Ohio University

Updated: June 12, 2025 

Ohio wrestling alumnus and two-time Division I All-American Cody Walters joined the staff as an assistant coach in 2022-23. 

In 2024-25, Walters helped Ohio to a 8-4 record overall and 6-2 finish in the Mid-American Conference. Garrett Thompson won the individual MAC Championship in the 174-pound division, which marked Ohio’s second-straight year with an individual champion. Also, Jordan Greer earned runner-up in the heavyweight division. Thompson and Greer both qualified for the NCAA Championship for the second time in their careers. Eight student-athletes were placed on the Academic All-MAC team. 

The Bobcats capped their strong 2023-24 campaign with a 25th place finish at the NCAA Championship, their best finish since Dwight Gardner won in 1998. They placed the best of any MAC school. Peyten Kellar became the Bobcats’ first All-American since Walters after he earned fifth-place in the 157-pound division. Kellar recorded the best finish by a Bobcat since Jake Percival in 2005. He was joined by Thompson and Greer at the championships that year. Kellar also won the first MAC individual title for the Bobcats since 2017, while Thompson finished in second-place and Greer third. As a team, the Bobcats finished sixth in the conference.

Walters comes to Ohio after spending the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach at Nordonia High School. There, he coached two state placers, six district placers and nine district qualifiers.

Prior to Nordonia, he served as an assistant coach at West Virginia from 2018-21. While with the Mountaineers, Walters assisted in training 16 national qualifiers and two Division I All-Americans. Most notably, he coached Noah Adams, who finished the 2019-20 season 32-0, tying for the most wins by a WVU sophomore. Adams won the Southern Scuffle, the Big 12 Championships at 197 pounds and entered the 2020 NCAA Tournament undefeated as the No. 2 seed.

Walters started his collegiate coaching career at Gardner-Webb in 2016, where he coached four national qualifiers and two Southern Conference champions. He guided Hunter Gamble to the 16th round of the NCAA Tournament at 184, marking the best finish in school history. Walters also heavily helped with recruiting efforts, contributing to the 20th ranked recruiting class in 2017.

Walters was a member of the Ohio wrestling team from 2011-16 and captained the team for three years. He amassed at least 30 victories in three of the four seasons he competed, earning the title of Ohio University Male Athlete of the Year twice. Walters was named the 2013 MAC Freshman of the Year after leading the Bobcats with 39 victories that season. He boasts a variety of champion titles, including Midlands Champion, two-time Reno Tournament of Champions Champion and three-time MAC Champion. Walters is a four-time NCAA Division I National Qualifier and earned Academic All-American accolades three times.