Jake Kadel

AMES — Iowa State head women’s wrestling coach Alli St. John announced her first staff hire Monday by adding Jake Kadel as assistant coach following a successful three-season stint as head women’s wrestling coach at William Penn, where he guided the Statesmen to three consecutive NAIA top-five finishes.

“I am excited to have Jake join our program as an assistant coach,” St. John said. “He brings a wealth of wrestling knowledge, experience building a women’s program and recruiting acumen with him to Ames, and he was one of the first people I had in mind when I started to build out my staff. What he was able to build at William Penn was amazing and his athletes saw great success on the mat and in the classroom.”

A proven program builder, Kadel revitalized the William Penn women’s wrestling program and turned it into a national contender in just three seasons. He inherited a program that finished 33rd at the 2023 NAIA National Championships — the season before he took over. Under Kadel’s direction, the Statesmen placed fourth in each of his first two seasons before a national runner-up finish in 2025-26.

“I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to work alongside coach Alli St. John and the rest of the staff at Iowa State University,” Kadel said. “I’ve been fortunate to follow her career as an athlete, and I have tremendous respect for what she brings to the sport.

“I look forward to investing in the student-athletes and building on the already strong wrestling tradition at Iowa State. I’d also like to thank the Iowa State administration for their continued investment in women’s wrestling, and Coach St. John for her belief in me.”

Kadel coached nine national champions and 18 All-Americans in his three seasons at William Penn. In total, 33 Statesmen qualified for the NAIA National Championships under his tutelage. His wrestlers captured 13 Heart of America Athletic Conference titles and were named NAIA Scholar-Athletes 24 times.

Prior to William Penn, Kadel served on the men’s and women’s staffs at Iowa Wesleyan from 2020-2023 and was promoted to head coach of each for the 2022-23 season prior to the school closing its doors in May 2023.

He helped the women’s team to a successful 2022-23 season which saw the Tigers place seventh at the NAIA National Championship. IWU sent 11 to the national tournament where five individuals earned All-America status, including one national champion.

Kadel also has previous coaching experience as an assistant at St. John’s Jesuit High School in Ohio, as an instructor at Hard Drive Performance Center in Cedar Rapids, and as a volunteer at Ubasa Wrestling Academy in North Liberty.

A 2015 Iowa graduate, Kadel was a four-time letterwinner for the Hawkeyes from 2011-16 and wrestled to a 28-20 career record.

Kadel posted a career mark of 189-13 at New London High School, where he was a four-time state placewinner (one runner-up finish; three third-place finishes).

A native of New London, Kadel is a 2015 graduate of the University of Iowa with a degree in human physiology. Kadel also owns a Master of Biomedical Science degree from the University of Toledo in 2019.