Photo courtesy of Iowa State Athletics: Former Humboldt state champion and Wildcat Hall of Famer Kevin Dresser celebrates with the Iowa State wrestling squad after winning the Big 12 championship in 2024.

Fort Dodge native and former Humboldt standout Kevin Dresser built something special at Iowa State.

The former Iowa State head coach hopes to do the same thing now within the wrestling program — just in a different capacity.

After 20 years of coaching at the Div. I level with Virginia Tech and Iowa State — including nine with the Cyclones — Dresser will step into a new role in the athletic department as Director of Iowa State men’s and women’s wrestling.

In this position, Dresser will provide mentorship, leadership and fundraising for both the ISU men’s and newly-launched women’s program.

“I was in the right place at the right time,” Dresser said. “In early February, I told Jamie (Pollard, Iowa State’s athletic director), I had one more year than he could kick me to the curb.”

With the Cyclones, Dresser brought Iowa State wrestling back to the national scene. Iowa State had a pair of Top-10 NCAA finishes, a 2024 NCAA team trophy and a 2024 Big 12 title under his direction.

Before he stepped into Hilton Coliseum, Dresser had inherited a program that scored just one point and finished tied for 57th at the 2017 NCAA championships.

“I love being involved in wrestling,” said Dresser, a Humboldt native and former Wildcat and University of Iowa wrestling star. “I love working at Iowa State. I’m going to enjoy getting out and about and not being in the room so much.”

During Dresser’s tenure, Iowa State finished in the Top-8 twice at nationals as a squad.

With ISU heading into a new direction after the addition of women’s wrestling, Pollard found a perfect fit to lead the transition in Dresser.

“A couple of weeks ago, Jamie came to me with the idea for a new role,” Dresser said. “He said, ‘I might have something that would interest you.’

“We talked on a Friday and kept things quiet. I talked to my wife over that weekend, and on Monday, I accepted.”

As far as his new role, there is a lot of fluidity to the process of bringing it to definition.

“I will help grow fundraising,” Dresser said, “as well as finding support for NIL money.”

Dresser will oversee the launching of women’s program, led by new head coach Alli St. John. St. John is a two-time World Wrestling Championship silver medalist.

Dresser and Iowa State will have a year to put a foundation in place on the women’s side. The Cyclones will begin competing in the 2027-28 school year.

Dresser will also mentor the men’s program under long-time assistant coach Brent Metcalf, who worked under Dresser for nine years.

“The Alli and Brent situations are different,” Dresser said. “Brent will use the things that he has learned, but also create his own style and find his own voice.

“With Alli, it will be exciting to help her build a team. She’s going to be drinking out of a firehose a lot with all of things that she has to do early on.”

Dresser is a member of the Iowa High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame (2009), the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame (2014), the Roanoke Valley Wrestling Hall of Fame (2015) and the Humboldt High School Hall of Fame (2022) as the inaugural member. He was also presented a Lifetime Service Award by the Virginia chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013.

During his high school career, Dresser compiled a record of 112-11-1. He was a four-time time medalist, winning state gold at the end of both his junior and senior years.

Dresser wrestled at the University of Iowa for Dan Gable, and was a two-time All-American. He was a Big Ten champion in 1985 and 1986, and an NCAA champion at 142 pounds in 1986.

Dresser was a member of five NCAA championship teams, and was named the Hawkeyes’ Most Outstanding Wrestler in 1986.

The 1981 Humboldt High School graduate and his wife, Penny, have three children: Emma, Anna and Jack.