Recorded live on YouTube on November 18, 2025, this Airey Bros Radio roundtable goes belly to belly with the top NAIA wrestling programs in the country for a full 2025–26 NAIA Wrestling Season Preview.<br /><br />We’re joined by four of the biggest hammers on the small-college scene:<br /><ul><li>🏆 Grand View (Preseason #1) – Head Coach Grant Henderson<br /><br /></li><li>🔥 Life University (Preseason #4) – Associate Head Coach Jake Laden<br /><br /></li><li>🔥 Southeastern University (Preseason #2) – Head Coach Travis Patrick<br /><br /></li><li>🔥 Indiana Tech (Preseason #3) – Head Coach Thomas Pompei<br /><br /></li></ul><b>Across four segments, we break down:</b><br /><ul><li>🔁 Key returners &amp; new faces to watch<br /><br /></li><li>🧱 How each staff builds culture, buy-in &amp; championship lifestyle<br /><br /></li><li>🧠 Development vs. “blue-chip” recruiting in NAIA wrestling<br /><br /></li><li>🗓️ Must-watch duals, opens &amp; National Duals storylines<br /><br /></li><li>🧭 NAIA vs. NCAA – helping recruits find the right fit, not just “D1”<br /><br /></li><li>🎓 Academics, niche majors &amp; life after wrestling<br /><br /></li><li>💪 Why NAIA depth, “two per weight,” and club/NCAA teams make this division sneaky loaded<br /><br /></li></ul>Whether you’re a high school wrestler, parent, club coach, or NAIA junkie, this episode is a blueprint on how the best small-college programs are doing it in 2025–26.⏱ Originally recorded live on YouTube: November 18, 2025 – 7:00 PM EST<br /><br /><br /><br /><b>👂 Listen to Airey Bros Radio</b><br /><ul><li>YouTube: @AireyBros<br /><br /></li><li>Spotify: Airey Bros Radio<br /><br /></li><li>Apple Podcasts: Airey Bros Radio<br /><br /></li></ul>🏃‍♂️ <a href="https://www.blacksheependurance.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fueled by Black Sheep Endurance – coaching, nutrition &amp; ultra running</a><br /><br /><br />☕ Value 4 Value: <a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/aireybros" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">If this episode helps you find a new program, new coach, or new perspective…</a><br /><a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/aireybros" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">show some love &amp; buy us a coffee</a><br /><br /><br />⏱ Time-Stamped Show Notes <br />0:00 – Howdy &amp; Aloha / Value-for-Value Intro – ABR “Howdy &amp; Aloha” cold open<br />– Value-for-value, Buy Me A Coffee, and why Airey Bros shines a light on programs they wish they knew about growing up – Tonight’s lineup: Grand View, Life, Southeastern, Indiana Tech<br /><br />3:12 – Grand View Wrestling (#1) w/ Coach Grant Henderson – Taking over the Grand View dynasty &amp; finding out he’s the head coach fresh off his honeymoon – Shifting from assistant to “CEO” of the program while still keeping championship lifestyle at the center – Deep roster philosophy: development, growth mindset &amp; wanting the best guy at your weight – Why they avoid traditional “wrestle-offs” and let the season sort the lineup – Managing pressure when your program expects national titles every year – Having two Vikings in the national finals &amp; staying impartial in the corner<br />– Key dates: Grand View Open, Baker duel, DIII Coe trip, National Duals in Cedar Falls, UNK dual in January – What makes Grand View different &amp; why they want to “put on a show,” not wrestle conservative<br /><br />23:50 – Life University (#4) w/ Coach Jake Laden – Life’s trip to the Grand View Open &amp; Jake’s allergic reaction adventure – Double-header brewery dual at Monday Night Brewing in Atlanta 🍺<br />– Life U Open: 700+ athletes &amp; NAIA chaos – Key dudes to watch: Maro Michel, Conlin “Tank” Weaver, Rocky Rabby, Alex Cotto, Reese Jones, Trey Morsette, Kenny Norfleet, Gabriel Jacobs &amp; more – Rivalries &amp; dates circled: Lander, Southeastern &amp; National Duals – Culture shift at Life: recruiting high-character guys who love wrestling – Massive, diverse roster &amp; representing states and countries across the map – Getting Jersey guys, Dragon RTC ties, and educating recruits on NAIA depth &amp; two-per-weight – Old-school recruiting: cold calls, calling parents, calling coaches, and living on the phone – Life’s NCWA club team &amp; using it to give more guys a national-tournament experience<br />– Long-term impact: developing husbands, fathers &amp; leaders, not just All-Americans<br /><br />46:34 – Southeastern University (#2) w/ Coach Travis Patrick – SEU as true Road Warriors in November: Patriot Open, VT Open, Reinhardt, Georgia Open, Emanuel, Kaiser, Life Open<br />– Returners and impact guys: Aaron Lucio (133), Andrew Voys, Drew Jones, Mario Deator, Anthony Federico, Gentry Smith, Casten Grape, Jovon Mitchell &amp; more – Dialing in the lineup &amp; where weights are still up for grabs – 700-wrestler Life Open &amp; why it’s a must-see NAIA event – Early conference duels vs Reinhardt &amp; Kaiser – 8 of 10 wins &amp; still plenty to clean up – System vs. adding tools: positional non-negotiables + building around each wrestler’s style – Six returning All-Americans: staying hungry without letting rankings become a cage – Loving the craft of wrestling, not just the grind – sparring, play wrestling &amp; Penn State influence – Being the top program in Florida &amp; recruiting against SoCon D1’s (Campbell, Gardner-Webb, etc.) – Helping recruits pick fit over logo and building men who can win on the mat and in life<br /><br />1:04:00 – Indiana Tech (#3) w/ Coach Thomas Pompei – Early tests: Patriot Open at Cumberlands, Trine, Findlay &amp; D2/D1 heavy opens – Roster breakdown: ~25 returners, ~15 newcomers, freshmen breaking into the lineup – Deep battles at 125 (two-time AA + Heisy twins) &amp; heavyweight<br />– Early-season lessons: counters, chain wrestling, fighting through every position – WHAC Super Duals: knocking out five conference duals in one shot – Balancing competition with rest: Thanksgiving break, limited December schedule, youth tournament hosting – Recruiting hard-working students for niche majors: engineering, cyber security, computer science – How demanding majors &amp; wrestling grind sharpen each other – Indiana HS wrestling: one-class system, brutal state tournament format &amp; why some killers never make it to state – Building Indiana Tech from startup to national power over 15 years – Leadership, team culture, and learning to coach “less like a maniac” as you get older<br />– What it’ll take to win a team title: staying healthy, winning blood-round matches &amp; stacking AAs<br /><br />1:26:12 – Closing Thoughts / NAIA Landscape &amp; Value 4 Value – Recap of the NAIA Top-4 landscape heading into 2025–26 – Why NAIA is one of the deepest, most slept-on divisions in college wrestling<br />– Shoutouts to Henderson, Laden, Patrick &amp; Pompei for making time in the middle of the grind<br />– Reminder this episode was originally streamed live on YouTube (Nov 18, 2025) – Value-for-value closeout: likes, subs, shares &amp; Buy Me A Coffee – “Much love from the Airey Bros” sign-off<br /><br />