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Maryland wrestling head coach Kerry McCoy will step down following the NCAA Tournament, he announced on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
The program announced that associate head coach Jimmy Sheptock will serve as interim head coach immediately after the season ends while a national search is conducted.
This afternoon I informed my team that I will be stepping as Maryland’s Head Wrestling Coach after the NCAA tournament. My time at Maryland has been awesome and I truly enjoyed being here. Thanks for the support. I trust in God's plan & look forward to what he has planned next.
— Kerry McCoy (@kmac120) March 12, 2019
McCoy has served as head coach for the past 11 years, posting a 102-101-1 dual meet record. He led the Terps to three conference titles when they were still members of the ACC and has coached eight wrestlers to 12 All-American honors.
However, the program has struggled mightily since transitioning to the Big Ten, which is easily the toughest conference in the sport. After going 83-33-1 with a 21-9 conference dual meet record in McCoy’s first six years, Maryland has gone just 19-68 in duals with a 1-44 conference record since joining the Big Ten.
The Terps finished this year with a 2-12 record and went 0-9 for the fourth time in five years in Big Ten dual meets. Despite heavyweight Youssif Hemida placing third for the highest Big Ten tournament finish in program history, Maryland still finished in last place as no other wrestler won a match.
Whoever succeeds McCoy will have his work cut out for him. Hemida, Alfred Bannister and Ryan Diehl are all graduating, and they’re the only Terps who have qualified for an NCAA Tournament during their careers. And the Big Ten will still be the best wrestling conference in the country, if not the hardest conference in all of collegiate athletics. The league has won the last 12 NCAA championships, and Penn State is the favorite to win its eighth national title in nine years next weekend.