Sioredas Named Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year; Garza Earns Co-Newcomer of the Year
3/27/2026 12:05:00 PM | Wrestling
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly wrestling took home a share of two of the three 2025-26 Pac-12 Postseason Awards as Jon Sioredas was named Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year while Ceasar Garza earned Pac-12 Co-Newcomer of the Year honors, the conference office announced Friday.
This is the second time in four years Sioredas has received Pac-12 Coach of the Year praise, becoming the first coach in Cal Poly history to earn the award in 2022-23 after leading the Mustangs to their first Pac-12 dual meet title. Sioredas is sharing Coach of the Year honors with Oregon State’s Chris Pendleton.
“I’m honored to be recognized, but this award is really a reflection of our entire program,” Sioredas said. “Our staff puts in an incredible amount of work every day, and our guys have fully bought into the culture we’re building. I’m proud of the way this team competes and represents Cal Poly.”
Garza, who transferred to Cal Poly this season after spending three years at Michigan State, secured Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year honors alongside Little Rock’s Jaivon Jones. He is the fifth Mustang in program history to win the award and the first since 2013 when Devon Lotito secured Co-Newcomer of the Year honors as well.
In the history of the awards, that are voted on by the league’s coaches, this is just the second time two coaches have shared Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors — with the other time being 1997 — and the third time in conference history the Newcomer of the Year award has been split (2007, 2013).
The award for Garza comes as no surprise after a stellar first season as a Mustang. The redshirt junior became the second Mustang in program history and the first since Ryan Halsey in 2003 to win a Pac-12 Championship at 184 pounds, punching his ticket to his first NCAA Championships.
Carrying a nine-match winning streak into NCAAs as the No. 23 seed in his weight class, Garza finished the year with an impressive 18-4 record, defeating four nationally ranked opponents along the way. The Oakdale, Calif. native won seven of his matches via bonus points this season, including five by technical fall.
Sioredas guided a program-record three Mustangs to Pac-12 titles this season and helped four wrestlers earn berths to the NCAA Championship, marking the fifth straight season Cal Poly has sent at least four qualifiers to NCAAs — just the second time in program history the Mustangs have accomplished that feat and the first time since qualifying at least five from 2003 to 2007.
In his 10th season as head coach, Sioredas led Cal Poly to a top 25 national ranking for the sixth straight season. The Mustangs established new program records for placers at a pair of prestigious tournaments with six placing at the Midlands Championships and five placing at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Cal Poly secured a program record fourth-place team finish at Midlands as well and earned its highest team finish at Cliff Keen (ninth) in 16 years.
Cal Poly placed third at this year’s Pac-12 Championships, which the team hosted for the first time since 2005 and the third time overall.
