Josh Moore is entering his seventh year as the head coach and tenth overall with the Cleveland State wrestling program.

During his six seasons in charge, Moore has coached nine NCAA qualifiers, 31 MAC placers, and two MAC champions.

The 2023-24 season saw Ben Smith return to win his second MAC Championship at 197-pounds and qualify for his third NCAA Championship. Daniel Buckanvich finished as the runner-up at 285-pounds to earn his first NCAA Championship spot.

The Vikings finished tenth overall at the 2024 MAC Championships with five placers. The Green and White were 8-8 overall and 6-3 in the MAC for the year.

For the second straight year, Cleveland State finished with the second-best GPA in Division 1 with a 3.57 GPA and had six individual Scholar All-Americans. The Green and White led the MAC with 11 All-Academic honorees.

In the 2022-23 season, the Vikings placed seventh at the MAC Championships, finishing with a program-best seven placers. Cleveland State claimed seven dual victories on the year, with six of those coming against MAC schools. The Green and White went 5-2 at home.

In the classroom, Cleveland State turned in the second-best GPA of all Division 1 teams for the NWCA Scholar All-America award with a 3.54. This finish marks the best in program history. The Vikings also had three Scholar All-Americans and a MAC-best 13 All-Academic honors.

Moore coached the first-ever MAC Champion in program history, Ben Smith (197-Pounds) during the 2021-22 season. For the second straight year, the Vikings had three NCAA qualifiers: Marcus Robinson (149-Pounds), Riley Smucker (165-Pounds), and Ben Smith (197-Pounds). 

At the MAC Championships, the Vikings had six placers while finishing sixth as a team. On the year, the Green and White went 8-9 in dual matches.

Off the mat, Cleveland State came in third for the second straight year in the NWCA Top-30 Scholar All-American team standings with a program-best 3.55 GPA. In addition, nine guys were named to the MAC All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year.

In the 2020-21 shortened season, Moore coached three Vikings to the NCAA Championships: Marcus Robinson (149-Pounds), DeAndre Nassar (184-Pounds), and Ben Smith (197-Pounds). At the MAC Championships, Cleveland State finished sixth overall with six placers.

In the classroom, nine members of the team were named to the MAC All-Academic Team and were one of four teams with at least nine representatives. In addition, the Vikings came in third in the NWCA annual Top-30 Scholar All-American team standings after posting a 3.5331 team GPA at the time of nomination.

The 2019-20 season was the first in the MAC and saw the Vikings finish seventh at the Championships despite being picked last in the preseason poll. The finish was also the highest of any MAC school in the state of Ohio. At the conclusion, the Green and White had seven placers, five of whom outpaced their seeds.

Northern Ohio native, Evan Cheek finished as the runner-up at 141-pounds, qualifying him for the NCAA Championships. Cheek earned the No. 16 seed but didn’t compete as the Championships were canceled due to COVID-19. Despite the outcome, Cheek was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the NWCA.

Cleveland State won its first four duals of the year, finishing 9-6 overall and 5-5 in MAC matches. The Vikings were named an NWCA Scholar All-American Team and were in the top half of the league in team GPA.

Moore’s first season as the head coach was during the 2018-19 season, which saw the Vikings redshirt three returning starters, including preseason conference favorite, Evan Cheek, as the coaching staff looked to build for the future. Under his guidance, freshmen, Ben Smith, and Brady Barnett finished with 18 and 17 wins, respectively.

Prior to his first EWL Championships at the helm, Cleveland State agreed to join the MAC beginning in the 2019-20 season. In their final championship, the Green and White placed seventh, with Sam Matzek finishing fourth at 141-pounds.

Off the mat, the Vikings led the league with a 3.23 GPA and ranked in the top 20 nationally in the NWCA rankings. The GPA was the second-highest figure in the database.

Prior to being named the head coach on May 1, 2018, Moore served as the top assistant for three seasons. In that time, he assisted in Evan Cheek being named the 2018 Outstanding Wrestler of the WEL Championships after winning the 141-pound championship and earning a spot in the NCAA Championships.

During the 2016–17 season, Nick Corba won two matches with bonus points at the 2017 NCAA Championships, becoming the first Viking to achieve that feat in over 20 years.

A pair of Vikings, Riley Shaw, and Sam Wheeler, reached the Round of 16 at the 2016 NCAA Championships, both reaching 30 wins on the season.

Before arriving at Cleveland State, Moore spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Kent State. Moore also served as the recruiting coordinator for Kent State and garnered multiple top-20 ranked classes, recruiting heavily from Ohio and Pennsylvania, as his efforts in the role raised the Golden Flashes' stature in Division I ranks.

In his time, the Golden Flashes had nine All-Americans, the programs first National Champions, and 54 national qualifiers.  Kent State also finished in the top 25 in dual meets nationally eight times.

He also helped Kent State to a 42-18-1 mark in MAC duals, including undefeated conference marks in both the 2008-09 and 2011-12 seasons.

The teams won 19 MAC titles, four MAC Wrestler of the Year awards, and four MAC Freshman of the Year honors. Kent State had at least one All-American in each of Moore's final seven seasons. When Dustin Kilgore won the national championship in 2011, he was not only the first champion in program history, but it was also the first by any MAC grappler in over a decade.

Moore was a two-time NCAA All-American, finishing as a national runner-up in 2004 and a third-place finisher in 2003. He is the Penn State record holder for all-time matches wrestled (184), single-season pins (24), and senior wins (44) and is tied for the top spot in career pins (53). Moore, a two-time National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic First Team honoree, is third in career wins at Penn State with 146.

Moore's twin brother, Scott, is the current head wrestling coach at fellow MAC member Lock Haven University and was also an All-American at Penn State (2003) and the University of Virginia (2004).

Moore and his wife, Shianne, reside in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, with their three sons, Joshua (15), Jacob (13), and Jason (12), and their two dogs; a yellow lab (Nittany) and a black lab (Barkley).

A native of Franklin, Pa., Moore graduated from Penn State in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in crime, law & justice. Moore earned a Master of Arts degree in sports management from Kent State in 2009.