The Debate and Vote: Who is NC State’s Best Current Coach?

You wouldn’t quite know it from the attention put on MBB, but two other State sports are going for national glory this week. And on top of that, the outcome will decide who is State’s best current coach.

The Best of the Rest

I’m not saying there aren’t more than two great coaches at State. Rollie Geiger is the king of Track and Field. Laurie Henes just lead State’s Women’s Cross Country squad to a #2 finish at Nationals. Holloway has been everything for the Swim program. In the moment, right now, the climb that Wrestling and WBB have made are unmatched. They’ve entered another region’s domain or crashed through the ceiling of another sport’s penthouse. Popolizio and Moore have separated themselves and placed their programs on the verge of something BIG.

Wrestling’s Pat Popolizio

Pat Popolizio has been nothing short of brilliant since taking the helm of Pack Wrestling in early 2012. Twice ACC Coach of the Year (2018 and 2020) and National Coach/Co-Coach of the Year (2016 and 2018). Over his career at State, Popolizio has lead State to 4 ACC team championships, with another 20 individual champions.

Those accolades only tell half the story.

Wrestling has forever been a Great Plains and Midwest sport. Since it’s addition to the NCAA in 1928, 83 of the 88 national champion teams have come from four states; Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Minnesota. Thank about that for a second…Beyond a random push from a Cornell or Arizona State, it ultimately comes down to a handful of schools. That means that when trying to build a program, it’s hard to even get your foot in the door. But Popolizio is putting State on the map.

Stud recruits are finding their way to State from Pennsylvania (where three just dominated their state championships). The Pack has placed in the top-17 at the NCAA Championships each of the last five seasons and should make it six this year. In those last six seasons, 52 of 60 starters qualified for nationals (87%?!?). The tides have changed and wrestling is growing in Oak City.

Coach Popolizio is one of State’s best coaches right now.

WBB’s Wes Moore

Wes Moore is so damn underrated. I just want to highlight this last five year stretch;

2017 – 23-9 – NCAAT
2018 – 26-8 – NCAAT
2019 – 28-6 – NCAAT
2020 – 28-4 – ACC Champs, would have been NCAAT
2021 – 20-2 – ACC Champs, NCAAT as a #1 Seed (First-time ever)

You see a trend there? Every. Single. Year. This team has improved, won more and advanced further (trust me, they would have made it to at least Elite Eight last year and I just broke my desk knocking on wood so hard for this year.) In Division 1 Women’s sports, you could argue that Basketball has the most top-heavy competition. In order to win a conference championship and subsequently make deep runs in the NCAAT, you have to be a legit contender. Nobody outside the top-ten makes it.

Here’s the fun and interesting part. Moore has started to take over recruiting.

In 2017 and 2018, State wasn’t even a  top-20 recruiting class. Then he got 4-Star Cunane. The next year saw 5-stars Brown-Turner and Boyd, with a class ranking of #8 in the nation. Moore is growing the program and attracting more 4 and 5-star recruits than ever before. He almost is getting to the point that he has too much talent to put on the floor (just imagine if Crutchfield and/or Jones return again?).

In a sport that is all big name-based, Moore is breaking through the static. A run to the Final Four would mean that his name, should at the very least, be mentioned with Yow as State Women’s Basketball coaching greats. He loves State and State loves him.

Coach Moore is one of State’s best coaches right now.

So What Now?

As Pack Wrestling heads to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis and the Women’s Basketball team in Texas, the debate will be settled in a matter of days. Can Wrestling beat their all-time finish of 4th at Nationals? Can WBB make it to the Final Four? We’ll have to wait and see.

All I know, NC State couldn’t be lead by any better coaches.