Brad Little is in his second season as the Barton Wrestling Coach, just the second head coach in the program’s history.

The Cougars placed three individuals at the NJCAA South Central District in Little’s initial season with Dawson Chavez qualifying for the national tournament. Knocking off the No. 7 seed in his first round of the 2021 tournament, Chavez was again pitted against a seeded competitor in the first round of the 2022 meet. Bouncing back on the consolation side, Chavez rode out a 12-5 decision over the 12th seed before having the season end to the 6th seed, earning .5 points moving Barton into 48th of the final team standings.

Off the mat Coach Little’s team compiled a 3.04 GPA in ranking 2nd in Region VI and 4th nationally, led by the Academic All-America 3rd Team award earned by Jonah Clarke.

Little comes to Barton after serving as a Graduate Assistant at Fort Hays State University from 2019-2021. Little will take over as a head coach for the first time in his young career.

“Coach Little brings to Barton a wealth of wrestling experience including a decorated career as a high school & collegiate wrestler. His competitive nature should bode very well in not only recruiting, but also as it relates to instruction in the wrestling room. As important as any other attribute, Brad has great understanding of what it means to be a student athlete,” said Barton Athletic Director Trevor Rolfs.

While at Hays, Little helped coach three NCAA DII All-Americans while spending time helping orchestrate practices as well as assist with the coaching of student-athletes at tournaments and open meets.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Little attended Derby High School where he would become a three time state placer while wrestling to a state championship his senior year at 140-pounds. Following high school, Little became a member of the FHSU squad from 2011-2016 where he served as a key component to the Tigers in the middleweight classes (149, 157, and 165). Little boasted a career mark of 100-61 for FHSU where he became a two-time national qualifier garnering All-American status his senior season at 149 pounds.

Little has been a key component for the Tigers in the middleweight classes since coming to Fort Hays State in 2011. He has wrestled in three different weight classes (149, 157, and 165) and has put together an overall record of 74-49. Little’s best year came in the 2014-15 season when he set a career high in wins with 29. Little also produced the third most team points for the Tigers that season when he recorded 85.5 points. Little also took home the Kanas Cup title at 157 pounds and placed in the top five at four in four other competitions. He qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career.

Little graduated from Fort Hays State University in the fall of 2017 while majoring in secondary education before obtaining his Master’s degree in health and human performance in 2021 from FHSU.