Wrestling
Escobedo, Angel
Angel Escobedo
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- wrestl@iu.edu
- Phone:
- (812) 855-6942
One of the most successful wrestlers in Indiana University history, Angel Escobedo became the eighth head coach in program history on April 6, 2018.
Coach Escobedo is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Hoosiers in 2025-26.
The 2024-25 season marked yet another year of continual growth. Indiana went 8-5 in the dual schedule, marking three consecutive years of 7-plus dual wins. The Hoosiers also went 3-5 in the Big Ten for the third consecutive season.
The Hoosiers spent the majority of the season in the national rankings, topping out at No. 21 by FloWrestling and the NWCA.
Escobedo had a career-best showing as head coach at the 2025 Big Ten Championships, putting four wrestlers on the podium for a second consecutive year and the best team finish since 2017 (11th place with 33.0 points).
At NCAAs, Indiana had six qualifiers for the second consecutive season, and they turned in their best NCAA showing since 2011 (T-24th place with 18.5 points). Each qualifier won at least one match with five of the six winning at least two.
DJ Washington earned All-American status, taking eighth place at 184 lbs., the program’s first All-American since 2017. Angelo Rini and Gabe Sollars each reached the Blood Round.
Tyler Lillard won a 165 lbs. title at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, the program’s first Midlands champion since 2014.
The 2023-24 season was another major step forward for the Indiana program. The team put together a 7-5 dual record and recorded a 3-5 record in the Big Ten, defeating Maryland, Purdue and Michigan State. This was the second consecutive season of seven-plus dual victories and three conference wins.
There were two ranked dual wins on the season, as well (No. 21 Maryland & No. 21 Michigan State). Indiana spent almost all of the season in the national rankings as well, topping out at No. 16 by FloWrestling.
Escobedo put four wrestlers on the podium and landed six NCAA Qualifiers, the most the program has had since 2010.
At NCAAs, Indiana tied for 26th place (13 points). Each qualifier had at least one win at the championships with Cayden Rooks, Graham Rooks and Brayton Lee each winning two matches.
At Southern Scuffle, the Hoosiers took third place with two individual champions in Dan Fongaro at 141 lbs. and Graham Rooks at 149 lbs.
The 2022-23 season was very successful for Indiana Wrestling under Coach Escobedo's leadership. The team posted an 8-5 dual record, the best team record since the 2016-17 season when the team went 10-9. The Hoosiers also had three Big Ten victories (Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue) for the first time since 2015-16. The win over Purdue snapped a 12-match losing streak to the Boilermakers. Additionally, the team posted three ranked victories over No. 23 Princeton, No. 16 Maryland and No. 16 Rutgers.
As a team, Escobedo had Indiana ranked in the national polls for the first time since February 2016. The Hoosiers were ranked for nearly the entire year, getting as high as No. 17 in FloWrestling's rankings.
Took 12th place (27 points) at the Big Ten Championships and 38th place (7 points) at the NCAA Championships. Escobedo had three podium-finishers at Big Tens with Graham Rooks being a semifinalist and finishing in fifth place at 149 lbs. while Derek Gilcher and DJ Washington both finished in eighth place at 157 and 174 lbs., respectively.
At NCAAs, Escobedo had a career-best four qualifiers in a season with Rooks, Gilcher, Washington and Jacob Bullock competing. Rooks reached the Round of 12 before being eliminated. His run to the Blood Round was the furthest an Indiana wrestler had reached in the NCAA Championships since Nate Jackson finished in eighth and an All-American in 2017 at 184 lbs.
The 2021-22 season saw Indiana have two wrestlers reach the NCAA Championships in Brock Hudkins and Donnell Washington make their third and second appearance at the Championships, respectively. Hudkins automatically qualified by finishing 10th at the Big Ten Championships, earning the No. 13 seed at 133 while Washington at 184 got the No. 26 seed as an at-large bid.
In the regular season, Escobedo’s squad earned 15 victories over ranked opponents among the Hoosier starters, won its first two dual meets by a combined score of 80-6, and had five individual champions at invitational events.
In the 2020-21 season, the Hoosiers had three NCAA qualifiers in DJ Washington, Graham Rooks and Cayden Rooks. Washington was the No. 9 seed at 174 at the NCAA Championships. Washington was the UWW Junior Nationals Champion and quaified for the Junior World Championships. Santos Cantu earned the Silver Medal at the Junior Pan Am Championships.
In the 2019-20 season the Hoosiers had two NCAA qualifiers in Liam Cronin and Graham Rooks. Cronin (125) and Rooks (149) both finished the season ranked in the top-20 and beat a total of nine ranked opponents on the season. Cronin finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships and Rooks finished in 10th place.
Escobedo continued to build momentum for the program as the Hoosiers set a new average attendance record of 1,630 fans per match. That attendance number was up from the 1,286 fans per match from the previous season. Since Escobedo took over as the head coach, the Hoosiers have more than doubled average match attendance.
In his first season at the helm for the Hoosiers in the 2018-19 slate, Escobedo guided the Hoosiers to two wins over ranked opponents (#12 North Carolina, #25 Stanford). It was the first since the 2008-09 season Indiana has two ranked wins in a season. The Hoosiers win over North Carolina was the programs first win over a top-15 opponent since 2008. The Hoosiers closed the dual match season with a 32-0 win against Chattanooga. It was their first shutout since the 2015 season.
In the first year in the Hoosiers’ new arena, Wilkinson Hall, the team saw record crowds, as they finished the season ranked 21st in average attendance among NCAA DI schools for the 2018-19 season. The Hoosiers set a school record for single match attendance with 1,962 people on hand for their match against Penn State. For the season the team had an average attendance of 1,286.
Escobedo assumed the reins of the program after spending one year as IU’s associate head coach along with three years on the Iowa State staff.
“We are very excited about the future of Indiana Wrestling under Angel’s leadership,” IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass said. “As a wrestler, he excelled at the high school, collegiate and international levels. As a coach, he has mentored All-Americans and NCAA qualifiers. With a new state-of-the-art $17 million facility set to open, Angel is the right person to lead the program into this new, exciting era.”
A native of Gary, Ind., Escobedo was a dominant wrestler for the Hoosiers from 2007-10. As a sophomore, he won the 2008 NCAA title at 125 pounds, and he captured Big Ten titles in the weight class three times (2008-10). He’s the program’s only four-time All-American, and his 137 career wins (second) and 42 pins (third) rank among the best in IU history.
After wrapping up his IU career in 2010, Escobedo competed internationally and was a member of Team USA. Among his top performances was a fifth-place finish at the 2013 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and a second-place finish at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
While training full-time for the international circuit, he spent three years on Iowa State’s coaching staff from 2015-17, where he helped develop a handful of the Cyclones’ lightweight wrestlers into national contenders. Among his most notable wrestlers was two-time All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier Earl Hall.
He plans to make Indiana a force in the nation’s premier college wrestling conference, the Big Ten.
“It's having that IU logo on your chest when you're wrestling," Escobedo said. "I want to put the state Indiana back on the map of collegiate wrestling and I've always wanted to make Indiana known for what it is: a great state for wrestling.”
Angel and his wife, Pauli, have three children – Malachi, Saniyah and Zoe.
Coach Escobedo is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Hoosiers in 2025-26.
The 2024-25 season marked yet another year of continual growth. Indiana went 8-5 in the dual schedule, marking three consecutive years of 7-plus dual wins. The Hoosiers also went 3-5 in the Big Ten for the third consecutive season.
The Hoosiers spent the majority of the season in the national rankings, topping out at No. 21 by FloWrestling and the NWCA.
Escobedo had a career-best showing as head coach at the 2025 Big Ten Championships, putting four wrestlers on the podium for a second consecutive year and the best team finish since 2017 (11th place with 33.0 points).
At NCAAs, Indiana had six qualifiers for the second consecutive season, and they turned in their best NCAA showing since 2011 (T-24th place with 18.5 points). Each qualifier won at least one match with five of the six winning at least two.
DJ Washington earned All-American status, taking eighth place at 184 lbs., the program’s first All-American since 2017. Angelo Rini and Gabe Sollars each reached the Blood Round.
Tyler Lillard won a 165 lbs. title at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, the program’s first Midlands champion since 2014.
The 2023-24 season was another major step forward for the Indiana program. The team put together a 7-5 dual record and recorded a 3-5 record in the Big Ten, defeating Maryland, Purdue and Michigan State. This was the second consecutive season of seven-plus dual victories and three conference wins.
There were two ranked dual wins on the season, as well (No. 21 Maryland & No. 21 Michigan State). Indiana spent almost all of the season in the national rankings as well, topping out at No. 16 by FloWrestling.
Escobedo put four wrestlers on the podium and landed six NCAA Qualifiers, the most the program has had since 2010.
At NCAAs, Indiana tied for 26th place (13 points). Each qualifier had at least one win at the championships with Cayden Rooks, Graham Rooks and Brayton Lee each winning two matches.
At Southern Scuffle, the Hoosiers took third place with two individual champions in Dan Fongaro at 141 lbs. and Graham Rooks at 149 lbs.
The 2022-23 season was very successful for Indiana Wrestling under Coach Escobedo's leadership. The team posted an 8-5 dual record, the best team record since the 2016-17 season when the team went 10-9. The Hoosiers also had three Big Ten victories (Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue) for the first time since 2015-16. The win over Purdue snapped a 12-match losing streak to the Boilermakers. Additionally, the team posted three ranked victories over No. 23 Princeton, No. 16 Maryland and No. 16 Rutgers.
As a team, Escobedo had Indiana ranked in the national polls for the first time since February 2016. The Hoosiers were ranked for nearly the entire year, getting as high as No. 17 in FloWrestling's rankings.
Took 12th place (27 points) at the Big Ten Championships and 38th place (7 points) at the NCAA Championships. Escobedo had three podium-finishers at Big Tens with Graham Rooks being a semifinalist and finishing in fifth place at 149 lbs. while Derek Gilcher and DJ Washington both finished in eighth place at 157 and 174 lbs., respectively.
At NCAAs, Escobedo had a career-best four qualifiers in a season with Rooks, Gilcher, Washington and Jacob Bullock competing. Rooks reached the Round of 12 before being eliminated. His run to the Blood Round was the furthest an Indiana wrestler had reached in the NCAA Championships since Nate Jackson finished in eighth and an All-American in 2017 at 184 lbs.
The 2021-22 season saw Indiana have two wrestlers reach the NCAA Championships in Brock Hudkins and Donnell Washington make their third and second appearance at the Championships, respectively. Hudkins automatically qualified by finishing 10th at the Big Ten Championships, earning the No. 13 seed at 133 while Washington at 184 got the No. 26 seed as an at-large bid.
In the regular season, Escobedo’s squad earned 15 victories over ranked opponents among the Hoosier starters, won its first two dual meets by a combined score of 80-6, and had five individual champions at invitational events.
In the 2020-21 season, the Hoosiers had three NCAA qualifiers in DJ Washington, Graham Rooks and Cayden Rooks. Washington was the No. 9 seed at 174 at the NCAA Championships. Washington was the UWW Junior Nationals Champion and quaified for the Junior World Championships. Santos Cantu earned the Silver Medal at the Junior Pan Am Championships.
In the 2019-20 season the Hoosiers had two NCAA qualifiers in Liam Cronin and Graham Rooks. Cronin (125) and Rooks (149) both finished the season ranked in the top-20 and beat a total of nine ranked opponents on the season. Cronin finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships and Rooks finished in 10th place.
Escobedo continued to build momentum for the program as the Hoosiers set a new average attendance record of 1,630 fans per match. That attendance number was up from the 1,286 fans per match from the previous season. Since Escobedo took over as the head coach, the Hoosiers have more than doubled average match attendance.
In his first season at the helm for the Hoosiers in the 2018-19 slate, Escobedo guided the Hoosiers to two wins over ranked opponents (#12 North Carolina, #25 Stanford). It was the first since the 2008-09 season Indiana has two ranked wins in a season. The Hoosiers win over North Carolina was the programs first win over a top-15 opponent since 2008. The Hoosiers closed the dual match season with a 32-0 win against Chattanooga. It was their first shutout since the 2015 season.
In the first year in the Hoosiers’ new arena, Wilkinson Hall, the team saw record crowds, as they finished the season ranked 21st in average attendance among NCAA DI schools for the 2018-19 season. The Hoosiers set a school record for single match attendance with 1,962 people on hand for their match against Penn State. For the season the team had an average attendance of 1,286.
Escobedo assumed the reins of the program after spending one year as IU’s associate head coach along with three years on the Iowa State staff.
“We are very excited about the future of Indiana Wrestling under Angel’s leadership,” IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass said. “As a wrestler, he excelled at the high school, collegiate and international levels. As a coach, he has mentored All-Americans and NCAA qualifiers. With a new state-of-the-art $17 million facility set to open, Angel is the right person to lead the program into this new, exciting era.”
A native of Gary, Ind., Escobedo was a dominant wrestler for the Hoosiers from 2007-10. As a sophomore, he won the 2008 NCAA title at 125 pounds, and he captured Big Ten titles in the weight class three times (2008-10). He’s the program’s only four-time All-American, and his 137 career wins (second) and 42 pins (third) rank among the best in IU history.
After wrapping up his IU career in 2010, Escobedo competed internationally and was a member of Team USA. Among his top performances was a fifth-place finish at the 2013 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and a second-place finish at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
While training full-time for the international circuit, he spent three years on Iowa State’s coaching staff from 2015-17, where he helped develop a handful of the Cyclones’ lightweight wrestlers into national contenders. Among his most notable wrestlers was two-time All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier Earl Hall.
He plans to make Indiana a force in the nation’s premier college wrestling conference, the Big Ten.
“It's having that IU logo on your chest when you're wrestling," Escobedo said. "I want to put the state Indiana back on the map of collegiate wrestling and I've always wanted to make Indiana known for what it is: a great state for wrestling.”
Angel and his wife, Pauli, have three children – Malachi, Saniyah and Zoe.
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