SMSU Athletics

> Nelson vs. Opponents
 
Jesse Nelson is in his 14th season as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State in 2020-21 after being named the fourth coach in the program history on Aug. 22, 2007.
 
The 2013-14 NSIC Coach of the Year, Nelson has a career dual record of 86-102-1, including 34-62 in conference matches.
 
During his tenure, Nelson has groomed 23 national qualifiers—including four two-time qualifiers and three three-time qualifiers—along with 13 All-NSIC honorees. Nelson has coached three NCAA All-Americans, including Justin Reinsma in both 2012 and 2013, Jacob Begin in 2015 and Cole Wilson in 2016.
 
Not only has Nelson improved SMSU on the mat, but the program has made major strides in the classroom as well. In 2013-14, SMSU turned in the 10th highest GPA in the NCAA Division II with a mark of 3.21. SMSU finished the 2012-13 season with a GPA of 2.97, the 20th best in the country, while in 2011-12, the program ranked ninth best with a 3.24 GPA.
 
SMSU won four dual matches, including three in conference action during the 2019-20 season, while Jackson Ryan qualified for the NCAA Championships following a third place finish at the NCAA Region Championship.
 
In 2018-19, SMSU had a pair of NCAA national qualifiers as Cortez Arredondo and Griffin Osing both advanced to the NCAA Championships. Arredondo won the 2019 NCAA region title at 157 pounds.
 
SMSU finished with seven dual victories during the 2017-18 season and had one national qualifier. Arredondo finished second at the Super Region Tournament and then finished 1-2 at the NCAA Championships.
 
Nelson helped another Mustang wrestler to the national championships during the 2015-16 season. Cole Wilson (285) finished fourth place at the NCAA Super Region III tournament to earn his third-consecutive trip to the national tournament. Wilson went on to finish seventh and become the 10th NCAA All-American in school history. SMSU finished the 2015-16 season 8-11 overall and 4-4 in the NSIC.
 
In the 2014-15 season, Nelson guided a pair of wrestlers to second place finishes at the NCAA Super Region 3 tournament. Both Jacob Begin (174) and Cole Wilson (285) finished runner-up in the region and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third and second consecutive year, respectfully. Begin went on to finish fourth at the championship and was named the ninth All-American in school history. SMSU finished the 2014-15 season 8-10 overall and 3-5 in the NSIC.
 
Nelson led the Mustangs to one of their most successful seasons in recent memory in 2013-14. SMSU finished third in the NSIC with a 6-2 record—its most league wins since 2000—and highest finish in the league standings winning the title in 2001. For the third consecutive season, Nelson tutored a Mustang wrestler to the NCAA Championships. For SMSU’s success in 2013-14, Nelson was named NSIC Coach of the Year, while four Mustangs earned all-conference accolades. The Mustangs finished 12-5 overall, including victories over Augustana and Minnesota State, to achieve their third straight season reaching double-digit dual wins. The win over the Vikings was the first since 1998-99, while the 31-9 victory over the Mavericks snapped a 22-dual losing skid dating back to the 1990-91 season.
 
SMSU finished 13-6 in dual meets in 2012-13, marking the third straight winning season, finishing fifth in the nine-team NSIC. The 13 wins was the highest total at since the 1989-90 season. Justin Reinsma earned All-America honors for the second consecutive season as SMSU sent four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, marking the most in a single season since the 2003. Nelson guided three wrestlers -- Kyle Begin (1st, 174), Jacob Begin (2nd, 165) and Justin Reinsma (2nd, 133) to All-NSIC honors, marking the most in a single season since 2003.
 
Nelson's inaugural season in 2007-08, saw his squad finished 0-11, working with just a 15-man roster. Under the tutelage of Nelson, SMSU had one NCAA national qualifier in Tyler Johnson, while another, Luke Giese, was just one win away from qualifying.
 
In 2008-09, Nelson led the Mustangs to their first conference win since the 2006-07, while two Mustangs qualified for the NCAA Championships.
 
During the 2009-10 season, SMSU picked up four dual match victories and had three individuals qualify for the NCAA Championships, the program’s highest since 2003.
 
SMSU’s 8-4-1 dual record in 2010-11, was the program’s first winning season since 2002-03, while the team also finished tied for fourth in the NSIC and had one national qualifier.
 
SMSU continued its winning ways in 2011-12, recording 10 dual victories, while Justin Reinsma earned All-American honors with a seventh place finish at nationals.
 
Since 2011-12, a total of 17 Mustangs have been honored with National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic awards. In 2013, 2014 and 2016, Nelson coached a first team CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree, while Cole Wilson became the program's first CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2016.
 
A native of St. James, Minnesota, Nelson brings an impressive list of accomplishments to SMSU from his young career at the junior college level. He guided Ridgewater College to top-five finishes nationally in each of his five seasons there, including a national championship in 2004-05 and a second-place finish in 2003-04.
 
In addition to the team success, Nelson coached numerous student-athletes to individual success. During his five years at Ridgewater, he coached 13 All-Americans, four national finalists and one national champion.
 
Nelson’s head coaching career at the junior college ranks was a decorated one as he picked up many awards in his five years at Ridgewater. He was named Minnesota Community College Conference Coach of the Year following each of his five seasons at the school and was named NJCAA Region XIII Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004.
 
Nelson has also enjoyed success at the high school level, where he coached Greenbush-Middle River/Badger High School in Badger, Minn. In one year at GMRB, he coached five state tournament place winners and two state champions.
 
A former collegiate wrestler, Nelson has a well-rounded background in coaching. In addition to coaching wrestling at Ridgewater and GMRB, Nelson coached freestyle wrestling and Minnesota Junior National Greco-Roman wrestling with Minnesota USA Wrestling. He was also an assistant football coach at Ridgewater for five years. At the high school level, he was a head softball coach and a junior high and VFW baseball coach in the Montevideo (Minn.) School District.
 
Nelson was a two-sport standout for Ridgewater College. As a wrestler, he was a NJCAA national qualifier in 1995 and 1996 and was named Male Athlete of the Year in 1996. He also played football for two years, serving as team captain and earning all-conference accolades.
 
Following his time competing at Ridgewater, Nelson moved on to St. Cloud State where he was a member of the wrestling team for one season. He is a 1999 graduate of St. Cloud State with a degree in physical education. He completed his master’s degree from Minnesota State University in sports administration.
 
Jesse and his wife, Julie, live in Minneota, and have a son, Blake, and a daughter, Brooklyn.
 

Year	School	Overall	Conference	Conference Finish
2007-08	SMSU	0-11	0-4	5th
2008-09	SMSU	3-7	2-5	6th
2009-10	SMSU	4-6	1-6	7th
2010-11	SMSU	8-4-1	3-4	4th
2011-12	SMSU	10-6	3-4	4th
2012-13	SMSU	13-6	3-5	5th
2013-14	SMSU	12-5	6-2	3rd
2014-15	SMSU	8-10	3-5	6th
2015-16	SMSU	8-11	4-4	5th
2016-17	SMSU	8-13	3-5	5th
2017-18	SMSU	7-8	2-6	7th
2018-19	SMSU	1-8	1-7	9th
2019-20	SMSU	4-7	3-5	6th
Total	13 seasons	86-102-1	34-62

Nelson's Awards
• 2003 NJCAA Region XIII Coach of the Year
• 2003 Minnesota Community College Conference Coach of the Year
• 2004 NJCAA Region XIII Coach of the Year
• 2004 Minnesota Community College Conference Coach of the Year
• 2005 Minnesota Community College Conference Coach of the Year
• 2006 Minnesota Community College Conference Coach of the Year
• 2007 Minnesota Community College Conference Coach of the Year
• 2013-14 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year

Nelson at SMSU
• 23 NCAA national qualifiers and one two-time All-American
• Four NCAA All-Americans
• Six first team All-NSIC and seven second team All-NSIC honorees
• 22 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic award winners
• Three CoSIDA Academic All-District selections
• One CoSIDA Academic All-American

Nelson at Ridgewater
• 2002-03 Third-place NJCAA finish
• 2003-04 Second-place NJCAA finish
• 2004-05 NJCAA Champions
• 2005-06 Fifth-place NJCAA finish
• 2006-07 Fourth-place NJCAA finish
• 13 All-Americans
• 4 National finalists
• 1 National champion

Nelson Resume
- 2007-21, SMSU, Head Coach
- 2002-2007, Ridgewater College, Head Coach
- 2001-2002, Greenbush-Middle River/Badger High School, Head Coach