“I've known Darrius for a long time, from when he was a freshman at NC State and I was at Maryland,†Santoro said. “I've always been impressed with how he's handled himself and how he competed. He has a good moral compass and I look forward having him join our staff.â€
Little spent the 2014-15 season as an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina where he helped mentor Ryan Mosley into a NCAA tournament qualifier.
At NC State, Little amassed a 102-58 record and sits third in school history in total victories. He capped his Wolfpack career with a 37-13 campaign in 2011-12 that featured runner-up finishes at both the Southern Scuffle and ACC Championships. Little went 4-3 at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, earning All-America honors with an eighth place finish at 141. He defeated nine nationally ranked wrestlers including four All-Americans in his senior season.
Little also finished second in the ACC as a freshman in 2008 and as a junior in 2011. A three-time NCAA qualifier, he qualified for nationals in 2009 and 2011 in addition to his All-America campaign in 2012.
“I've heard numerous great things about the coaching staff,†Little said. “I wrestled against Santoro my freshman year when he was at Maryland and saw how he took that program literally from the bottom to a top tier program.
“You want to be around people like that,†Little continued. “That was one of the biggest things for me. Lehigh has a great team, great facilities, a great campus, and excellent support from alumni but the number one thing was being able to be mentored by Pat Santoro.â€
The Thomasville, N.C. native has been active on the freestyle circuit since graduating from North Carolina State with a degree in science, technology and society with a concentration in computer science in 2012. Little finished fourth at University Nationals in 2014 and took seventh place at 61 kg in the 2015 U.S. Open last May.
Little will work primarily with Lehigh's lighter weights that include a pair of returning All-Americans in Darian Cruz and Mason Beckman, and two-time EIWA Champion Randy Cruz.
The Mountain Hawks will officially begin preseason practice next week. The 2015-16 season will begin with the annual Brown and White Wrestle-offs, October 29 inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The dual season begins at Bucknell on November 6, while the home opener against Pitt is slated for November 20.
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