WVU Wrestling and head coach Tim Flynn have agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the helm for another four years, per sources. Read more: WVU Wrestling head coach Tim Flynn agrees to a four-year extension
With this extension, Flynn enters his ninth season as the Mountaineers’ head coach and remain with the team through the 2029-30 season.
Flynn is regarded as one of the most successful coaches in college wrestling and has led WVU to four straight double-digit victory seasons. This feat has only been achieved twice in program history.
At WVU
Head coach Flynn was hired as the program’s ninth wrestling coach in 2018.
In eight seasons, Flynn has achieved 62 victories with WVU. This past season, the Mountaineers won 11 duals; its winningest season under him.
Following the success from the 2025-26 season, six WVU wrestlers were sent to Cleveland, Ohio, to compete in the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Ty Watters had the best finish, earning sixth place in the 157-pound weight group.
In total, Flynn has sent 35 Mountaineers to the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Overall, Flynn has led eight wrestlers to All-American status in his tenure. Watters was named an All-American this past season, marking WVU’s seventh consecutive season with an All-American.
The Mountaineers also picked up 3 wins against ranked opponents this past season, the most under Flynn. The highlight of the season was its win over No. 15 Northern Iowa, 23-13.
At the conclusion of the 2025–26 season, WVU finished No. 16 in the National Wrestling Coaches Poll for the third consecutive year. The finish marked the first time in program history that the Mountaineers earned a national ranking in three straight seasons.
The Mountaineers have also had great academic success in Flynn’s tenure, with 29 wrestlers achieving NWCA Scholar All-America honors. Redshirt junior Ian Bush became the first WVU wrestler to be named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the Big 12 Conference this past season.
Before WVU
Before becoming the head coach of WVU Wrestling, Flynn was the head coach of Edinboro for 21 seasons.
Flynn has always had high expectations since joining the Mountaineers, as he had a 223-95-5 record at Edinboro.
With Edinboro, Flynn coached three national champions and 38 All-Americans. He received 13 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference and seven Eastern Wrestling Coach of the Year honors.
Flynn himself was an All-American in his collegiate wrestling career at Penn State, which lasted from 1984-87. In his senior season, he won an EWL title and finished seventh at nationals in the 134-pound weight class.
His overall record at Penn State was 105-32-2, and he still ranks amongst the top all-time career victories for the program.
Flynn was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021.
Looking ahead
At this moment, the 2026-27 WVU Wrestling schedule has not yet been released.
Four of the six Mountaineers who qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships this past season are set to return, including Watters, Bush, Gunner Anderick, and Rune Lawrence.
WVU Wrestling began in 1921; therefore, the program is entering its 105th season.
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