McKendree University Athletics

McKendree men's wrestling and head coach James Kisgen has announced the official re-addition of former Bearcats men's wrestler and four-time NCAA Division II All-American Nick Foster as the men's wrestling assistant coach in May 2022.

"We're very excited to have Nick back as a part of this program. Anytime you can bring a four-time All-American on staff, it's big addition, but Nick also is a former homegrown Bearcat who knows what this program values and strives for.," Kisgen said about the return of Foster to his alma mater. 

Foster spent the last two years at Great Lakes Valley Conference-foe Indianapolis as a graduate assistant coach for the University of Indianapolis Men's Wrestling program, earning his master's degree in professional studies with an emphasis in real estate development while with the Greyhounds. He graduated from McKendree in 2020 with a degree in mathematics.

"I'm really excited to be a part of the Bearcat wrestling family again. Now it's time to get to work," Foster said.

Foster comes back to McKendree after he spent the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons as a GA with the Greyhounds, both of which featured wrestlers at the national tournament. While Fosters was part of the UIndy staff, the Greyhounds had six DII All-Americans and 10 DII National Qualifiers. UIndy went 7-2 in 2020-21 with one loss coming at the hands of McKendree while the Hounds went 10-5 this past year with two losses to the Bearcats. 

Prior to graduating from McKendree, Foster amassed a 129-30 overall records and garnered four All-American honors. The 165-lb Foster began his career with McKendree with an 8th place finish in 2017 at 174lbs while also winning GLVC Freshman of the Year. The Belleville, Illinois-native moved up to a fourth-place finish in 2018, second in 2019, and ranked No.1 in the 165-lb class in 2020 prior to the NCAA DII National Championships and the national competition's cancellation.

Foster, a product of Belleville West High School, also was a three-time NCAA Super Regional Champion, helped McKendree win three-straight GLVC crowns in 2018, 2019, and 2020; additionally, he earned NWCA Scholar All-American status and Academic All-GLVC honors.