Santoro retires after 18 seasons as Lehigh head coach, Dillon named successor
Pat Santoro is stepping down as head coach of Lehigh wrestling after 18 seasons leading the program, the school announced. Associate head coach Brad Dillon, a former Lehigh All-American, will take over for the 2026-27 season and become the ninth head coach in program history.
Santoro spent more than a quarter-century with the Lehigh program in total, first as an assistant and then as head coach beginning in 2008. In 18 seasons, he compiled a 202-93-1 dual meet record, won six EIWA team titles and finished in the top two of the conference 15 times, including four consecutive titles from 2018-21 and back-to-back championships to close out his tenure. A seven-time EIWA Coach of the Year, Santoro was named NWCA National Coach of the Year in 2018. He mentored two NCAA champions -- Zack Rey in 2011 and Darian Cruz in 2017 -- guided 22 wrestlers to 39 combined All-American honors and led 29 individuals to 47 EIWA titles. Lehigh posted back-to-back top-10 NCAA finishes in 2011 and 2012 and finished in the top 15 at the national tournament 10 times under his watch.
In his final season, Santoro guided the Mountain Hawks to an 11-7 dual record and a second straight EIWA championship, powered by five individual conference champions. Lehigh qualified six wrestlers for the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, where sophomore Luke Stanich earned All-America honors with a third-place finish at 141 pounds. Stanich also won a U20 world championship at 65 kilograms prior to last season, the first for a Lehigh wrestler.
Before returning to Lehigh in 2008, Santoro spent five seasons as head coach at Maryland, where he helped rebuild the Terrapins' program. His first stint with Lehigh came as an assistant under Greg Strobel for nine seasons. In 2003, Santoro was named the NWCA National Assistant Coach of the Year after helping the Mountain Hawks finish fourth at the NCAA Championships.
Dillon has worked alongside Santoro for 22 seasons, including four at Maryland and 18 at Lehigh. As a competitor, Dillon was a two-time EIWA champion at 174 pounds and a two-time All-American, placing fifth in 2003 and fourth in 2004. He finished his career with a 101-26 record, set a school single-season record with 24 dual meet victories as a senior and ran off 39 consecutive dual meet wins from 2002-04. He was named Lehigh's Graduating Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2004 and earned NWCA Academic All-American honors.
As a coach, Dillon has been instrumental in developing some of Lehigh's most accomplished wrestlers. He helped Robert Hamlin develop from an NCAA qualifier as a freshman into a two-time EIWA champion, three-time All-American and two-time NCAA finalist. He aided the development of two-time All-American Nathaniel Brown, guided Jordan Kutler to three straight EIWA titles and three consecutive All-America honors, and helped Jordan Wood win five EIWA championships and earn three All-America honors. Over the last three seasons, Michael Beard won back-to-back EIWA titles at 197 while Nathan Taylor and Owen Trephan each won conference championships at 285. Beard and Trephan also earned All-America honors during that stretch.