Ryan LeBlanc was named the new head wrestling coach at The Citadel on July 30, 2020.
After a 4-6 (3-5 SoCon) first year during for 2020-21, he elevated the program to a winning record at 6-5 (4-3 SoCon) just a season later, steadily improving to 7-5 in 2022-23 before leading the Bulldogs to a program-best 14 victories along with a 6-2 mark in league play for the 2023-24 campaign, notably guiding The Citadel to a win over Southern Conference mainstay Chattanooga for the first time in two decades in the process.
Additionally, four wrestlers have managed to reach the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships under LeBlanc's tutelage, including Michael McAleavey for the 2021 season, both McAleavey and Dazjon Casto in 2022 and graduate transfer Jeff Boyd for 2024. At the SoCon Championships, both McAleavey (285 lbs) in 2021 and Casto (157 lbs) in 2022 locked in gold-medal performances for their respective weight classes as well.
LeBlanc arrived in 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 14
th 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.
For more information on The Citadel wrestling team, please visit CitadelSports.com or follow @CitadelWrestle on Twitter and Instagram, and @CitadelWrestling on Facebook.
“I’m extremely happy for Ryan. He is extremely deserving of this opportunity. I believe he is well prepared and The Citadel is getting a good man. I consider Ryan a close friend, and I am thankful for all his contributions to App State wrestling.”
- JohnMark Bentley, Appalachian State Head Wrestling Coach
