Stephen Little has established himself as a remarkable figure in the world of wrestling, demonstrating exceptional skill and dedication throughout his career. From his early dominance in high school to his collegiate achievements, Little's journey is a testament to his hard work, discipline, and unwavering commitment to excellence.
High School Success at Union County
Anyone wanting to watch Stephen Little wrestle better not blink. Union County’s senior annihilated his competition Saturday at the KHSAA state wrestling tournament on his way to his third straight individual state title. In the 190-pound final, Little needed just 22 seconds to pin Johnson Central’s Chase Price, who is the state's second-ranked wrestler.
“That doesn’t happen in the state finals,” Union County coach Robert Ervin said of Little's rapid pin. “You don’t find any more dominant wrestler than Stephen Little. I’ve been coaching for 20 years, and I haven’t seen anything like him. He is unbelievable.” More: Still on top: Union County wins its seven straight state wrestling championship Little dispatched his other opponents almost as quickly. He won all four of his matches Saturday by pin in a combined time of 4 minutes, 21 seconds as he helped Union County to its seventh straight team championship and the school’s 14th overall. “To be able to do that throughout the whole tournament is just incredible,” Ervin said.
In the first round of the state tournament one week earlier at Union County, Little had similar results - four pins in 4 minutes, 53 seconds. None of Little's opponents in the state tournament made it to the second period. In Little's eight state tournament matches, Trey Fleek of Ryle lasted the longest - two minutes, 54 seconds.
Little, who won the state title at 170 pounds as a sophomore and at 182 pounds last year, has not lost to a Kentucky opponent since the 160-pound state finals of his freshman year when he fell to three-time state champion Zane Brown of Male, who was the most outstanding wrestler of the 2019 state meet. Little finished his senior season with a 45-2 record and said he benefitted greatly from the two losses in mid-December in one of the nation’s top high school tournaments, the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Tournament in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
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“I lost to the number two and number three ranked wrestlers in the country - in overtime,” Little said. “Wrestling those guys really helped with my mat strategy. You have to think before you do something or it could turn out bad and you could get beat.” Including the four individual state titles captured on Saturday, Union County has crowned 72 state champions over the past five decades. Little is in elite company among them.
“I’ve coached really good athletes before that didn’t have that extra work ethic and I’ve coached guys that worked really hard but weren’t really good athletes. He’s got it all,” Ervin said. “He’ll do whatever it takes and work really hard. He’s got family that supports him like crazy and he’s a great person. Stephen Little is more than a man with a mustache.
The son of Greg and Marie Little was basically a man among boys while he grew up in Sturgis, Ky., and became a three-time state champion at heralded Union County High School, where he first decided to grow a mustache. The last time he shaved his entire face was after his final high school wrestling season in 2022. He played around with growing a full beard but eventually opted for just the mustache as he began his collegiate career for the relatively-new NCAA Division I program that started in 2019-20.
Collegiate Career at Little Rock
For if whiskers above one’s lips makes a man mysterious or flamboyant - an image once projected by movies and myth - that is not this 197-pound junior All-American wrestler from Little Rock. “Steve is pretty simple,” Little Rock coach Neil Erisman said. “Things don’t get too complicated for him. He is very straight forward. He is honest and has a lot of grit and toughness about everything in his life. When you think of him, you say he was raised right.”
“Me and one of my friends (teammate Gavin Ricketts, who now wrestles at Bellarmine) started doing it in high school,” recalled Little, adding he only grew it in the wrestling off-season. “I liked the movie Top Gun and the character Goose, who had a mustache and it started with that. I liked the way it looked and I’ve kept it. I’ve had it for so long that it would look weird if I got rid of it.”
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“When I first came here, I got to see how it was my true freshman year, when honestly we were getting out butts whupped and it was not fun to watch,” said Little, who redshirted in 2022-23. “But that next year, after spending the whole summer training with these guys, I wanted to change how we wrestle. As a team, we did a great job of doing that and it has shown the past two years.”
That certainly has been the case for the Little Rock program, which - under the leadership of Erisman - grew from a 58th-place finish in 2021 to cracking the Top 20 the past two years. That included last season when the Trojans won a Pac-12 championship and eventually claimed 17th place last March in Philadelphia. The Trojans featured two All-Americans in each of the last two years with Little stepping on the podium both seasons; finishing seventh as a #9 seed in 2024 and sixth last spring as a #12 seed.
All this adds up to is Little’s ultimate wrestling goal of becoming the school’s first NCAA champion this March in Cleveland. “I’ve been doing the stuff the past two years and just fell short at nationals,” said Little, a 2024 Pac-12 champ whose career record was 62-14 and ranked third nationally before Little Rock’s Dec. 4 dual with Minnesota. “This year, we’ve added a lot of recovery time and nutrition and I believe that I’m on the right path (to win a national championship).”
“That’s been the thought for over two years,” added Erisman. “We knew he was good his first year, but you don’t know until you see him compete throughout the season. I’ve seen a path for him to be a national champion every year. I believe he can and will do that.
“He has developed and improved his weaknesses. He’s identified those weaknesses and attacked them and over the course of this season, he will continue to get better.” Erisman said it has been a “joy” to coach Little. “You don’t have to correct him as he has few outside distractions,” Erisman said. “I am helping him with wrestling and not spending time just trying to get him to make good decisions on a daily basis. I’m his coach, not his psychologist or disciplinarian. It’s pure coaching with Steve.”
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Little is so focused that he is expected to receive both his undergraduate degree (psychology) and master’s degree (sports management) before his college career ends in 2027, when he hopes to attend Physical Therapy school. “He has a vision and plan for his life and is executing it,” Erisman said. “It’s a maturity thing. He’s mature enough to see beyond right now. He’s able to do multiple things at once and he does them at a high level because he has a 3.9 GPA.”
Little credits his upbringing and the sport of wrestling for his life’s accomplishments. “If I did not wrestle in high school, I don’t know where I’d be today,” said Little. “My coaches instilled in me hard work and discipline while my mom and my coaches were on me about my grades.”
As for adding balance to his current life, Little credits his teammates, especially roommates Brennen Van Hoecke, Cael Keck and Carter McCallister. “The team helps me with that and being able to talk to my roommates,” Little said. “I have a lot of academic challenges now as I’m graduating this semester. Whenever I can play some type of game with my friends, it really helps me and takes my mind off it a little bit.”
In addition to his victories, Little has provided a leadership role for the Trojans. “Steve doesn’t quit,” Erisman said. “He fights for the team. There have been many times with him that if he wins this match that is really hard, we win the dual.”
“I would not say that I am very vocal, but people can see the way that I work and see me in the (wrestling) room constantly,” Little said. “I like to think it’s helped their mindsets.” Of course, both Little and Erisman also realize what becoming a national champion might mean for the Little Rock program and himself.
“You always want to keep the end in mind, but we coach these guys to think about right now and the hundred steps it takes to reach our goals, " Erisman said. “We keep the end in sight, but we are taking it one step at a time and doing what it takes every day. That’s how we help them.” “I can’t believe that I’ve been in college that long and I turn 22 this month,” Little said.
A Wrestler's Mindset
Stephen Little vs. Zac Braunagel
Little Rock All-American Stephen Little and Greco-Roman World teamer Zac Braunagel are set to square off at 197 lbs in a top-ten battle at the NWCA All-Star Classic. When Zach Braunagel started his college career at Illinois, Stephen Little was a freshman at Union County high school in Kentucky. Since that time, Braunagel has redshirted twice and qualified for NCAAs four times, including round-of-12 finishes in 2022 and 2023.
Little used his redshirt during the 2022-23 season then earned All-American honors last year after finishing 7th at 197 lbs. #6 Stephen Little is entering his redshirt sophomore year for the Trojans after a 7th place finish at NCAAs in his first trip to the tournament. Little was 10-4 against D1 competition during his redshirt year, but started his first varsity season with a bang, defeating Maryland's Jaxon Smith in the finals of the Tiger Style Invite. That victory established Little as an AA contender, and he lived up to that expectation in Kansas City.
#9 Zac Braunagel has been a staple on the NCAA scene for years. He qualified for NCAAs for four straight years between 2020 and 2023. In his last two attempts, Braunagel finished just one victory shy of All-American honors. In 2023, he even defeated All-American Michael Beard along the way. Braunagel took an Olympic redshirt for the 2023-24 season after making the USA senior level Greco-Roman World Team at Final X in 2023. Now, Braunagel is returning to the Illini lineup with his sites set on All-American honors.
Academics and Personal Growth
A senior psychology major and standout Little Rock Trojans wrestler, Little is entering his fourth season on the mat with an impressive 60-12 record and two All-American honors. “I chose to major in psychology because I want to go to physical therapy school after I graduate,” Little said.
For Little, psychology and wrestling go hand in hand. “Studying psychology has taught me a lot about how people handle pressure and emotion,” he said. “Everyone gets butterflies or nerves because we’re all human. What matters is finding your own way to deal with them. “After long practices or lifts, it can be tough to find motivation to study or do assignments,” he said. “But I’ve learned that discipline matters more than motivation. That steady mindset has paid off.
Over four years, he’s not only earned national recognition but also become a leader for younger teammates - someone who models what it means to compete and excel with integrity. “I’ve had a big mindset change since my freshman year,” he said. “I’ve grown in my discipline, leadership, and time management. “Psychology will definitely help me in both areas,” he said. “One of the most meaningful moments for me was the first time I earned All-American honors,” he said. “It was a close match that went into overtime, and I got the takedown to win.
“Earning my degree means that all the hard work paid off and I’m one step closer to my goals,” he said.
Match Results
Below is a table summarizing some of Stephen Little's recent match results:
| Date | W/L | Opponent | Opp. Team | Event | Round | Weight | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/22 | L | J. Novak | Wyoming | 2025 NCAA Division I Championships | 5th Place Match | 197 | 8-0 |
| 03/22 | L | J. Cardenas | Michigan | 2025 NCAA Division I Championships | Cons. Semi | 197 | DEC 5-2 |
| 03/22 | W | M. Stout | Pittsburgh | 2025 NCAA Division I Championships | Cons. Round 5 | 197 | DEC 4-1 |
| 03/21 | W | T. Munoz | Oregon State | 2025 NCAA Division I Championships | Cons. Round 3 | 197 | DEC 4-2 |
| 03/20 | W | L. Hopkins | Campbell | 2025 NCAA Division I Championships | Champ. Round 1 | 197 | DEC 10-6 |
| 03/07 | L | A. Ferrari | CSU Bakersfield | PAC 12 Championships | 1st Place Match | 197 | DEC 2-0 |