STANFORD, Calif. – Grant Leeth has been elevated to assistant coach, while 2022 NCAA champion Ryan Deakin has been added as volunteer assistant coach for the Stanford wrestling program.
Leeth served as the Cardinal's volunteer assistant in 2021-22 in Rob Koll's first season on The Farm. He replaces Vincenzo Joseph, who stepped down from the position last month.
"I am extremely grateful for this opportunity. Transitioning from volunteer to full-time assistant will allow me to be more involved in the program and make a difference in ways that I could not before," said Leeth. "I am excited to continue to work under Rob Koll and see this program grow into something special. This past year was unbelievable and I am excited to continue to work with these incredible young men at Stanford."
Leeth helped the coaching staff guide the Cardinal to a top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships in 2022. Stanford produced two NCAA All-Americans in the same season for the first time since 2016 and had two wrestlers advance to the NCAA semifinals for the first time in program history. Additionally, 2021 NCAA champion Shane Griffith became the second two-time NCAA finalist in school history.
Deakin joins the program from Northwestern, where he compiled an impressive 109-14 career record from 2017-22. At the 2022 NCAA Championships in Detroit, he capped off his time as a Wildcat with the program's first NCAA individual title since 2014 and its ninth overall.
"I am extremely grateful and excited to be a part of the Stanford wrestling movement," said Deakin. "There are a lot of special individuals in and around the program and I can't wait for the opportunity to work with everyone."
Just the fourth four-time NCAA All-American in Northwestern history, Deakin was a finalist for the Hodge Trophy (2022), a three-time Big Ten champion and a five-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. In freestyle, he was a junior world silver medalist in 2017, a three-time national team member (2019-22) and a U.S. Open champion (2019).
A native of Broomfield, Colorado, Deakin graduated from Northwestern with a degree in economics in 2020, a master's of science in management studies in 2021 and earned a grad certificate in specialized studies in 2022.
