Currently in his second stint as an assistant coach at the University of Missouri, Lee Pritts has tallied a total of eight seasons with the Tiger wrestling team.
For six years (1998-2004), Pritts served alongside Tiger Head Coach Brian Smith as an assistant. During this time, Pritts aided in turning around the Tiger wrestling program, recruiting some of the best high school athletes in the nation and molding them into NCAA All-Americans.
In 2004, Pritts left Missouri and became an assistant coach at Old Dominion University. During his tenure at Old Dominion, Pritts helped the Monarchs send wrestlers to the NCAA Championships each season, totaling seven wrestlers in all. Pritts also helped Old Dominion earn back-to-back runner up honors at the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Conference Championships. In addition to the Monarchs' postseason accomplishments, Pritts also helped build two top-10 recruiting classes.
Pritts returned to Missouri at the start of the 2007-08 campaign and in two years, has helped coach five Tigers to a total of eight All-American honors.
During the summer of 2009, Pritts coached current Tiger heavyweight Dominique Bradley to a FILA Junior World Freestyle Champion title. Earlier in the year, Bradley took gold at the FILA Junior World Team Trials held in Colorado Springs, Colo., earning a spot on the United States Junior Freestyle National Team.
Pritts attended Eastern Michigan University, where he wrestled at 118 pounds. He was a two-time team captain and made three appearances in the NCAA Championships, earning All-America honors in 1996. In addition to his collegiate accomplishments, Pritts qualified for the 2000 Olympic Trials.
Pritts brings a wealth of mat and coaching experience to the Missouri wrestling room. In addition to coaching, Pritts also serves as Missouri's TigerStyle Camp coordinator.
Recognized by Smith as "one of the hardest working assistant coaches in the country," Pritts' experience with the Tigers and wrestling allows him to contribute significantly to a Missouri program that has had great success in recent years.
Pritts was coached by Smith during his high school career at Western High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Pritts is married to the former Krista Kapeller and has one son, Briggs, age four, and daughter Kelbi Gracin born April 11, 2008.
