Dean Hamiti

Dean Hamiti (born June 19, 2003) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 79 kilograms. The 2025 174 lb NCAA champion, Hamiti finished a 3-time all American, 2023 Big 10 champion and a 4-time NCAA Qualifier.

He competed in the Middleweight division of Real American Freestyle (RAF), where he is a former RAF Middleweight Champion.

Folkstyle career Early life Hamiti competed in high school for Joliet Catholic Academy where he finished his high school career with a 148-8 record, a 3-time HSA Wrestling State champion and the Illinois Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award winner. Hamiti was unable to compete for a fourth state title due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Wisconsin 2021-2022 As a true freshman for Wisconsin at 165 lb, Hamiti punched his ticket to the NCAA tournament with a 3rd place finish at the Big Ten tournament. With a 24-2 regular season record, Hamiti was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year. Hamiti finished his first nationals with a 6th place finish at the 2022 NCAA Tournament ending the tournament with a 4-2 record, medically forfeiting the 5th place match to Iowa's Alex Marinelli.

2022-2023 As a sophomore, Hamiti improved on his prior year performance by capturing the 165 lb Big Ten Tournament title, defeating Iowa's Patrick Kennedy 9-6 to take gold and clinch a berth to his second NCAA tournament. At the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Hamiti once again captured a spot on the podium finishing in 6th place at 165 lb and a 4-3 tournament record. Hamiti ended the season with a 25-6 record.

2023-2024 Once again at 165 lb, Hamiti qualified for his third NCAA tournament finishing second at the Big Ten Tournament, defeating Nebraska's Antrell Taylor by Fall in the semifinals. In the finals, Hamiti was defeated by Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink 13-11. At the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Hamiti failed to reach all-American status for the third consecutive year, falling in the quarterfinals to Iowa State's David Carr 5-0 and to Oklahoma State's Izzak Oleknik in the blood round, via overtime, 9-6. Hamiti finished the season with a 28-4 record.

Oklahoma State Hamiti entered the transfer portal after his junior season at Wisconsin and on March 27, 2024, committed to Oklahoma State. Hamiti moved up a weight class to 174 lb to end his college career. After an undefeated regular season, Hamiti fell 7-4 in sudden victory to Missouri's Keegan O'Toole in the Big 12 Tournament Finals. Hamiti entered the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championships as the 3-seed at 174 lb. Hamiti advanced to the semi-finals with two bonus point victories before defeating Iowa's Patrick Kennedy 8-6 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals Hamiti defeated reigning national champion, Penn State's Levi Haines, 4-2. Hamiti faced a rematch of the Big 12 Tournament finals against Missouri's Keegan O'Toole. Hamiti got his revenge defeating O'Toole 4-1 in sudden victory to win his first national championship. Hamiti finished his championship season with a 27-1 record.

Freestyle career 2025 Hamiti made his freestyle debut at the 2025 US Open at 79 kg. Hamiti advanced to the finals after winning four straight matches before falling to Evan Wick 9-1 to take silver. Hamiti competed at the 2025 World Team Trials at 79 kg. Hamiti again took silver, winning his first two matches before falling to Levi Haines in a rematch of the 2025 NCAA semifinals 10-2. Hamiti signed with Real American Freestyle and competed at RAF 01 against Kyle Dake for the inaugural RAF Cruiserweight Championship. Hamiti fell via technical fall 11-0. He later defeated Evan Wick at RAF 04 to capture the RAF Middleweight Championship.

Freestyle Record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location

Loss

Loss

Win 19-8

Loss 18-8

Win 18-7

Win 17-7

Loss 16–7

Tirana, Albania Win 16–6

Win 15–6

Loss 14-6

Zagreb, Croatia Win 14-5

Win 13-5

Win 12-5

Fishers, Indiana Loss 11-5

Durant, Oklahoma

Loss 11-4

Win 11-3

Win 10-3

Win 9-3

Win 8-3

Loss 7-3

Win 7-2

Loss 6-2

Win 6-1

Win 5-1

Loss 4-1

Win 4-0

Win 3-0

Win 2-0

Win 1-0