JD Ramsey named head man at Christopher Columbus
JD Ramsey is the new head coach at Christopher Columbus High School. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Ward/Ward Wrestling)
May 26, 2026
BY BRANT PARSONS — JD Ramsey had often joked that if the head wrestling coach position at Columbus ever opened up, he’d apply. When it did actually open earlier this offseason, he realized he had to take the chance.
“I really just kind of thought of it as a pipe dream and something fun to talk about,” Ramsey said. “I sent my resume in and they liked it and they brought me in and we’ve been interviewing for the last few weeks now.”
On Tuesday, Ramsey was named the new coach at Christopher Columbus High School. He will take over the job from Jacob Grant who has been with the program over a decade and who succeeded Hall of Fame coach Jim Husk.
Track all of the coaching changes this summer here
“I think Columbus presents a very unique opportunity that's only going to come around once in a lifetime,” Ramsey said. “And this is my chance to go and build something where we're turning out scholarship athletes every single year and we have all of the support we need to build something extremely special.”
(Photo courtesy of Daniel Ward/Ward Wrestling)
Ramsey was a two-time high school state placer in West Virginia, wrestling at Cabell Midland High School. He wrestled collegiately at West Liberty University, earning All-American his senior year, and began his coaching career while at school, assisting at his high school alma mater during his redshirt season and then being a student-assistant coach for the Hilltoppers.
After college, he spent a year helping at Wheeling Jesuit University in the school’s inaugural season before moving to Florida and spending some time in the room at UCF. He coached at Mater Lakes the last eight years.
Ramsey will look to imprint those traits he picked up in the Mountain state.
“I’m going to bring that never say die attitude to Columbus,” Ramsey said. “When you step against Columbus, you’ll be stepping out there against a wrestler who is wrestling for something bigger than themselves. They’re wrestling for that letter C.”
“I want our opponents to know that they’re going to have to do everything in their power and more. We are not going to stop fighting.”
Columbus brings back a possible nine wrestlers from its postseason lineup, a group that won the school’s fourth consecutive district title and finished in the top 10 in Class 3A.
Two-time state placers Tomas Campian and Rocco Ruiz, 2025 state placer Dominic Rodriguez, and state qualifier Julian Sierra lead a hungry returning group for the Explorers.
“First and foremost getting in there with the guys as early as possible and getting the leaders bought in,” Ramsey said of his first goals. “I’ve got a good relationship with them already and have conversations with them and their parents.”
“Essentially I want to start coaching kids from a step one perspective and kind of rebuild the way that they view wrestling. There's a lot of talent on that team and I've watched them all wrestle enough to know that really they're only a few fixes away from reaching their goal, whether it be a state placer or a state champion or even some of the JV guys are getting a little bit better.”
(Photo courtesy of Daniel Ward/Ward Wrestling)
Mater Lakes legacy
The move to Columbus does end a historic coaching partner ship for Ramsey.
Ramsey, who has been the assistant coach at Mater Lakes where he and coach Brandon Neifeld built a state champion program. The team won the past two Class 1A state IBT and state duals doubles and have had 10 individual state champions.
“The core pieces of our system that we've been implementing at Mater Lakes and that Brandon and I have built together will still be my fundamentals here,” Ramsey said. “Brandon and I were just talking about how it's our system and now we're just going to be coaching it at different places.”
JD Ramsey (far right) with Brandon Neifeld (left) and two-time state champion Kellen Mesina at the 2026 state tournament. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Ward/Ward Wrestling)
District of doom
In the latest FHSAA reclassification, Columbus moved to 3A-16, creating what might be the toughest district ever in Florida high school wrestling. The district includes South Dade, who has won 13 consecutive state titles, last year’s state runner-up Miami Southridge, last year’s district champion Southwest Miami and top 7 in the state finisher Miami Palmetto.
“Duck, Mick, Pardo, and Tovar, all those guys all sent me a text pretty quick when they heard the news and I jokingly told them that the only negative to the job is that I now have to deal with you guys,” Ramsey said with a laugh. “I’m super excited for it though, to know our state tournament starts at the district level and that you have to be ready right away is exciting. I’m a big believer in the fact that you rise to your competition and we couldn’t have set a higher bar.”
Ramsey, never one to back down from a challenge, relishes the opportunity to compete with the best.
“The odds are stacked against us, but that's exciting to me,” Ramsey said. “I like being the underdog. It's been a while since I've been there. It's nice to be on the hunt again.”
