The Open Mat presents awards annually in three categories for each division of college wrestling at the conclusion of the season. Awards are presented for Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year and Wrestler of the Year.

Going into the 2024-25 season, no wrestling program outside of Augsburg or Wartburg had won the NCAA Division III national team title in over 30 years.

That changed in 2025.

Johnson & Wales, led by head wrestling coach Lonnie Morris, earned a share of the NCAA Division III national team title, finishing tied with Wartburg atop the team standings at the 2025 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in Providence, Rhode Island.

Morris was named 2025 NCAA Division III Coach of the Year by the Open Mat on Thursday.

JWU finished the national tournament with 83.5 points on the strength of two national champions and four All-Americans.

Joziah Fry won his third consecutive national championship at 125 pounds and finished the season with a 43-0 record. Hayden Brown claimed the national title at 149 pounds and concluded his season with a 41-1 record. Dylan Harr (197) and Adolfo Betancur (285) also earned All-America honors for JWU with fifth and sixth-place finishes respectively.

Morris led the Wildcats to an 18-2 dual meet record this past season. Their only two losses came at the 2025 NWCA National Duals to Augsburg and UW-La Crosse.

In late January, JWU won the 2025 New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) title with a 24-12 victory over Castleton. JWU's postseason run started with a title at the Northeast Regional Championships, where seven wrestlers qualified for the NCAAs. Two weeks later, JWU capped off their historic season with the program's first national championship. Their previous top-four national finishes were third in 2019 and fourth in 2024.