prospectus

COACH CHARLES
THE SHAWN CHARLES FILE
• Arizona State’s first four-time wrestling All-
American (5th place in 1990, 4th place in 1991,
2nd place in 1992, 2nd place in 1993)
• Two-time Pacific-12 Conference champion at
126 pounds (1992, 1993)
• Graduated from Arizona State in 1993 with
B.S. in Computer Information Systems
• Ranks 19th on ASU’s all-time victories list (103)
• Native of Tucson, Ariz., where he won three
state titles at Santa Rita High School
• Has coached in five Division I conferences, including
the Big 12, Ivy, Western Athletic, Mid-
American and Pacific-12
• Has worked with 40 NCAA Division I All-Americans
and three individual NCAA Champions
• Helped teams place among the Top 10 nationally
in the NCAA Division I Championships seven
times in his coaching career
4
On May 8, 2009, Shawn Charles, a four-time All-American and two-time national
runner-up at Arizona State University, was named the head coach of the Sun Devil
wrestling program. An Arizona native and one of the more successful Sun Devils in
the program’s history, Charles becomes only the sixth head coach in the program’s
47-year history.
“I am excited to be back at my Alma mater and to be the guy to put it all together
and make Arizona State successful once again,” Charles said. “It is a great opportunity
to come back to Tempe and strengthen this program as a coach and I am looking
forward to goals I have set for this team in the coming years. One of my goals is to
get the community involved with our program. I really believe that wrestling is a viable
form of entertainment and I would really like to see the communities around Arizona
get involved in supporting this form of entertainment.
“I also think it is important for our student-athletes to be recognized not only for
their achievements on the mats, but in the classrooms as well,” Charles said. “I want
to win championships, but I also want to make sure our young men are succeeding
academically and setting their sites on the future by graduating from college. For
me, I know the environment, I know the community, I know the boosters, I know the
alumni and I know the task that is front of me and I know that makes me the best
person to help drive this program forward and do the things I need to do to ensure
that Arizona State wrestling stays a Division I program and wins championships.”
Charles will have a wealth of knowledge at his disposal as he works to bring the
program back to the top of the national and conference standings after being there
himself as a Sun Devil. In his years in Tempe (1990-93), Charles helped the Sun
Devils to three Pac-12 Championships (1990, 1991 and 1993) while also helping the team place among the Top 6 nationally in each of the
those three seasons, including a national runner-up finish in 1990 and a fourth-place showing in 1993. He earned All-America honors in all
four of his years on the mat at 126 pounds, placing fifth as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore before taking national runner-up honors in
his final two campaigns.
A two-time Pac-12 individual champion (1992 and 1993), Charles collected 103 victories in his collegiate career, ranking him tied for 19th on
the program’s all-time wins list. He also ranks 19th in career dual-match victories after he posted a 44-15-5 record in those matches. Charles
also was a two-time competitor in the East-West All-Star Dual and captured the Las Vegas Invitational twice while also finishing second at the
prestigious Midlands Championships once during his Sun Devil career.
In his third season has head coach of the Sun Devil Wrestling program, he lead the team to a 7-9-0 overall record. The Sun Devils had key
victories against in-state rivals Embry-Riddle and Grand Canyon along with wins against coference rival Boise State, CSU Bakersfield, and
closing out the regular season with a home dual win against Stanford. Charles and the Sun Devils then finsihed fourth at PAC-12 Championships
with 102.5 points. Charles coached four Sun Devils to the NCAA Championships, including a repeat apperance by Levi Cooper, and
redshirt freshmen Shane McGough, Kevin Radford, and Nathan Hoffer.
In 2011, Charles was awarded the Pac -12 Coach of the Year for leading his team to the NCAA and Pac -12 Championship. Anthony Robles
and Bubba Jenkins were crowned national champions of their respected weight class. Robles was named the All-American and NCAA Champion
(125) as well as Jenkins (157). Robles also won his third Pac - 12 Champion title in a row at 125 pounds. Jenkins also took the Pac-12
Champion title in his 184 weight class. Levi Cooper also finished seventh in the championship and was named an All-American as well as
placing third in the Pac-12 Championship (285). Charles guided three more wrestlers to compete in the tournament including Eric Starks, Jake
Meredith, and Luke Macchiaroli. Starks finished third in his 174 weight class at the Pac-12 Championship. Arizona State finished the Pac -12
Championship with 117 team points and 62.5 in the NCAA Championship.
In his first season as the leader of the Sun Devil program (2009-10 season), Charles guided the team to a 9-7-0 record and a 4-2-0 mark in
the Pac-12. In the championship season, his squad placed fourth in the Pac-12 Championships with 104.5 points before taking 30th place at
2012-13 SUN DEVIL WRESTLING