Jake Patacsil officially joined the Campbell Wrestling staff as an assistant coach in September 2024.
“The Patacsil name is huge in the state of Florida and his family, including his dad and brother, has done a lot of good for wrestling in Florida,” head coach Scotti Sentes said. “Despite not meeting Jake until after he applied, I have known about im and followed his successful wrestling and coaching career for a very long time.”
Sentes continued, “When Jake applied for the position, I was excited at first because I know he is one of the best top wrestlers of all time, but as I have gotten to know Jake better, I am more excited about the passion that he brings into the wrestling room and the mindset that I anticipate he will instill in the athletes.”
Patacsil spent last season volunteering at Manchester University and St. Thomas Aquinas. Previously, he was at St. Thomas University, an NAIA program in Florida. Patacsil was the first head wrestling coach in school history, as the Bobcats began the program in 2020.
“The Campbell wrestling program, with its tradition of success in the Southern Conference and at the national tournament, is a team I greatly admired,” said Patacsil. “When Coach Sentes and I discussed the opportunity for me to contribute to the program, I was filled with excitement. I am committed to doing my part to ensure the team’s continued success, as I believe this is a special team I can contribute to and be a part of.”
In the 2022-23 season, Patacsil guided David Pierson to NAIA All-America status in just the program’s third year of existence. Pierson defeated the No. 3 ranked wrestler to secure a Top 8 finish at 141 pounds.
Patacsil improved the Bobcats drastically between year one and year two, jumping from a 1-9 record to 7-5 and qualifying one wrestler for the NAIA National Tournament.
Prior to his time at St. Thomas, Patacsil was named the inaugural head coach at Mount Olive (N.C.) in October 2018. In his lone season with the Trojans, Patacsil had two wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championship that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patacsil served as an assistant coach at Hofstra University for four seasons. During his time at Hofstra, Patacsil helped coach two two-time NCAA National Qualifiers and one All-American. His responsibilities at Hofstra included recruiting, working with the team on top and bottom positions, and running practices. He helped the wrestling team win the Pride Cup (given to the most social/academically/athletically successful team) three years in a row.
Before Hofstra, Patacsil was an assistant at Duke University from 2013-14 where he assisted in recruiting top-level talent, assisted in planning and running practices, and worked heavily with the Blue Devils NCAA All-American Connor Hartman.
Patacsil also served as an assistant coach at Notre Dame College from 2011-13. At Notre Dame, he headed up the recruiting efforts that brought in two top recruiting classes for a program which had a third-place team finish in Division II and seven Division II All-Americans during his tenure.
Prior to his stint at Notre Dame, Patacsil was an assistant coach for the Dutch of Central College from 2010-11 and helped Central get their first national qualifier in seven years.
Patacsil graduated with a B.S. in Math Education from Purdue University, where he was a four-year member of the Boilermakers wrestling team and an NCAA All-American at 149 pounds. In the Purdue record books, he ranks third all-time in career wins (120), second in reversals (51), and is the all-time leader in back points (803).
Patacsil was the first Purdue wrestler to earn the Big Ten Medal of Honor, given to a male or female athlete at each conference institution for excellence in athletics and in the classroom. He was a third-generation member of the Patacsil family to wrestle for Purdue, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Joe, who was a 1950 national champion, his father, Frank, and uncle, Ted.
