Daniel Ownbey enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Montevallo wrestling program.
Ownbey was named the first-ever Men’s Wrestling Head Coach in University of Montevallo history in 2022 and led the Falcons into their inaugural season in 2023-24. He joined Montevallo after serving as head coach at Wheeling University from 2020-2022, where he helped rebuild a program that had been inactive since 2018-19 and guided three wrestlers to the MEC Championships.
“I am extremely excited to be returning to the south and beginning the process of building what will be a successful program,” Ownbey said upon his hiring.
In the 2024-25 season, Ownbey guided Montevallo to seven dual wins, including six in Conference Carolinas play, surpassing the previous season. Under his leadership, the Falcons had 29 total placers in tournaments and sent two wrestlers, Colt Brown and Jake Chisolm, to the national championships for the first time in the 125 and 165 in program history. On Jan. 14, Montevallo earned its first shutout with a 50-0 win over Shorter, and the Falcons scored 47+ points in three consecutive duals against Lincoln Memorial, Shorter, and Emory & Henry. The team finished third in the Conference Carolinas West Division, just one win shy of qualifying for the Conference Tournament.
During Montevallo’s inaugural 2023-24 season, Ownbey led the Falcons to a 6-8 overall record and 4-5 in conference play. The program’s first-ever dual victory came against Allen University on Nov. 8, 2023, a 32-15 win that also marked the first conference win in program history. Under Ownbey’s coaching, Gabe Hixenbaugh became Montevallo’s first national champion in the NCAA Division II era, finishing a perfect 31-0 season and earning the Conference Carolinas’ first national title.
Before Montevallo, Ownbey served as an assistant coach at Newberry College (2019-2020) and held coaching positions at Greensboro College, UNC Pembroke, and Ferrum College. His coaching career has produced 17 regional placers and seven national qualifiers. At Newberry, he contributed to a program that sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Super Region II Tournament and four to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. He also played a key role in the development of Isaiah Royal, 2019 National Runner-Up and 2020 Super Region II Wrestler of the Year.
As a student-athlete, Ownbey was a four-time All-American and two-time national champion at UNC Pembroke, competing in the 141-pound weight class. He graduated in 2015 with a 133-18 career record (.881), earning Region II Wrestler of the Year honors and becoming a finalist for NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year.
A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Ownbey was a two-time state champion at Enka High School, winning 110 of his final 111 matches. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Sports Science from UNC Pembroke (2015) and is married to his wife, Elisabeth.
