Several of the Missouri Tiger wrestlers have come in pairs to coach Brian Smith.
On the roster, there are currently three pairs of brothers, including Phyllip and Nick DeLoach, a set of twins who wrestle at 157 and 165 pounds.
“I couldn’t imagine wrestling on a team without (Phyllip),” Nick said. “There was a slim chance we could be wrestling for different schools in college. But we’ve done so much together so the idea of separating didn’t last long.”
Since he began coaching at MU in 1998, Smith has coached over 15 sets of siblings including Ben and Max Askren, who combined for three NCAA individual national titles. Only five wrestlers in history of Missouri wrestling have won individual national titles, all of them coached by Smith.
“Wrestling is a family sport,” Smith said. “You need a partner who is going to push you to not only become a better wrestler but a better person as a whole. What kind of person fits that description better than someone’s sibling? I think it’s just natural for some wrestlers, especially brothers, to stick with the person that has helped them come this far.”
Smith’s connection with wrestling and siblings goes all the way back to when he first started his coaching career at Western High School in Davis, Florida, in 1991. Smith coached his younger brother Terry at Western and would later coach him at Cornell University.
“He hated me when I coached him,” Smith said with a grin on his face. “I was tough on him, but I learned a lot from coaching him.”
Blaise Butler never could imagine wrestling with his brother, Alex, either. Blaise, who wrestles at 174 pounds, wrestled at the University of Virginia before transferring to Missouri for his final season. Alex Butler is currently a freshman and wrestles at 125 pounds for the Tigers.
“We never really talked about it, it just kind of happened the way it did,” Alex Butler said. “I love having my brother on the team. He’s a good role model and positive influence for the team.”
The family ties don’t stop there for the team. Freshman Keegan McCormick is cousins with All-Americans Chris, Tyler and Nathan McCormick, who all wrestled for the Tigers under Smith.
Willie and Tim Miklus are the last pair of siblings on the active roster. They are the only siblings in which both brothers competed in a varsity dual this season.
“I personally love it,” Willie said. “We’ve been doing the same thing since kids and it’s nice having someone I can relate to and watch all their hard work pay off.”