University of North Carolina Athletics
Wrestling
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- ajramos@unc.edu
- Phone:
- 919-724-5925
Tony Ramos joined the UNC coaching staff in 2016 as a volunteer assistant and was promoted to assistant coach in 2018. In November 2019, he was promoted to associate head coach. He is a 2014 graduate of the University of Iowa.
In the 2025-26 season, the Tar Heels opened the season 6-0 in dual action, the best start to a season since 2005-06 and the fifth time in program history Carolina has won their first six duals. The Tar Heels defeated No. 12 Northern Iowa on the road, their highest ranked road victory in nearly a decade. Individually, Bryce Hepner won the 165-pound title at the 2026 ACC Championships, Carolina's first ACC champion during head coach Rob Koll's tenure and the first 165-pound ACC champion for the program since 2009.Â
The Tar Heels qualified six wrestlers for the 2026 NCAA Championships in Cleveland, including four freshmen. The four freshmen qualifiers were the most in program history for Carolina.Â
During the 2024-25 campaign, Carolina clinched a share of the ACC regular season title, the 19th in program history and the first since the 2018-19 campaign. The Tar Heels qualified eight for the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, the most since 2021. At the national tournament, Lachlan McNeil earned All-America honors with a fifth-place finish at 149 pounds, becoming the sixth Tar Heel with three-or-more All-America finishes.Â
In 2024, the Tar Heels had their most dual victories since 2019-20. Individually, five Carolina wrestlers earned berths to the NCAA Championships in Kansas City, with Lachlan McNeil collecting All-America honors for the second-straight season.
In 2023, Ramos helped North Carolina secure its seventh individual National Champion, as Austin O'Connor was victorious at 157-pounds, the second individual title of his career. O'Connor's finish made him the first wrestler in program history to garner All-America honors five times, with Lachlan McNeil and Gavin Kane adding podium finishes for UNC's best team finish since 1995.Â
A native of Carol Stream, Illinois, Ramos was a three-time state champion at Glenbard North before embarking upon a decorated college stint at Iowa. Ramos was a three-time All-American for the Hawkeyes, capping his NCAA career by winning the 2014 NCAA title at 133 pounds. He was Iowa's Male Athlete of the Year, leaving Iowa City with a career record of 120-14.
On the international stage, Ramos placed fifth at the Junior World Championships in 2009 and has been a staple on USA Wrestling teams over the last several years. A two-time U.S. World Team Trials champion, Ramos officially retired from competition in May 2019.
Ramos is married to the former Megan Eskew, a volleyball team captain while at Iowa, and the couple has two sons, A.J. and Lincoln, and two daughters, Calla and Molly.
