Inside IMG Academy’s New Wrestling Program: National Pedigree, Elite Facilities, and a 2026 Launch Plan

IMG Academy has officially entered the wrestling world, tapping former NC State All-American Kevin Jack and national standout coach Dr. Enock Francois to build a powerhouse program from the ground up with a 2026 launch

Former North Carolina State wrestling All-American and assistant coach Kevin Jack has been hired to become IMG Academy's first wrestling head coach. / NC State Wrestling

It was announced in the fall that IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida would be expanding their sports offerings to include wrestling, its eleventh sport. The IMG Academy is known for its ability to attract the best athletes and provide elite training facilities and high-level coaching.

Why Wrestling Was the Next Big Move for IMG

The timing makes sense for this move as wrestling is growing nationally, and IMG Academy is capitalizing on that trend by building a comprehensive high school-level program from the ground up. The program isn’t just about wrestling; the strength & conditioning, sports medicine, nutrition, and even vision training indicates a very holistic student-athlete development model.

As December dawns, IMG has named Kevin Jack to be its head wrestling coach.

Elite Leadership: Dr. Enock Francois Takes Over as Wrestling Director

In September, IMG appointed Dr. Enock Francois as the Wrestling Director. Francois coached at the University of North Carolina, Stanford, and Cornell alongside the legendary Rob Koll. Francois, who is a three-time collegiate All-American, national finalist, and 2017 Greco Roman World Team member, has also spent time at West Point.

Three-Time NCAA All-American Kevin Jack Named Head Coach

Francois pegged a standout from college rival North Carolina State in Kevin Jack to man the program’s head coaching position. Jack is a three-time NCAA Division I All-American and moved into an assistant coach position at NC State where he has also served as the Recruiting Coordinator.

“I learned more about the opportunity when Enock first reached out about the position and what it had to offer,” Jack said. “The excitement he has for the program and what the future looks like is extremely exciting for me. After meeting everyone at IMG Academy, I was able to see right away how important athletics is to the school and the holistic approach taken.

“I accepted the position because of the one-of-a-kind environment that IMG Academy offers its students-athletes and the pursuit to maximize everyone's potential. From the minute I walked onto campus, I knew this was the place to be, and I truly believe once everyone else sees what is there, the sky is the limit.” 

IMG Expands Beyond Traditional “Power Sports” with Wrestling and Swimming

IMG started with the big sports and has now turned its attention to some of the lesser “mainstream” endeavors like softball, boys’ volleyball, and now wrestling, with swimming recently unveiled as the 12th sport under the IMG Umbrella.

“As one of the fastest-growing sports at the youth and collegiate level, there's a huge demand for high-quality wrestling,” remarked Jack. “With every program that IMG Academy creates, they expect a winning culture, and they believe bringing wrestling into the school will follow that goal.

“Wrestling is such a diverse sport, and IMG Academy provides an impossible-to-recreate growth environment where all student-athletes are in pursuit of maximizing their potential. With the resilience, confidence, and motivation that the sport of wrestling requires, it fits perfectly into the IMG Academy model and what it takes to win your future.”  

Jack wrestled in high school at Danbury in Connecticut. Following the end of his college career, Jack was the Graduate Assistant Coach at NC State while working on his master’s degree in Sports Management, then transitioned into the recruiting coordinator role for a year, then spent a year as the Volunteer Assistant Coach, and finally two and a half years as the Assistant Coach.

“My biggest accomplishments as a wrestler would be becoming a three-time D1 All-American, two-time ACC Champion, taking fourth place as a team at the NCAA Championships, and having the second most wins in NC State School History,” Jack added. “As a coach, I have been a part of three top 10 team finishes at the NCAA Championships, including one national champion, 12 All-Americans, three ACC Team Titles, and 16 Individual ACC Champions.”

The plan as Francois and Jack move forward with getting the team up and running includes camps after the season in 2026 with the recruits starting their boarding-school experience in August of 2026.

Inside IMG’s State-of-the-Art Wrestling Space and Training Environment

“The timeline right now is heavily recruiting-based, getting our room built and set up for the 2026 season, and running our summer camps,” elaborated Jack. “The most important part as we start up is getting student-athletes here and enrolled for the 2026 year, which we have already seen a ton of interest in and have already had student-athletes on campus.

“With that being said, our summer camps will play a huge role in this as well, as it will give athletes the idea of what IMG Academy is all about and how the program runs. They will get to see our facilities firsthand, coached by our very own coaches, and see everything that IMG Academy has to offer student-athletes to advance their careers. While all that is going on, we already have our blueprint for what our wrestling room is going to look like, and we will be constantly working on that.”

A full-court sized space at IMG will be utilized that can accommodate multiple wrestling mats for anything from practices to competitions. In addition, there are dedicated rooms for film study, strategy, and team development.

Independent Schedule Expected: National Prep Tournaments on the Horizon

While the specifics are still being ironed out, it is likely IMG will go the independent route like Florida’s National Powerhouse Lake Highland Prep and attend the National Prep Tournament in Lehigh, Pennsylvania instead of competing as part of the FHSAA. For years, Lake Highland Prep was part of the FHSAA but broke loose in wrestling while most of their other sports are still FHSAA based.

“I believe we will be independent and wrestle in Preps,” offered Jack. “But the plan will still be to compete in a lot of the local Florida tournaments as well as get to as many of the high-level tournaments that we can. I think it is very important to compete in the state as much as possible and show that Florida can be a wrestling state.”

There are a lot of challenges associated with starting a new program in any sport, but wrestling’s idiosyncrasies make it an even more daunting task. Most new programs take their lumps for a few years, but with a sport like wrestling and its individual aspect, the proper recruits can take you from zero to hero in no time at all.

“Obviously, the first goal is going to be enrollment and getting student-athletes here, and in the program, which I feel will be easy once more people see the type of access and opportunity they will have here at IMG Academy,” Jack continued. “Including the coaching staff, the individualized personal development for each student-athlete, sports science, and the growth to maximize potential.

“From there, our goal is to compete at all the high-level tournaments and not just in folkstyle, but during the freestyle season as well. We will also be going to the local Florida tournaments too. Once we hit the ground running, I want our student-athletes to be competing to win those tournaments. My goal as the head coach is to know what each student-athlete is looking for and what their goals are as well, and to help them reach that potential. There is no ceiling in what this program can become, and I am extremely excited to make IMG Academy a known wrestling program nationwide.”

Recruiting Begins: High-Level Interest Already Pouring In

If there are any transcendent talents already committed to IMG, Jack is being tight-lipped about it. With Jack’s pedigree, IMG’s reputation, and their state-of-the-art facilities, recruitment will likely turn into a selective process in no time at all as IMG Academy sounds like it could be a Wrestling Wonderland for a geographical area that currently boasts only Lake Highland Prep as a nationally known commodity.

“As of now, we are still in the beginning process with recruiting as we work rigorously to get some of the best kids enrolled and on campus” Jack revealed. “There is a lot of interest in the program currently, and we plan to have some big names in the near future.”