Our coaching staff
TONY ERSLAND
TITLE Wrestling Head Coach
EMAIL tersland@purdue.edu
PHONE (765) 494-3219
During his 20 years as a Division I wrestling coach, Tony Ersland has played an integral role in developing student-athletes that are accomplished on the mat and nationally recognized. He has had nearly 100 wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships, with 28 earning All-America honors and four finishing at the top of the podium. Two of his pupils, Jordan Burroughs and Jake Herbert, earned the highest honor a collegiate grappler can receive in the Dan Hodge Award. Ersland continued to develop Burroughs on the international stage as he claimed the 2011 and 2013 World titles at 74 kg. In 2012, Burroughs claimed Olympic gold in London.
Ersland came to Purdue after serving as an assistant coach at Nebraska for eight seasons. While on staff, the Huskers tallied a 102-41-2 dual record, recorded seven top-20 team finishes at the NCAA Championships and grapplers earned 17 All-America honors.
A.J. SCHOPP
TITLE Wrestling Head Assistant Coach
EMAIL aschopp@purdue.edu
PHONE (765) 494-9137
Three-time All-American A.J. Schopp joined the Purdue wrestling staff as an assistant coach in August 2017. From his high-level experience as one of the nation's top 133-pounders throughout his career at Edinboro, to his time building a program as an assistant coach at South Dakota State, Schopp brings an exceptional skill set and high level of competitiveness to Purdue.
JAKE SUEFLOHN
TITLE Wrestling Assistant Coach
EMAIL jsuefloh@purdue.edu
PHONE (765) 494-3203
After three seasons as a volunteer assistant coach with Purdue wrestling, Jake Sueflohn was elevated to assistant coach in June 2019.
Purdue head wrestling coach Tony Ersland sought Sueflohn to join the Boilermakers’ staff in July 2016, just as he recruited the Watertown, Wisconsin, native to Nebraska coming out of high school. Wrestling for the Huskers, Sueflohn was a four-time NCAA qualifier and four-time Big Ten Championships place winner.
Leroy Vega
TITLE Wrestling Player Development Associate
EMAIL vega60@purdue.edu
PHONE (765) 494-3852
Leroy Vega joined the Boilermakers as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2019-20 season, and now moves into the newly created Player Development Associate role. A three-time NCAA All-American, Vega works primarily with the lower weight classes.
Vega's name is widely known on the Indiana high school wrestling scene, from his days on the mat and to most recently, his days in the corner. He joins the Purdue staff after eight years as the head coach at his alma mater, Portage High School, in northwest Indiana. During his span as head coach, Vega had 41 Indiana High School Athletic Association state tournament qualifiers, with 10 appearing in the finals and three Portage wrestlers claiming an individual title. In 2015, the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association named Vega its coach of the year.
Charles SMall
TITLE Wrestling Graduate Assistant
EMAIL small38@purdue.edu
PHONE
NCAA National Qualifier for Hofstra University, and NJCAA National Champion, Charles Small, joins the Boilermakers as a Graduate Assistant this year. The former Hofstra Pride student-athlete competed at 184 in 2021, prior to his time in Long Island he helped Northwest Kansas Technical Community College to a 4th place team finish.
LeRoy Gardner
TITLE Wrestling Assistant - Volunteer
EMAIL gardn160@purdue.edu
PHONE (479) 310-6725
LeRoy Gardner joined the Purdue coaching staff in 2022, and brings great experience at all levels of wrestling. He was a three-time NCAA Division III All-American, National Champion, represented Team USA at FILA Jr Greco Roman World Championships at 130kg, and ranked as high as 5th on the Greco-Roman Team USA ladder during his time as an athlete.
A member of the NWCA Hall of Fame and the Wartburg Sports Hall of Fame, Gardner has a variety of international coaching titles and accomplishments on his resume, placing in the Fila Junior World Greco-Roman Championships during his competitive career, and serving as a personal coach for U23 senior women's world team member Charlotte Fowler at the 2018 world championships and on the staff of U.S. U17 Greco-Roman team in 2022.