The calendar reached July when the announcement became official. More than two months removed from his college graduation, Creighton Baughman had already moved on. He had relocated back to his hometown of Papillion, Neb., started a full-time job and was planning a wedding that was fast approaching. He had left his wrestling career behind – or so he thought.
Baughman’s jaw may have dropped just a bit when he saw the news on July 17, 2024. His former coach at Iowa Western Community College had just been introduced as new head coach of Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling. Enter Josh Watts, the 2020 NJCAA National Coach of the Year. As Baughman says, “I was definitely shocked.” It wasn’t long before Baughman’s phone rang.
And so began a whirlwind pre-fall semester stretch that saw Watts and lead assistant coach Isaiah Crosby tidy up and fortify the 2024-25 roster with impressive transfers. The task was to continue the upward trajectory of a program steered in the right direction under previous head coach Chase Clasen (a former Iowa Western All-American under Watts). The rise to the status of an NAIA top 20 team with eight national qualifiers has happened in a flash.
As Watts explains, “I think most of it’s just buy-in. First semester was a little up and down – a bit of a rollercoaster ride. The guys seemed to start really buying in second semester. Since that’s happened, we’ve had a good amount of success and have been fairly consistent. At the end of the day, the athletes determine if we’re going to be successful or not. They decide if they’re going to be coachable and work hard. The athletes decided to do the right things. They’re the reason why we’re seeing success.”
The return of Baughman for a fifth season (two at Iowa Western and three at Concordia) of collegiate wrestling represented one of the major dominos to fall. Then in came other high-impact transfers with close connections to Watts: Steven Barnes via Iowa State University (where he was a student), Hagen Heistand via NCAA Division I Campbell University and Cole Price, another Iowa Western All-American. The additions combined with the improvement of returning stalwarts (like Barret Brandt, Mason Garcia, Torrance Keehn, Hunter Weimer and Tommy Wentz) made the Bulldogs a forced to be reckoned with in the GPAC and nationally.
Despite some tough results during the first semester, Watts continued to believe that the pieces were in place for the program to elevate to a level it hadn’t reached in several years. Concordia showed it was on to something the weekend of Jan. 24-25 when it placed sixth out of 53 NAIA squads at the prestigious Missouri Valley Invite. The tournament marked a major breakthrough for Weimer at 184 and Keehn at 197. Both competitors shot into the national rankings after eye-opening upsets.
For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Bulldogs crashed the NAIA top 25 and currently sit at No. 18. “It’s awesome,” Baughman said. “We’re a very close team. So many of these kids have been through a lot and seen a lot. Everyone can pick each other’s brains and learn from one another. I think it brings out the best in each other. We have the guys from Iowa Western who can say they trust in Coach Watts and have seen the results. There was already a lot of talent in the Concordia program. A lot of kids were willing to buy in and work hard. It’s all come together. We’re clicking at the right time.”
At about this time a year ago, Baughman had come to grips with the idea that his run as a collegiate wrestler had concluded. He was “checked out” mentally after another grueling season of competition. Watts changed his mind with a phone call late in the summer. Baughman would have to miss a tournament due to his wedding, but he quickly altered his plans and moved to Lincoln. The additional year of toil and sweat proved worth it when he celebrated a 141-pound GPAC championship in Hastings on Feb. 22. As Baughman puts it, “this whole season has been a blessing.”
Baughman and the others who had wrestled at Iowa Western (six total on the roster) already knew what it was like to be coached by Watts. For Concordia veterans like the Porterville, Calif., native Weimer, the transition meant another period of adjusting to a new head coach. And forgive Weimer and his fellow returning teammates if they had some questions about the influx of late transfers. How would these guys fit in? Would they get along? Were they going to expect all the attention and hog the accolades?
Those potential fears were soon put to rest. Quite clearly, the atmosphere has allowed Weimer to thrive. He won eight matches at the Missouri Valley Invite and carries a stellar 21-5 record into his first national tournament appearance. The development of holdovers like Weimer has been integral to the team’s success. The program’s culture has also thrived because of the way teammates have embraced one another.
“I love all the guys that have come in,” Weimer said. “A lot of us guys hang out every single night. As someone who has been here, you start to wonder, what are these guys going to do when they come in here? Are they going to be like, ‘I’m the top dog.’ You don’t know how they might respond to a new place. They came in and were instantly really good parts of the program. Hagen has come in – he’s not a cocky guy. They’re down to Earth and super nice. Cole is an awesome dude. All of them have made a huge impact on the program by the way they carry themselves and the way that they wrestle.”
To be sure, Heistand certainly carries himself with supreme confidence. The native of Dow City, Iowa, took lessons from Watts as a youngster and never forgot the impact it had on his wrestling career. Heistand wrestled for two years at Campbell, located in Buies Creek, North Carolina. He says he enjoyed the experience, but his heart is in the Midwest.
The chance to work with Watts once again drew Heistand closer to home. As it turned out, Heistand had to sit out the first semester but as the second semester commenced, he burst onto the scene like a caged animal. Heistand earned GPAC runner-up status at 149 pounds and will carry a 16-3 record into the national tournament.
“At the end of the day, the Midwest is kind of my home,” Heistand said. “Being two hours from home is really cool. I was a little homesick, so I came out here and took a visit and talked with Watts a lot about it. I eventually made the change.” As far as having to wait to get back on the mat, “I put my head down and worked really hard in the room and stayed healthy. It all worked out,” Heistand said.
What Price and the other Iowa Western alums have come to understand is that the dynamics at Concordia are much different as compared to their former school. A La Vista, Neb., native and two-time JUCO All-American, Price even spent some time out in West Virginia before returning to Nebraska.
Why Concordia? Said Price, “Watts reached out to me, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to wrestle or not. When he reached out it was kind of like a wakeup call. God gave me a sign: this is what you’re meant to do.”
Price has posted a record of 21-9 and was the conference runner up at 157 pounds. He’s come to trust in what Watts preaches from an all-around student-athlete perspective. From Price’s view, it simply took some time for the kinks to be worked out and for a new training regimen to become fully ingrained within the program.
“Watts really has it down to a science,” Price said. “We’re very systematic. We’re still kind of learning the system. Now we’re starting to really get the hang of it and understanding what we’re good at ourselves. I think that helped us flourish this second semester.”
The improvement over a short stretch of time is impressive, but Watts, his staff and the program won’t rest on what has been accomplished to this point. There’s work to be done prior to the national tournament. Whatever happens in Park City, the results will serve as a springboard for 2025-26 and beyond.
As Watts becomes more firmly entrenched, program stability figures to become a strength that the program has lacked due to coaching turnover. Watts believes strongly in a system that sometimes takes some getting used to.
“We do a lot of different things,” Watts said. “Our system is a bit unique in our philosophy. The biggest thing is taking away any external pressure. It’s about wrestling to score points and being aggressive and disciplined with our positioning. I think the guys really bought into that aspect. It’s taken a mental load off them. They can wrestle a little bit freer.”
The comments from inside the room back up Watts’ sentiments. As Heistand said. “I feel like the vibes are great every day. There’s a positive energy around the room. We’re all motivated to get better and keep climbing the rankings as a team.”
For Baughman, that summer curveball and resulting course change will have a lasting impact on how he remembers his college experience. It just might also have a lasting impact on Concordia Wrestling, which has surged to national prominence during this spring semester. Watts holds Baughman up as a pillar of what it should look like inside the program.
Says Baughman, “I’m very thankful that everything’s clicking at the right time of the year and I was able to get a conference title. It’s so cool to see us qualify so many kids. I can’t wait to see everyone get to show off at nationals. I’m very thankful to have Coach Watts in my corner.”