Pitt Wrestling
Pitt Wrestling Adds Former U.S. Olympian to Coaching Staff
Pitt wrestling has officially added a former U.S. Olympian to its coaching staff.
Lou Rosselli, who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics and previously served as the head coach at Oklahoma from 2016-23, has joined the Pitt staff as an assistant, head coach Keith Gavin announced Thursday.
“I am very excited to be adding Lou to our staff,” Gavin said in the Pitt release. “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.”
Welcome to Pitt, Lou Rosselli 👏
Keith Gavin adds a former USA Olympian and nationally acclaimed coach to his staff 👀
Details ✍️ https://t.co/yQPfxNcgpo#H2P » #PINZBURGH pic.twitter.com/xoZmeF7OTP
— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES) May 9, 2024
Rosselli has ties to Western Pennsylvania dating back to his collegiate days at Edinboro. He was a two-time All-American at 118 pounds and was named the PSAC and EWL Most Outstanding Wrestling at the end of his senior season in 1993.
Rosselli won national freestyle titles at the university level in 1994 and on the senior scene in 1995, 1996 and 1999. He took the gold at the 1997 World Cup and won silver at the 1998 Pan American Games.
He started his coaching career at Edinboro in 1998 and would stay on staff until he joined Ohio State as an assistant in 2006.
Rosselli earned NWCA Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2009 and was a key component of the Buckeyes’ national championship in 2015 — working with national champions Logan Stieber and J Jaggers during his time in Columbus.
Rosselli was named the 14th head coach in Oklahoma wrestling history in 2016. He guided the Sooners until 2023, going 56-49 in duals and producing more than 40 NCAA qualifiers and All-Big 12 Academic selections, four All-Americans and two-time Big 12 champion Dom Demas.
“I would like to thank Keith Gavin and Heather Lyke for welcoming me to this incredible Pitt family,” Rosselli said in the Pitt 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.”
Rosselli will work with Gavin to continue to strengthen a wrestling program that has produced 40 NCAA qualifiers, 12 ACC champions, eight All-Americans, three NCAA finalists and 2023 NCAA champion Nino Bonaccoursi during Gavin’s tenure.
The Panthers will soon be moving to the new Victory Heights complex, a state-of-the-art athletics facility currently under construction.
