Kevin's in Wrestling. We represent.
/I don’t remember how many years ago I did this, but I did my own independent thought exercise, in which I thought through NBA first names, and tried to figure out who would be the best team of players based on their first names. I was super happy to learn that it was Kevin. Think about it. You’d have Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnet, Kevin Johnson, Kevin Love, Kevin McHale, Kevin Willis, Kevin Duckworth. It’s a strong list. Then a couple of days ago, I announced on Twitter that Kevin Durant is in the top five list of Kevin’s of all time, and creeping into the top three. Earl Smith (what’s up Earl) asked about where I’d end up on the list of all time Kevins, and that got me thinking. Now I’m not at all prepared to come up with a full list of the best Kevin’s in any forum, that would be extremely time consuming. In the meantime, let’s quickly identify some awesome Kevin’s in the wrestling world. Let’s start this list with Michigan’s greatest Kevin (spoiler alert, it isn’t me);
Kevin Jackson - We’ve got to start off with the man himself. He and I have a lot of similarities. We’re both 5’10”, we’re both named Kevin (duh), we both look super intimidating in a singlet, we’re both from Michigan. That’s about where the similarities end. He has an Olympic Gold Medal from Barcelona in 92, as well as World Championships from 91 and 95. Outside of his Freestyle successes, Kevin Jackson is generally regarded as one of the most respected and sought after freestyle coaches. He’s travelled and coached all over the world, and currently serves as Head Development Coach at the Olympic Training Center. His time at Iowa State didn’t end in the fashion I’m sure he hoped, but Kevin Jackson is unimpeachable amongst his peers, and garners rave reviews from any of the athletes he’s coached. We had to start the list here. Onto the next one;
Kevin Dresser - Interestingly, the second Iowa State Head coach on our list of Kevins. Dresser was an NCAA Champ for Iowa, where he transitioned into coaching briefly. From there, he went to VA, where he pretty much dominated the HS wrestling scene for nearly 20 years, before making Virginia Tech into the powerhouse program that we know and love today. When the above Kevin Jackson lost his position with Iowa State, they brought in Kevin Dresser. He has done Kevin Dresser things during his time there, of which, I mean have a tremendous string of recruits coming in (athletes and coaches for that matter), and has helped with the resurgence of one of college wrestling’s most storied programs.
Kevin Darkus - Kevin Darkus, another contributing ISU Kevin on this list. Kevin was a 3x All American, 3x Big Eight Champion, and 2x NCAA finalist for the cyclones, and eventually won the 1984 NCAA title at 126 pounds. Kevin also took the 1985 Silver Medal at the World Championships. When I started this list, I had no idea how many Kevins were World class like this. I really underachieved, all things considered.
Kevin Hoy - I had the 2003 NCAA Championships recorded on VHS and watched them all the time when I was a kid. Kevin wrestled Steve Mocco in the last match of that year's NCAAs against Steve Mocco, who won the first of his two NCAA titles in that match. That being said, Kevin Hoy took second, which is still damn good. The list of people to have beaten Mocco is short. Having finished 8th the year before, Kevin was just the second Air Force Wrestler at the time to earn All American honors twice, and compiled 160 victories in his college career. His senior year he was 44-4, which is a crap ton of matches. That, plus he was in the Air Force, which I imagine is hard enough in and of itself. Great work Kevin! You’ve certainly earned your place on this list.
Kevin Jack - Kevin Jack was so much fun to watch. Burst onto the scene as a Freshman and immediately contributed to the NC State lineup, placing 5th as a true freshman, before finishing 3rd as a Junior and 6th as a Senior. It wasn’t just the AA finishes though, the dude was just fun to watch. He was nasty on his feet, and on the mat, and was super willing to engage with just about anyone. He was always confident that he would come out on top, and more often than not, did. He is second all time in wins for NC State with 113, which isn’t bad for a skinny kid from the wrestling capital of the world - Danbury Connecticut. Kevin Jack is certainly a Kevin of note.
Kevin Black - Kevin Black was undefeated in High School, going 160-0, won 4 Fargo Freestyle Titles, and 3 Greco Roman. He went on to Wisconsin where he placed 4th in the country as a Junior, before his senior season ended with injury. Kevin went on to open up the Victory School of Wrestling, and then went back to his alma mater, River Falls High School, to coach. Other notable coaching ventures, were when he spent two years coaching with Wisconsin, and has served as a World Team coach in 07, 09, 11. Also, and this seems significant, was matside coaching Helen Maroulis win an Olympic Gold Medal in 2016 in Rio. Not many other people can say that. Well done Kevin. Would he have been there with a different first name? Who is to say? Me, I’m to say, and I think no.
Kevin Roberts - Kevin wrestled for Oregon, where he was a 2x All American, and 3x Pac-10 Finalist. He was also voted the Ducks most valuable wrestler 3 times. Kevin went on to be a huge contributor on the coaching front in the Pacific Northwest, where he coached for some time at North Idaho, and eventually ended up at Oregon State. He was also a coach for friend of the program, Nick Simmons, as he made the World Team in 2011. Kevin also spent some time as a strength and conditioning coach with Minnesota and Wyoming. Remember that time that Oregon State placed 8th in the country at NCAAs? Kevin was a coach at that time.
Kevin Wilmot - Kevin appears to be a chiropractor in Montana (Northern Lights Chiropractic, shoutout). Kevin’s promotional team needs to step up their game, but what I’ve learned is that he won a Big Ten Championship, and was an All American, for Wisconsin. Kevin has also completed at least two 140.6 Mile Triathlons. I’ve completed a total of zero of those to this point. This is the cool stuff that you find out researching badass people. I’m bored, maybe I’ll do some of those triathlons. But yeah, in addition to being a super accomplished wrestler, Kevin is also a super accomplished professional. Kevin > Your name.
Kevin Steinhaus - I think I picked Steinhaus as a dark horse NCAA Champ a couple of years ago. He was a beast at Minnesota, and stepped into the lineup as a Freshman and immediately battled in the Big Ten, becoming an All American in that season, as well as his next one, as well as his last one. Weirdly enough, the only season when he wasn’t an AA, he was 29-4, and undefeated in Duals and The Big Ten. I also remember him beating Bo Nickal up in a Freestyle match (haters are going to say it’s fake), which is certainly noteworthy. He was a beast, and his name reminds me of BeerHouse, which I also like.
Kevin McGuigan - The wrestling community is a special place. Wrestling Twitter, a subset of the wrestling community, is an interesting grouping of people. I’ve managed to navigate my way through it, and largely only interact with people that I enjoy. Kevin is one of those people (@kmcg101 on Twitter). He’s super committed to the wrestling community, and has helped work with the Wrestlers in Business Network, and the Penn RTC, to organize the upcoming event on January 29th - Summit 1. I’ve learned that Kevin was a coach as well, and clearly still has a ton of passion for the sport, and routinely buys shirts and other gear to help support programs. Kevin is a good dude, and I would have said that before he sent me free wine from New Jersey. Thanks Kevin. Rock on.
Kevin Ward - Kevin Ward is currently the head coach at Army, and has done a damn fine job since taking over the program in 2014. Last year, Army was a consensus top 20 program, and he became the first Army coach to beat Navy four years in a row. Kevin wrestled competitively for Oklahoma State, and was part of 4 NCAA Championship teams (2003-2006). Kevin has established himself as an excellent coach, one that certainly continues the illustrious coaching tree of John Smith. Well done Kevin, and we are all looking forward to watching the continued success of Army.
Kevin Beazley - Beazley was an animal in High School for Detroit Catholic Central, before eventually heading to ODU (RIP) to become an All American for them. He was also an Alternate on the US Olympic Greco team. Beazley also returned to Michigan for a season at 197, where he was able to help the Wolverines beat Iowa at Carver Hawkeye. Sadly that season ended with a busted shoulder at Big Tens, ending his season before he could compete at NCAAs, but he was a big addition to the team. Beazley returned to ODU before their program was eliminated, and has since returned to Detroit Catholic Central. Kevin is the man, as we tend to be.
Kevin LeValley - Kyle Dake doesn’t lose to too many people. Really I think it’s Jordan Burroughs a couple of times, Zach Bailey, Donnie Vinson, Reece Humphrey, and our man - Kevin LeValley. A couple of things come to mind when I think of LeValley. First of all, he’s Bucknell. I only think of LeValley when I think of Bucknell wrestling. Also, he had an awesome 2 on 1. He was the crazy outrageous superhuman grip strength guy before we had guys like Seth Gross were out there. But yeah, I remember where I was watching that EIWA final when LeValley knocked off defending NCAA Champion Kyle Dake in the finals. LeValley won 127 college matches, and was a 2x All American for the Bison. Also, I’ve heard he’s just a cool dude to hang with. Of course. His name is Kevin.
Kevin Emiley - Kevin a guest of ours on the Bloodround Podcast, promoting one of his two books celebrating the less frequently told stories of African American wrestlers. They are excellent books, and ones that I highly recommend. He also finished a book on Carleton Haselrig (RIP) called “Giant Killer”. Kevin wrestled in college for University of Tennessee Chattanooga. He has also been a High School coach, where he has helped develop young talent. Kevin loves the sport, and has really helped innumerable people in the sport by sharing his knowledge and passion.
Kevin Gabrielson, 05, NCST - Kevin Stanley, 00, Indiana - In my research, I learned about these two. I felt both should be mentioned because they were both rat tail NCAA qualifiers, who went 0-2. But they qualified. Well done gentlemen!
Kevin Randleman - So the first time I ever found out about Kevin Randleman was when I was a sophomore in High School. I was playing the UFC game for Sega Dreamcast, and he was one of the characters. Most of the characters threw punches and kicks and had takedowns that were pretty standard. Not Kevin though. Kevin through these two handed tomahawk punches to the face and back of the head. Kevin had a super sweet double leg with a leg sweep finish. Kevin had eyes tattooed on his back. Kevin was clearly the most badass of the characters. He was a Monster… sorry. Not a Monster. THE Monster. Don’t just take my word for it though;
Kevin Hazard - Kevin Hazard placed 3rd at the 1969 NJCAA Championships at 167 pounds. He also won two Mid-Atlantic District Championships, including winning Outstanding Wrestler of that tournament in 1969. After Keystone College, he wrestled for William & Mary, where he was an NCAA Tournament Qualifier. In addition, Kevin helped raise money for programs, coach at the youth levels, and served as an official for 25 years. Kevin is also the father of Brian Hazard, who serves as one of the great voices in the sport.
Kevin Claunch - If you’re reading this, you know who I am. Co Host of the Bloodround Podcast, and Ann Arbor Pioneer Novice Tournament Champion. I appreciate you making it this far into the article, and hope you continue to support Bloodround and the wrestling community. Stay cool my friends.
