LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brayton Lee, a former All-American wrestler at Minnesota and three-time NCAA qualifier, has been added to the Bellarmine University wrestling staff as an assistant coach, head coach Ned Shuck announced Tuesday.

Lee recently ended his college wrestling career at Indiana University but has not stopped competing. In May, he wrestled at the World Team Trials, held at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, where he defeated 2025 NCAA Champion Antrell Taylor. His addition to the coaching staff expands the program's ability for focused, individualized training and technical development.
 
"Brayton brings an elite level of competitive experience, an incredible wrestling mind, and a relentless work ethic to our program," said Shuck. "His energy, his presence, and his leadership on and off the mat will elevate everything we do at Bellarmine."
 
Lee is a highly decorated collegiate wrestler after spending five seasons at Minnesota before finishing his career with a final year at Indiana. A six-year letterwinner across both schools, Lee turned in a 73-26 overall record in his career, going 59-23 in five seasons as a Gopher and 14-3 in his one year as a Hoosier.
 
"I'm excited to join the coaching staff with coach Ned Shuck. I really respect his character, effort, vision for the program, and his passion for the sport," Lee said. "Being able to partner with a coach like Shuck is going to allow me to grow and be the best coach I can be here."

As a redshirt sophomore in 2021, Lee claimed All-American status in 2021 after placing sixth at 157 with a 4-3 run at the NCAA National Championships, losing only to the top three seeds in the field. He went 14-6 overall that season, his second as a starter for Minnesota, and placed third at the 2021 Big Ten Championships with a 3-1 record.

Lee first made his presence known on the mat in 2020 as a redshirt freshman when he went 25-6 in his first year as a starter. He earned NWCA First-Team All-American status at 149 and qualified for the 2020 NCAA National Championships as the No. 7 seed prior to its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships that season and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week once.

In his final season at Indiana, Lee turned in a 13-4 record and started the season 10-0 and finished undefeated in duals with eight wins over ranked opponents. He took fifth place at the Big Ten Championships and was an NCAA qualifier for the third time in his career, earning the No. 11 seed at 157.

"I'm also excited to be continuing to compete internationally. I believe this pursuit and experience will help push our current and future wrestlers to new levels and will be a lot of fun," Lee added. "I'm really just grateful to be able to join in on this environment Coach Shuck and the guys have created."

A Brownsburg, In. native, Lee was a three-time Indiana State Champion for Brownsburg High School and was named All-State three times and All-Conference four times. He was a three-time Fargo All-American and a 2018 Junior Fargo National Champion.

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