Aberdeen, S.D. – Northern State University head coach Josh Nolan announced today the promotion of Wyatt Turnquist to the program's full time assistant coach heading into 2026-27. Turnquist joined the Wolves staff a season ago, following a decorated career at NSU.
 
"I'm extremely excited to elevate Wyatt into this role and look forward to continuing to build together," noted Nolan. "Wyatt is an incredibly hard-working and driven coach who is always willing to do whatever he can for our athletes. I'm grateful for everything he brings to our program and excited to see what we can continue to accomplish together with Northern State wrestling."
 
"I am super excited to double down on the work put into the Northern State wrestling program," noted Turnquist. "I feel extremely blessed and grateful to continue working with a program, university, and community that has provided endless opportunities to me as both a student-athlete and a coach. I am ready to give Wolves wrestling everything I have!"
 
In his first season with the Wolves, Northern posted an 8-5 dual record and sixth place finish in the NSIC. NSU took fourth at the NCAA Super Region V Tournament, with three wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Rudy Lopez ultimately placed seventh, earning NCAA All-American accolades. Turnquist assisted with all aspects of the program including practice planning, competition preparation, recruiting, compliance, and instruction.
 
The South Dakota native opened his coaching career in 2021 as a youth wrestling coach and camp clinician. He is a USAW bronze level coach, leading teams at the Heartland National Duals and Fargo Nationals with the South Dakota USA Wrestling program. He serves as the 16U/Junior Duals team coach for SDUSA Wrestling.
 
Since March of 2021, Turnquist has hosted over 75 wrestling camps across the United States as the head technician with duties including wrestling skills, mindset techniques, and relationship building with youth athletes and coaches in the sport of wrestling.
 
In April of 2024, Turnquist kicked off the Wise Beyond the Ears Podcast, spreading wrestling knowledge across social media platforms. As the host of the show, he has interviewed multiple NCAA Champions, Olympians, and world-level wrestlers.
 
Turnquist earned a bachelor's degree in general studies and master's degree in sports performance and leadership while competing at Northern State. At NSU, he accumulated over 100 career victories, including four 20-plus win seasons. He is one of just two Wolves to be a 4-time NSIC All-Conference performer in the NCAA Division II era. Turnquist was a 2-time NCAA National Qualifier and NCAA All-American at 149-pounds. Off the mat, he earned five NWCA Scholar All-America Awards, four NSIC All-Academic team selections, two CSC Academic All-District nods, one CSC Academic All-American honor, is a member of the NSIC Myles Brand Award list, and was a 2-time nominee for the NSIC Britton Award. He capped off his Northern State career as the 2025 Clark Swisher Award recipient.