Former Oklahoma wrestling head coach Lou Rosselli hired as Pitt assistant

Former Oklahoma wrestling head coach Lou Rosselli was hired as an assistant at Pitt, under head coach Keith Gavin.

Rosselli resigned as the Sooners’ head coach in April of 2023. Now, he’s back in action on the Panthers’ bench for the upcoming season.

Rosselli also goes to a place that hits close to home.

“I would like to thank Keith Gavin and Heather Lyke for welcoming me to this incredible Pitt family,” Rosselli said via a release. “I’m excited to work with this talented young team and coaching staff. I am also very much looking forward to working with Keith again. My wife is actually from the Pittsburgh area, and our boys are huge Pittsburgh sports fans, so my entire family is very excited for this opportunity.”

Gavin knew Rosselli when the latter coached him on Team USA. Now, the two partner up for one of the ACC’s better programs.

“I am very excited to be adding Lou to our staff,” Gavin said of Rosselli. “Lou’s resume speaks for itself. He has coached and won at the highest levels of our sport. Lou was my personal coach during my time wrestling for Team USA and had a big impact on me, so I know firsthand what he will bring to our team. I am grateful that Lou has decided to come to Pittsburgh and join the Pitt wrestling family.”

Over the course of his head coaching career at Oklahoma, Rosselli went 56-49 in duals, producing over 40 NCAA qualifiers, four All-Americans and two-time Big 12 Champion Dom Demas. The 2021 Big 12 title highlighted a team aspect for Oklahoma under Rosselli.

Rosselli competed at Edinboro University and was a two-time All-American at 118 pounds between the years of 1989-93. He ended up making Team USA in 1996 to represent the country at the Olympics.

To begin his coaching career, Rosselli was a full-time assistant at his alma mater in 1998 and was with the program before he joined Tom Ryan’s first staff at Ohio State in 2006.

Rosselli was recognized as the 2009 NWCA Assistant Coach of the Year and promoted to Ohio State associate head coach. He mentored four-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber and two-time champ J Jaggers.

Rosselli was pivotal to Ohio State’s 2015 NCAA team title before he became the head coach at Oklahoma. Now, he’ll help the continued build of Pitt’s program.

Pitt has 40 NCAA qualifiers, 12 ACC champions, eight All-Americans, three NCAA finalists and 2023 NCAA champ Nino Bonaccorsi under Gavin.