Thomas Pompei is entering tenth season as the head coach of the Indiana Tech men's wrestling program and his 14th year overall with the program heading into the 2024-25 season.
During his tenure as head coach, Pompei has guided the Warriors to new heights as a program, rising as high as second in the NAIA Coaches' Top 20 Poll, earning top-ten finishes in the NWCA National Duals and NAIA National Championships in eight of the nine years under his direction, and producing the program's first national champion, Mitch Pawlak, along with Sawyer Miller, Erique Early, Jonathan Kervin, and two time national champions Conner Gimson and Eric Vermillion. He sports an 96-32 record in dual meets over his tenure and holds the most wins in program history, passing former coach Mike Ester with his 45th career victory on Southeastern on November 23, 2019 at the Fire Duals. He has mentored 30 WHAC All-Conference Team selections, two WHAC Wrestler of the Year winners, one WHAC Newcome of the Year winners, 97 NAIA National Qualifiers, 35 NAIA All-Americans, five CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, and eight NAIA National Champions during his time as the head coach for the Warriors.
Last season, Pompei led Tech to a 12-4 dual meet record, going 6-0 in the WHAC to win their second straight regular season WHAC Championship and fourth straight WHAC Tournament Championship, as they are still the only team to win a WHAC title, claiming all six trophies since the conference added the sport in 2021. The Warriors would finish eighth at the NWCA National Duals and tenth at the NAIA National Tournament, making it the eighth top-10 team finish under Pompei's tenure. Jonathan Kervin would become a NAIA National Champion winning the 165lb weight class and be named WHAC Newcomer of the Year, while winning a WHAC Title as well. Including Kervin, five Warriors would win WHAC Titles, while nine total would earn WHAC All-Conference team honors and eight would be named to the WHAC All-Academic team. Tech also had nine national qualifiers, three NAIA All-Americans, and six NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
In 2022-23, Pompei led the Warriors to a 17-2 record in dual meets and a third straight WHAC Championship. Pompei also earned WHAC Coach of the Year honors for the third straight season, making it the sixth year in a row he has earned a conference's top honor for a head coach and eighth straight year earning a conference or regional coach of the year award, while four student-athletes won WHAC titles, seven were named to the WHAC All-Conference Teams, and Eric Vermillion was named WHAC Wrestler of the Year. The Warriors also had 12 national qualifiers and four NAIA All-Americans. The Warriors would finish sixth at the NWCA National Duals and would make the podium as a team at the NAIA National Championships once again with a fifth-place finish, the seventh top-10 finish for the team under Pompei's tenure and the fifth time making the podium. The Warriors would also finish as the NWCA Academic National Champions, finishing with the highest varsity GPA in the country for the first time as a program!
In 2021-22, Pompei led the Warriors to a 10-2 record in dual meets and a second straight WHAC Championship. Pompei also earned WHAC Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season, making it the fifth year in a row he has earned a conference's top honor for a head coach and seventh straight year earning a conference or regional coach of the year award, while six student-athletes won WHAC titles, eight were named to the WHAC All-Conference Teams, and Nate Wheeler was named WHAC Wrestler of the Year. The Warriors also had 11 national qualifiers and three NAIA All-Americans, while Connor Gimson (133-lbs) and Eric Vermillion (184-lbs) became the first two-time national champions in program history after winning back-to-back titles. Tech also returned to the podium as a team at the national meet once again with another fourth-place finish, the sixth top-10 finish for the team under Pompei's tenure and the fourth time making the podium.
In 2020-21, the Warriors navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic to a 7-0 record in dual action while winning the inaugural Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Championship. Pompei earned WHAC Coach of the Year honors, the fourth year in a row he earned a conference's top honor for a head coach and sixth straight year earning a conference or regional coach of the year award, while six student-athletes won WHAC titles, seven were named to the WHAC All-Conference Teams, and three garnered NAIA All-American honors, while Conner Gimson and Eric Vermillion won NAIA national titles at 133 and 184-lbs. Tech also returned to the podium as a team at the national meet with a fourth-place finish, the fifth top-10 finish for the team under Pompei's tenure and the third time making the podium.
During the 2019-20 season, Tech would have three wrestlers, Conner Gimson, Matthew Gimson and Eric Vermillion, finish their seasons on the podium at the NAIA National Championships while the Warriors finished in a tie for 18th place. The Gimsons met up in the seventh-place bout at 133-lbs., with Conner defeating Matthew in a hard-fought game of rock-paper-scissors. The Orange and Black had six national qualifiers in Kyle Kantola, Scottie Sopko, Vernon Willis, Jr., Vermillion and the Gimson twins. The Warriors took second at the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships, their final tournament as members of the conference before joining the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, that snapped a two-year title streak. Pompei was named SAC Co-Coach of the Year, making it the third straight season in which he had been named the top coach in the conference. Kantola garnered SAC Freshman of the Year honors while Conner and Matthew Gimson shared champion honors at 133-lbs. The team finished the season with a 6-5 mark in dual competitions.
Tech went 9-4 in dual meets during the 2018-19 season while repeating as Sooner Athletic Conference Champions, taking fourth at the NAIA National Championships and having two wrestlers, Sawyer Miller and Erique Early, win national titles at 125 and 133-lbs., respectively, becoming the second and third Warriors in program history to collect an individual national title. Pompei was named the SAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season while Miller and Early shared Wrestler of the Year honors. Tech sent 11 student-athletes to the national meet while seven wrestlers won individual titles at the SAC meet.
In the 2017-18 season, the Warriors would finish seventh at the NAIA National Championships after sending seven representatives to the national event. Six of the seven wrestlers would garner All-American status, the most All-Americans in program history, while redshirt junior Erique Early finished as the national runner-up at the 133-lbs. The Orange and Black would also claim the inaugural Sooner Athletic Conference Championship, registering 208 team points and five conference champions. Pompei would earn Coach of the Year honors while Early was awarded Tournament Outstanding Wrestler accolades and Gaige Torres was named Freshman of the Year. The team concluded their season with a 12-6 dual record and being ranked as high as third in the NAIA polls.
In 2016-2017, he guided Tech to a sixth-place finish at the NAIA National Championships while repeating as the Midwest Regional champions and sending 12 wrestlers to the national meet. The team would have four wrestlers earn All-American honors with Mitch Pawlak becoming the first four-time All-American in program history with a runner-up finish at 133-pounds. The team also succeeded in the classroom, finishing the year ranked 10th in the NWCA All-Academic Team standings with a 3.14 GPA while four wrestlers were named to All-Academic Team.
During the 2015-16 season, Pompei led the Orange and Black to an 11-5 record in dual action while finishing third at the NAIA National Championships. Mitch Pawlak would become Tech's first national champion at 125-lbs. while three others earned All-American honors. The Warriors captured their first Midwest Regional title while sending 11 wrestlers to the national meet, earning Pompei Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors.Â
A native of Fishers, Indiana, Pompei graduated from Hamilton Southeastern High School where he was a state medalist for the Royals. After graduating he pursued wrestling at the collegiate level for Trine University, where he earned his bachelor degree in Elementary Education.
While at Trine, he was a four-time conference finalist, two-time champion and a regional finalist his sophomore year. For his efforts in the classroom, he earned Academic All-American honors in 2010.
In 2011, Pompei was the assistant coach at Prairie Heights High School (LaGrange, Indiana), where he helped coach the Panthers to a conference and sectional team championship. He also helped coach two Panther wrestlers to earn All-State honors.
Since 2007, he has helped out through the Indiana State Wrestling Association by volunteering to help coach for Team Indiana on national wrestling trips across the country. He has been a part of the coaching staff for the Indiana Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco-Roman Cadet/Junior National Teams. In 2012, he was named the Indiana State Wrestling Association’s Coach of the Year for his work with Team Indiana.
Pompei, a former fifth grade teacher with Fort Wayne Community Schools, earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Indiana Tech in 2013. He is also a USA Wrestling silver certified coach and serves on the executive board of USA Wrestling. Pompei is also now the NAIA Wrestling Coaches Association President. He currently resides in Fort Wayne with his wife, Brittany; daughter, Evelyn; and son, Ethan.
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