NCAA Div. III Kean in New Jersey adds men's and women's wrestling; DiSanto named Head Coach

UNION, N.J. (1/22/25) - The Kean University athletics department has announced the hiring of Christopher DiSanto as the head wrestling coach while officially announcing the addition of men's and women's wrestling.

DiSanto will lead both programs, which will bring Kean's NCAA offerings to 22 (23 overall with varsity eSports). The men's program will resume after remaining dormant since 1996, while the women's team will be the first of its kind at Kean. The creation of a women's program comes at the perfect time as the NCAA just announced Women's Wrestling as their 91st championship sport.

"I am excited to hire Coach DiSanto as our new Head Women's and Men's Wrestling Coach," stated Kelly Williams, Director of Athletics and Recreation. "Chris is well connected within the wrestling community and brings tremendous college coaching experience with a tireless work ethic to lead our wrestling programs to success in the classroom and in competition soon. It is really a special time for Kean Athletics as we make history by adding women's wrestling to our department and creating another opportunity for young women to follow their passion on the collegiate level. Also, reestablishing our men's wrestling program marks the continued expansion of sports offerings, reinforcing the university's commitment to diverse athletic opportunities for student-athletes."

DiSanto comes to Kean after being the Head Men's Wrestling Coach at Bergen Community College since 2013. He dealt with all aspects of the program, including scheduling, organizing home matches, announcing, recruiting and statistical record keeping.

DiSanto was a Region 19 runner up in 2024 and 2016. In 2024, he finished in the top 10 in the NJCAA Division III and had an All-American named while finishing in the top eight.

Prior to BCC, DiSanto was a volunteer assistant coach at Emerson High School in Union City for five years and a volunteer assistant coach at Saddle Brook High School.

A current Testing Assistant at BCC, DiSanto graduated from Kean with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology. He earned a Master's in Technology and Online Learning from Thomas Edison State College.

"I'm thrilled and honored to be returning to my alma mater as their new head wrestling coach," stated DiSanto. "I have years of experience at the college level and I will bring the same passion and unwavering support to this team as I have in the past. Through this experience, we will provide an incredible opportunity for student athletes to compete at the highest level. We will create a culture of tradition, sportsmanship and hard work on the mats as well as in the classroom. I look forward to building success on and off the mats."