Yes, you read the title correctly. I’ll explain throughout the entirety of this article.

As someone who enjoys discussing wrestling with various wrestling people across the state, I’ve been known to randomly call or text coaches and others involved in the wrestling community to scratch the itch of needing to talk about something wrestling related.

It helps with keeping yourself on top of things.

If you know you know and if you don’t, then I suggest you figure it out.

One of my recent calls was to The NCMAT Co-Owner Rhett Hoy.

Over the past couple years, Rhett and I have spoken a few times.

Our last conversation, which was a couple weeks ago, was much more in depth. I learned things about Rhett that I never knew. It was impressive enough that it triggered my desire to write this article about him.

Thanks to Rhett for allowing me to do so.

I fancy myself to be an extreme part-time “writer” and have written several articles about wrestling personalities in NC over the past few years.

That generally happens when I get the itch or inspiration to write about someone.

Rhett’s story inspired me.

Why? Because as previously mentioned, Rhett is a legit NC Wrestling BADASS!

A few and far between kind of guy and after you finish reading this article, I believe you’ll agree.

Rhett’s wrestling story started in elementary school when his father, Daniel, got him into wrestling.

Following in the footsteps of his older brother, Robert, the early introduction served Rhett well.

How well? Read the list:

2014 State Champion

2013 State Runner-up

2012 State Runner-up

3x NHSCA All-American

NC Cadet and Junior National Duals Team Member

152-12 career high school win-loss record

In 2019, Rhett decided to get into the coaching ranks and became an assistant at Enka High School.

Rhett would serve Enka’s storied program for three years (2019-21).

During his tenure (2020), Enka finished as State Dual Team Runners-up and State Individual Tournament Team Champions.

Rhett left coaching after the 2020-21 season to focus on promoting and growing Carolina Takedown Talk, which was a wrestling themed podcast designed to promote NC wrestling that was created by Rhett and Ryan Mitchell.

Working alongside Co-Owner/Host, Ryan, it didn’t take long for Carolina Takedown Talk to become an integral part of NC Wrestling.

Rhett credits his father as being the inspiration for creating CTT and his desire to promote NC Wrestling.

Daniel Hoy introduced his sons to wrestling at an early age, but Daniel wasn’t just daddy; he was also a coach and an NC/USA Wrestling administrator serving as a team leader for the NC National Teams. Daniel served in that capacity for 20 years.

On his father’s inspiration, Rhett stated:

“Seeing the daily work that my dad put into forming national teams and assisting athletes to chase their dreams stuck with me way more than I thought it would during those days. When my dad passed away in 2019, I was still coaching at Enka and simply felt like there was more that I could do to help grow NC Wrestling. That’s where the idea for Carolina Takedown Talk stemmed. Ryan Mitchell and I filmed our first podcast recording a phone conversation in our cars before moving to video episodes filmed in my heatless garage in the early days of CTT.”

In 2025, Carolina Takedown Talk transitioned into The NCMAT after Rhett and Ryan took over the reins of The NCMAT.

The original version of NCMAT dates to 1995, and until 2010 NCMAT was the online go-to for the NC Wrestling Community to see rankings, results and all other online wrestling related content.

In 2017, NCMAT was resurrected as The NCMAT by your friendly neighborhood extreme part-time “writer” and after a few years the burnout became excessive, so I decided it was time to hand it off to someone else.

Rhett and Ryan stepped up to the plate, and in doing so totally rebranded their model from Carolina Takedown Talk to The NCMAT.

Regarding this, Rhett stated:

“Transitioning to The NCMAT was critical for our growth. The work and love that the owners prior to us poured into the site made it much more special to us. Growing up, NCMAT was the place to be on everything related to NC Wrestling. As a brand that was our goal, to become the home of North Carolina Wrestling, and I believe we have done that and more.”

Indeed, they have.

My decision to hand off The NCMAT was due to burnout.

Within the wrestling services I provide as a high school coach, owner of USSWA, moderator of the NC Wrestling Forum, and everything else I do wrestling related, running The NCMAT became too much to bear.

Knowing this, I asked Rhett how he and Ryan deal with the burnout factor that inevitably hits all of us at certain points of the year.

Rhett responded:

“When it comes to burnout, I’d be lying if I said that it was always sunshine and rainbows and that burnout never came around. I also think that burnout for Ryan and I shows that we put everything we possibly could into pouring into the state and trying to do our best for these kids. That week, and honestly two weeks, after the state tournament is a week of rest where we try not to touch anything wrestling related and pour back into our families. Without them we would not be able to do what we love as NCMAT. Our wives and kids are just as much a part of NCMAT as we are, honestly maybe even more. Ryan and I combat burnout by making content plans weeks out from large events, mapping episodes, social media posts along with other things to try and make the entire season and large events easier to tackle. A day without a plan is a wasted day; we believe that wholeheartedly and already have the majority of next season planned out.”

In 2018, Rhett became a law enforcement officer working with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. Currently, he is a detective who serves as a Hostage/Crisis Negotiator and is assigned to a multijurisdictional unit.

On deciding to become a law enforcement officer, I asked Rhett why he chose that career path.

“I knew early on in life that I wanted to serve my community in some way, but after multiple shoulder surgeries and other injuries the military quickly disintegrated as an option. The second-best option was a career in law enforcement following in the footsteps of my older brother.”

Obviously, the sport of wrestling is perhaps the best background training any law enforcement officer could possess. I asked Rhett how wrestling prepared him for being a law enforcement officer.

“Wrestling prepared me for law enforcement in so many ways, the first being of course the officer safety aspect. Having knowledge of subject control and being comfortable going hands-on with someone allows you to focus on trying to talk with them even more. Having the knowledge in the back of my head that I am confident and well-equipped if a physical altercation ensues always allows me to try and spend that extra minute with a combative subject to try and calm them down and de-escalate the situation.”

Rhett continued:

“A non-physical aspect of wrestling that has helped me in my career is the ability to get along with and communicate with individuals from different backgrounds and different walks of life. Growing up in Charlotte before moving to the mountains in high school introduced me to people from all different backgrounds. As I progressed in my athletic career, I met individuals from different countries, cultures and walks of life that I never would have encountered without the sport of wrestling. Of course, wrestling teaches you mental toughness and the ability to work through hard times, but wrestling can be a vessel to so much more if you allow it to be. Wrestling is life, and life, if you look at it the right way, is wrestling. Each day we have the choice to win the hand fight, win the position, and keep chipping away to win the day.”

Spoken like a legit badass.

Rhett, who still periodically helps coach with some of the smaller local programs, is married to Michelle. They have been married since 2021. They have two kids with their third due at the end of September.

So, let’s review Rhett Hoy:

State Champion (2014)

State Runner-up (twice)

National Dual Team Member (Cadet and Junior)

NHSCA Nationals HS All-American (thrice)

Law Enforcement Officer (2018)

Hostage Negotiator

State Championship Assistant Coach (2020)

Husband (2021)

Father (twice with thrice coming in September)

Carolina Takedown Talk

The NCMAT

Legit NC Wrestling BADASS!

Here are what some other wrestling personalities had to say about Rhett:

Mark Harris- Enka Head Coach

“Rhett is amazing. He’s a public servant and a kind-hearted and personable guy. Very few people can match his passion for wrestling. We’re lucky to have him here in the NC wrestling community.”

Alan Sewell- Former Longtime Laney coach and current University of Mount Olive Assistant Coach

“I met Rhett’s mom as she was my pharmacist. She said she had two boys and of course I said, “They need to be wrestling”. She and her husband Danny got them in our club. Robert Hoy, his older brother, started competing quickly and traveling with me and my son Tanner. The Hoy parents fell in love with the sport and little red headed Rhett stayed on the mats every time he was able. He followed the big kids and of course fell in love with the sport. Mr. Hoy became very active with USA Wrestling helping build the sport in many areas. Rhett obviously is following in his dad’s footsteps taking things to another level. It goes to show you that the mention of wrestling to a parent can grow into something very special. Rhett is a phenomenal young man from a fantastic family. His desire to grow North Carolina Wrestling is such a great thing. I’m Blessed to have been a very small part of it and so proud of him and his brother Robert.”

Justin Shuffler- Newton-Conover Head Coach

“Over the last several years, Rhett has been instrumental in growing North Carolina wrestling. He is constantly encouraging wrestlers to compete at higher levels and giving them the shine and respect they deserve. He also does a fantastic job covering the entire state, and presents great, unbiased updates on wrestling in all classifications. He and I talk regularly, and he has some pretty awesome ideas in the works. I am proud of him and the brand he and Ryan have built.”

Ryan Mitchell- Co-Owner/Host The NCMAT

“Rhett is a “one of one” type of human. He cares deeply about the North Carolina wrestling community and works tirelessly to give back to it in any way he can.”