Southwestern Michigan College’s wrestling head coach, Todd Hesson, has been honored as this year’s National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
Hesson credits this achievement to the players, SMC staff, and everyone else who has supported the program along the way within the last three years of the program’s revival.
“It’s an award that I got, but it’s actually very much a team award and a coaching staff award,” Hesson says. “Again, I’ve been blessed with great kids and a great staff that work hard at trying to put the pieces in place and keep everybody moving forward. That includes off the mat, too, grades and all the other things that go along with it.”
The SMC wrestling program is coming off another successful season, having won their third consecutive Michigan Community College Athletic Association conference championship. They also triumphed at the 2025 Great Lakes District Championship in Illinois. Hesson expresses confidence that the future of the program looks promising.
“We’re going to continue to build our men’s program,” Hesson says. “I’d like to see us in the top 10 next year. At the same time, we’re adding a women’s program in the fall of 2026, so we’re excited about that. We’re recruiting athletes for that.”
Additionally, Hesson was named the Great Lakes District Wrestling Coach of the Year.
