Men's Wrestling to Begin 2025-26 at Sunday's East Stroudsburg Open
Purple Knights will compete in 13 regular-season meets, including a trio of home events.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – For the first time since University of Bridgeport's early years, men's wrestling returns to competition as the Purple Knights will open the 2025–26 season on Sunday at the East Stroudsburg University Open.
THE SEASON OPENER
East Stroudsburg is set to host the 58th annual men's and fifth annual women's wrestling open this Sunday at the Koehler Fieldhouse in East Stroudsburg, Pa. ESU is expecting to host more than 700 wrestlers in an event that featured 22 schools on the women's side and 17 on the men's side last year.
Fans can catch the action with various live stream links that are located HERE.
THE REST OF THE 2025-26 SCHEDULE
Following the season opener at East Stroudsburg, the Purple Knights will take part in 12 additional meets leading up to the postseason, which begins with the NCAA Super Regionals on Feb. 28—also hosted by East Stroudsburg.
Bridgeport will host three home events during its 13-meet regular season, highlighted by the Bridgeport Open on Nov. 22, featuring several local programs, along with dual meets against Sacred Heart University (Jan. 10) and Felician (Feb. 14).
UB will also make an appearance at the 46th annual Midwest Classic in Indianapolis on Dec. 13-14, a national event that will serve as an excellent midseason benchmark.
The Purple Knights' campaign will conclude at the 2026 NCAA Men's Wrestling Championships, set for March 13-14 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
THE ROSTER
UB's new era of men's wrestling is headlined by a youthful roster composed of 10 freshmen, four sophomores, and two juniors.
Half of the Purple Knights hail from Connecticut, while the remaining student-athletes represent New Jersey, New York, Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, and Nebraska.
Veterans Achilles Clarke, Matthew Ryan, and Cam White bring valuable collegiate experience to guide the young squad.
THE COACH
Mario Morgan was named the head coach of UB men's wrestling on Sept. 18, 2024. He came to Bridgeport following a remarkable collegiate wrestling career and a highly successful 12-year run as an assistant coach at Maryville University.
While wrestling at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO), Morgan won the 2011 NCAA National Championship in the 141-pound weight class after earning All-American honors in 2009 and 2010. Morgan completed his time at UNO with a sensational 130-38 record. He competed on three consecutive national championship teams from 2009-2011, where he placed third, second, and first, respectively.
Following his undergraduate career, Morgan founded the wrestling program at Maryville University and served as an assistant coach from 2011-2023. He served under legendary head coach Mike Denney, who coached Morgan as a student-athlete at Omaha and had coached the three previous national championship teams at UNO.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING (QUOTES)
Mario Morgan – Head Coach, 1st Season
"I'm excited heading into our first competition. The guys put together a great preseason, and I can't wait to see how all that hard work shows up in our first Bridgeport Wrestling event."
Gatlin Krepela, Freshman
"After a long summer of training and coming straight out of high school, I get to help build something special. We're a family, we've been grinding hard, and we want to win. We're chasing national titles here."
Achilles Clarke, Sophomore
"I'm pumped for this season. As a transfer and with it being our first year, I expect us to come out strong and take over. The team looks great, we're here to win, and I'm excited to see me and the guys do big things."
FOLLOW ALONG
For all information regarding Bridgeport Athletics, visit www.UBKnights.com and follow UB Athletics on Facebook (UBPurpleKnights), X (@UBPurpleKnights) and Instagram (@UBPurpleKnights).