Indiana University Athletics
Wrestling
Riley Lefever
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- rklefeve@iu.edu
- Phone:
- (812) 855-1896
Lefever is entering his sixth season with Indiana in 2026-27.
Year five with the Hoosiers was another step forward for Lefever and company. Lefever helped the Hoosiers to a 9-5 dual season and a 4-4 mark in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers had six NCAA qualifiers for the third-straight year. At Big Tens, Indiana took 10th place with 40.0 team points while at NCAAs, the Hoosiers got 20th place with 19.5 points.
He helped three Hoosiers reach the podium at the Big Ten Championships and helped produce the team’s second-straight season with an All-American as Jacob Moran took sixth place at 125 pounds after reaching the semifinals.
Lefever helped elevate the Hoosiers up another notch in 2024-25. The team went 8-5 in duals with a 3-5 Big Ten record and had six NCAA qualifiers for the second consecutive year. At Big Tens and NCAAs the team turned in 11th and tied for 24th place finishes.
He helped DJ Washington become an All-American at 184 lbs. as he took eighth place.
Year three was a big success for Lefever and the Hoosiers in 2023-24. The team enjoyed a 7-5 dual record, a 3-5 Big Ten mark, two ranked dual victories, six NCAA qualifiers (the most for the program since 2010) and a 26th place tie at NCAAs (the best finish since 2016).
Lefever helped elevate the team’s six qualifiers, including close work with heavyweight Nick Willham to help him reach NCAAs for the first time in his career.
He assisted in Indiana Wrestling raising the bar on program expectations in his second year with the team during the 2022-23 season.
Lefever helped coach the Hoosiers to have four NCAA qualifiers and one NCAA alternate. Working closely with the heavyweights, that group included Jacob Bullock who qualified for NCAAs for the first time in his career, at 285 lbs. Nick Willham was the first alternate at 197 lbs.
Lefever also helped the team post an 8-5 dual record, the program's best since 2016-17.
In 2021-22, Donnell Washington (184) qualified for his second NCAA Championships appearance and posted eight pins. Nick Willham (197) earned All-American status, finishing sixth at 92 kg in the U23 World Team Trials. Jacob Bullock (HWT) became a routine Big Ten starter and posted two ranked victories.
Lefever works closely with the team’s heavyweights. The team’s three starters at the heaviest weight classes (184, 197, HWT) made significant strides throughout Lefever’s first season with the team in 2021-22.
Lefever, who grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, wrestled at Wabash College, where he was a four-time DIII National Champion (three times at 184 and once at 197).
Lefever posted a 158-6 record at Wabash and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He was a team captain and a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American. Lefever earned two NCAA DIII Most Domination Wrestler awards and was also a junior national team member in freestyle.
Lefever graduated from Wabash in 2017 and moved to State College, Pa., to train freestyle with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club for the last five years.
In 2018 he earned the bronze medal at the Dave Schultz International Memorial tournament at 92kg and bronze medal at the Outstanding Ukrainian Tournament. In 2019 he earned third place in the World Team Challenge Tournament.
Year five with the Hoosiers was another step forward for Lefever and company. Lefever helped the Hoosiers to a 9-5 dual season and a 4-4 mark in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers had six NCAA qualifiers for the third-straight year. At Big Tens, Indiana took 10th place with 40.0 team points while at NCAAs, the Hoosiers got 20th place with 19.5 points.
He helped three Hoosiers reach the podium at the Big Ten Championships and helped produce the team’s second-straight season with an All-American as Jacob Moran took sixth place at 125 pounds after reaching the semifinals.
Lefever helped elevate the Hoosiers up another notch in 2024-25. The team went 8-5 in duals with a 3-5 Big Ten record and had six NCAA qualifiers for the second consecutive year. At Big Tens and NCAAs the team turned in 11th and tied for 24th place finishes.
He helped DJ Washington become an All-American at 184 lbs. as he took eighth place.
Year three was a big success for Lefever and the Hoosiers in 2023-24. The team enjoyed a 7-5 dual record, a 3-5 Big Ten mark, two ranked dual victories, six NCAA qualifiers (the most for the program since 2010) and a 26th place tie at NCAAs (the best finish since 2016).
Lefever helped elevate the team’s six qualifiers, including close work with heavyweight Nick Willham to help him reach NCAAs for the first time in his career.
He assisted in Indiana Wrestling raising the bar on program expectations in his second year with the team during the 2022-23 season.
Lefever helped coach the Hoosiers to have four NCAA qualifiers and one NCAA alternate. Working closely with the heavyweights, that group included Jacob Bullock who qualified for NCAAs for the first time in his career, at 285 lbs. Nick Willham was the first alternate at 197 lbs.
Lefever also helped the team post an 8-5 dual record, the program's best since 2016-17.
In 2021-22, Donnell Washington (184) qualified for his second NCAA Championships appearance and posted eight pins. Nick Willham (197) earned All-American status, finishing sixth at 92 kg in the U23 World Team Trials. Jacob Bullock (HWT) became a routine Big Ten starter and posted two ranked victories.
Lefever works closely with the team’s heavyweights. The team’s three starters at the heaviest weight classes (184, 197, HWT) made significant strides throughout Lefever’s first season with the team in 2021-22.
Lefever, who grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, wrestled at Wabash College, where he was a four-time DIII National Champion (three times at 184 and once at 197).
Lefever posted a 158-6 record at Wabash and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He was a team captain and a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American. Lefever earned two NCAA DIII Most Domination Wrestler awards and was also a junior national team member in freestyle.
Lefever graduated from Wabash in 2017 and moved to State College, Pa., to train freestyle with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club for the last five years.
In 2018 he earned the bronze medal at the Dave Schultz International Memorial tournament at 92kg and bronze medal at the Outstanding Ukrainian Tournament. In 2019 he earned third place in the World Team Challenge Tournament.
Tuesday, July 28
Tuesday, July 28
Monday, July 27
Saturday, July 25
