Chambana Sun

Illinois wrestling head coach Mike Poeta has announced the appointment of Eric Schultz as an assistant coach. "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."

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

Schultz previously worked at Nebraska Wesleyan as an assistant coach during 2024-25, where he collaborated with head wrestling coach Colton McCrystal. His role involved developing wrestlers' technical skills, fostering discipline and teamwork, and providing academic mentorship.

Hailing from Tinley Park, Illinois, Schultz recently achieved fourth place at the 2024 Olympic Trials after winning both the 2023 Henri Deglane Grand Prix and the 2022 Bill Farrell International tournament.

During his tenure at Nebraska, Schultz became an All-American at the 2022 NCAA Championships by securing seventh place in the 197-pound category. He also earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors in 2022 after narrowly losing in a decision to Penn State's Max Dean during that year's Big Ten Championships. In 2020, he received NWCA First-Team All-America recognition when COVID-19 led to cancellation of that year's NCAA Championships.

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