Completed Event: Wrestling versus Harold Nichols Cyclone Open on January 18, 2026 , , One Champ
Final
Wrestling
Harold Nichols Cyclone Open
One Champ
Iowa State University Athletics
Javier Maldonado Joins ISU Men’s Wrestling Staff as Assistant Coach
05.11.2026 | Wrestling
AMES, Iowa – Former Little Rock associate head coach Javier Maldonado has been added to the Iowa State men's wrestling staff as an assistant coach, head coach Brent Metcalf announced Tuesday. Maldonado, Little Rock's first assistant coach after the program's creation in 2019, joins the Cyclones after seven successful seasons building the Trojan wrestling program.
"My primary goal when building out this coaching staff was to find good people who will develop well-rounded young men, and I believe Javier fits that mold perfectly," Metcalf said. "He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience at multiple levels of wrestling and his ability to recruit and develop athletes is top notch. I'm excited for him to get to Ames and help us reach the next level."
Maldonado helped head coach Neil Erisman start the Little Rock wrestling program from scratch in 2019 as an assistant coach before being promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2022. It took just six seasons for Little Rock, the lone NCAA Division I wrestling program in Arkansas, to win its first Pac-12 team title in 2025. During his time in Little Rock, Maldonado helped 14 Trojans qualify for the NCAA Championships, five of which achieved All-American status.
"I am honored to be named an assistant coach at Iowa State University," Maldonado said. "I look forward to serving such a storied wrestling program and supporting coach Brent Metcalf in any way I can.
"My family and I are excited to join the Iowa State family and continue building on the foundation Kevin Dresser established," he added. "I believe strongly in the vision Coach Metcalf and Coach St. John have for this program, and I am confident we will help take Cyclone Wrestling to the next level."
Maldonado has helped Little Rock crown an All-American in three-consecutive seasons, including multiple All-Americans in two of the last three seasons, and has mentored 11 individual Pac-12 champions.
Continuing to build 📈
— Iowa State Men's Wrestling (@CycloneWR) May 12, 2026
𝗝𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗼 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵
Welcome to Cyclone Nation, @ISUJaviM ‼️
📰 https://t.co/z6L0qbxqsY pic.twitter.com/XSX4UOXQaQ
Much of Little Rock's recent success was based on strong early recruiting classes. Maldonado spearheaded the recruiting efforts for Little Rock's back-to-back top-25 recruiting classes in 2021 and 2022. The 2021 recruiting class ranked No. 23 nationally while the 2022 class was rated No. 18 by MatScouts.
In 2025-26, Brock Herman, Jaivon Jones, and Stephen Little each captured Pac-12 titles, while Matty Bianchi also qualified for the NCAA Championships. Jones was named Pac-12 Co-Newcomer of the Year and Little was tabbed Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year. Little would go on to place third at 197 pounds at the 2026 NCAA Championships, the highest placement ever by a Trojan and his third All-America honor.
Little Rock won the 2025 Pac-12 title and qualified five for the NCAA Championships where Little and Bianchi would reach the podium. The Trojans would finish with a 17-3 dual record and ranked No. 15 in the NWCA Coaches Poll in their sixth season of competition.
The 2024 season saw Little Rock crown its first All-Americans in program history when Little and Nasir Baily reached the podium at the NCAA Championships. Five Trojans qualified for the national tournament that season and Little Rock were the Pac-12 runner-up.
Off the mat, the Trojans consistently excelled in the classroom with 21 NWCA Scholar All-Americans in the last three seasons. In 2025, Little Rock was third nationally in the NWCA's team academic standings.
Prior to Little Rock
Maldonado spent four seasons (2015-19) as the head coach at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida where he started the program from scratch and posted a 41-31 dual meet record.
During his tenure at Southeastern, Maldonado mentored 18 national qualifiers with six wrestlers earning NAIA All-America honors. His teams posted a winning dual record in three of his four seasons, winning 12 dual meets in both 2015-16 and 2018-19.
Prior to Southeastern
Prior to his time at Southeastern, Maldonado worked for five seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater Osceola High School [Fla.] where he coached seven individual state champions, 22 state placewinners and nine All-Americans. As a team, Osceola finished in the top five in the state 3A rankings four times.
He also previously served as an assistant coach at Las Cruces High School in New Mexico and as a graduate assistant at Chattanooga.
Wrestling Career
Maldonado was a three-time NCAA qualifier and three-time Southern Conference champion at 125 pounds during his collegiate career at Chattanooga. He captured his conference titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Maldonado posted a 79-31 record during his career with the Mocs and was a three-time NCWA Scholar All-American and All-Southern Conference Academic Team member.
Maldonado was a two-time Florida state champion at Osceola High School.
Personal
A Kissimmee, Florida native, Maldonado completed his Bachelor of Science (Chattanooga; 2008) and Master of Business Administration (Southeastern; 2018).
Coaching Timeline
Iowa State – Assistant Coach, 2026-pres.
Little Rock – Associate Head Coach, 2022-26
Little Rock – Assistant Coach, 2019-22
Southeastern – Head Coach, 2015-19
Osceola HS – Assistant Coach, 2010-15
Las Cruces HS – Assistant Coach, 2009-10
Chattanooga – Graduate Assistant, 2008-09
Pollard, Dresser, Metcalf, St. John Wrestling Press Conference
Thursday, April 16
Kevin Dresser Interview (NCAA Championships Session 6)
Saturday, March 21
Kevin Dresser Interview (NCAA Championships Session 4)
Friday, March 20
Yonger Bastida Press Conference (Semifinals)
Friday, March 20
