," Goodale said. "As the program's all-time wins leader and one of our first national champions, Anthony will be able to show recruits they can win right here at Rutgers and help us take this program to the next level. We're thrilled to have him back in our room where he belongs."
In two years with Princeton from 2024-26, Ashnault helped coach 10 Tigers to the NCAA Tournament. That group included 2026 NCAA runner-up Marc-Anthony McGowan, who wrestled to All-America laurels at 125 pounds and became Princeton's 10th national finalist in school history. Three Princeton wrestlers earned individual Ivy League titles during Ashnault's tenure.
Ashnault served as an assistant coach with Rutgers in 2021-22. The Scarlet Knights closed that season with a No. 14 ranking in the final NWCA Coaches Poll and 16 dual victories, their most since the 2012-13 campaign. With Ashnault on staff, Sebastian Rivera (141) and Greg Bulsak (197) earned All-America honors at the 2022 NCAA Championships in Detroit, with Rivera becoming the fourth individual to secure a top-three finish at the tournament in program history.
Ashnault's collegiate wrestling resume is lengthy, as the South Plainfield, New Jersey, native produced a program record 123 wins during his time in Piscataway. Ashnault went 32-0 as a senior during the 2018-19 campaign en route to 149-pound NCAA and Big Ten titles, as he became the program's first Hodge Trophy finalist with a 59 percent bonus rate that season.
Competing at both 141 and 149 pounds as a Scarlet Knight, Ashnault secured All-America laurels four times, earned three Big Ten individual titles and accounted for 296 dual points to help Rutgers rack up 44 dual victories and 18 against Big Ten Conference opponents.
Ashnault earned his bachelor's degree in planning and public policy from Rutgers in 2018 and his master's degree in global sports business from the university in 2020. A 2019 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and NWCA Scholar All-American, Ashnault was inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.
The only four-time All-American and three-time Big Ten Champion in Rutgers wrestling history, Ashnault competed "On the Banks" from 2014-19 and capped his collegiate career with an individual title at the 2019 NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh. A two-time Rutgers University graduate, Ashnault previously worked as an assistant coach with the Scarlet Knights during the 2021-22 season under head coach Scott Goodale.
"I'm incredibly excited to return to my alma mater as Associate Head Coach," Ashnault said. "When I arrived at Rutgers as a student-athlete, my vision was to help build Rutgers wrestling into a premier destination for the nation's top high school talent and one that could compete at the highest level with sustained success.
"After gaining valuable experience at Princeton, I'm thrilled to bring that perspective back to the Banks. We're in a strong position with a talented roster and rising momentum, and I'm confident we will continue elevating the program and make that original vision a reality."
"Anthony has established himself as one of the top young coaches in the country, and I could not be more excited to welcome him back home on staff," Goodale said. "As the program's all-time wins leader and one of our first national champions, Anthony will be able to show recruits they can win right here at Rutgers and help us take this program to the next level. We're thrilled to have him back in our room where he belongs."
In two years with Princeton from 2024-26, Ashnault helped coach 10 Tigers to the NCAA Tournament. That group included 2026 NCAA runner-up Marc-Anthony McGowan, who wrestled to All-America laurels at 125 pounds and became Princeton's 10th national finalist in school history. Three Princeton wrestlers earned individual Ivy League titles during Ashnault's tenure.
Ashnault served as an assistant coach with Rutgers in 2021-22. The Scarlet Knights closed that season with a No. 14 ranking in the final NWCA Coaches Poll and 16 dual victories, their most since the 2012-13 campaign. With Ashnault on staff, Sebastian Rivera (141) and Greg Bulsak (197) earned All-America honors at the 2022 NCAA Championships in Detroit, with Rivera becoming the fourth individual to secure a top-three finish at the tournament in program history.
Ashnault's collegiate wrestling resume is lengthy, as the South Plainfield, New Jersey, native produced a program record 123 wins during his time in Piscataway. Ashnault went 32-0 as a senior during the 2018-19 campaign en route to 149-pound NCAA and Big Ten titles, as he became the program's first Hodge Trophy finalist with a 59 percent bonus rate that season.
Competing at both 141 and 149 pounds as a Scarlet Knight, Ashnault secured All-America laurels four times, earned three Big Ten individual titles and accounted for 296 dual points to help Rutgers rack up 44 dual victories and 18 against Big Ten Conference opponents.
Ashnault earned his bachelor's degree in planning and public policy from Rutgers in 2018 and his master's degree in global sports business from the university in 2020. A 2019 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and NWCA Scholar All-American, Ashnault was inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.
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