Futrell, who works primarily with the program’s lightweights, has helped guide nine Wildcats to NCAA qualification since joining the staff, including wrestlers at 133 and 141 lbs last season. Under Futrell’s tutelage, Billy Dekraker (141 lbs) became the first true first-year for Northwestern to reach the podium at the Big Ten Championships since 2021.
In addition to his influence on the mat, Futrell has been instrumental in his role as the program’s recruiting coordinator. Led by Futrell, Northwestern secured the No. 14 recruiting class in the nation for 2026 according to InterMat. The outlet called this year’s first-year class “program-changing” in its concentration of talent, featuring three wrestlers in MatScouts’ Top-60 national rankings. The class outpaced two-thirds of the Big Ten, the nation’s premier wrestling conference, and is the highest-ranked NU class since 2021.
Futrell arrived in Evanston in July of 2023 after two years at the University of Pennsylvania, where he mentored 17 NCAA Qualifiers and secured four Top-100 recruits for the Quakers’ class of 2024. His resume also included a stop at the United States Naval Academy during the shortened 2019-20 season.
In addition to his collegiate experience, Futrell has joined Team USA's staff on the world stage on multiple occasions. Most recently, in 2025, he helped coach the U.S. to gold at the U20 Freestyle World Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria. With Futrell's assistance, the team collected a record five gold medals, and eight medals overall, en route to the team title.
A three-time All-Big Ten honoree at the University of Illinois, Futrell earned All-American finishes at 133 lbs at both the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Championships. The Park Forest, Ill. native attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, where he posted back-to-back undefeated seasons en route to winning a pair of Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state titles. Futrell graduated from Illinois in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology before earning a master’s degree in educational policy studies in 2013.
