Head coach
Cael Sanderson
Cael Sanderson was head coach of Penn State and Iowa State at 19 NCAA championships, 2007–2026. Sanderson's teams won 13 official NCAA team titles and finished in the top four 16 times. Sanderson's wrestlers won 46 individual titles and earned 119 All-American places.
By school
| School | NCAA tournaments | Team titles | Top four | Top ten | Champions | All-Americans | Entries | Wrestlers | Record | Falls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State | 2010–2026 (16) | 13 | 14 | 16 | 44 | 104 | 143 | 61 | 549–168 | 79 |
| Iowa State | 2007–2009 (3) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 30 | 16 | 90–54 | 8 |
As a wrestler
Cael Sanderson wrestled for Iowa State at four NCAA championships, 1999–2002, and went 20–0. Sanderson won four titles, at 184 lb in 1999, 2000 and 2001, and at 197 lb in 2002.
| Year | School | Weight | Seed | Finish | W–L | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Iowa State | 197 | 1 | 1st | 5–0 | 5 bouts |
| 2001 | Iowa State | 184 | 1 | 1st | 5–0 | 5 bouts |
| 2000 | Iowa State | 184 | 1 | 1st | 5–0 | 5 bouts |
| 1999 | Iowa State | 184 | 1 | 1st | 5–0 | 5 bouts |
Cael Sanderson's full wrestler record, every bout →
Coach and wrestler matched from Cael Sanderson, National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Biography, first paragraph beginning "Cael Sanderson’s first win" (and the following paragraph)).
How these are counted
- NCAA tournaments are the championship years in which Cael Sanderson was the established head coach of a team with entrants. They are not years of employment; there were no championships in 1943–45 or 2020.
- A year inside the span with no established coach is listed but not counted. A year with two head coaches counts in full for both.
- Team titles are official NCAA titles from the published standings (1928, 1931 and 1933 have none). Top four and top ten come from the same standings.
- Entries count each wrestler once per tournament; All-Americans are counted as each era awarded them; wins and losses include forfeit, default and disqualification results; falls exclude forfeits.
- The head coach for each year, with sources, is on that year's program page. Report a correction.
Cite this page: “Cael Sanderson, head coach”, March Matness, NCAA Division I championship record, release affad6e7. https://www.marchmatness.app/coaches/ch_79c06db84c3048f9/cael-sanderson/