CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois wrestling head coach Mike Poeta announces the addition of Eric Schultz to his staff as an assistant coach on Monday (July 14).

"We're extremely excited to add Eric to our coaching staff," said Poeta. "I've known Eric for a long time and have always admired his passion and love for the sport of wrestling. He was a multi-time All-American for Nebraska, but he's originally from Illinois and is deeply respected throughout the state. His accomplishments speak for themselves, but what excites me the most is how committed he is to help our guys reach the same level of success. He's going to be an enormous asset to our program."

"I am incredibly honored to be joining the University of Illinois wrestling program," said Schultz. "I look forward to contributing to the development of these young men and helping build on the programs proud tradition under Coach Poeta."

Schultz spent the last year (2024-25) at Nebraska Wesleyan serving as an assistant coach working with their head wrestling coach Colton McCrystal to develop wrestlers' technical skills, create a culture of discipline and teamwork, and provide academic mentorship to ensure success in all aspects of their university experience.

The Tinley Park, Ill. native recently placed fourth at the 2024 Olympic Trials after winning the 2023 Henri Deglane Grand Prix and the 2022 Bill Farrell International tournament.

During his time at Nebraska Schultz became an All-American at the 2022 NCAA Championships taking seventh at 197 pounds. One month prior he finished second at the Big Ten Championships falling in a narrow decision to Penn State's Max Dean, 4-2, to earn Second-Team All-Big Ten honors. In 2020, he earned NWCA First-Team All-America honors when the NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He's a five-time NCAA Championships qualifier (2018-22), three-time Second-Team All-Big Ten member (2020, 2021, 2022), a four-time Academic All-Big Ten recipient (2018-21) and two-time NWCA Scholar All-American (2020, 2022).