Dean Hamiti Jr. Leaves No Doubt in Historic Championship Senior Season
Dean Hamiti Jr. entered the 2024-25 collegiate wrestling season with a substantial career pedigree. It was the type of resume any wrestler would dream of having. He was an All-American wrestler for Wisconsin before making the move to Oklahoma State via way of the transfer portal. Hamiti was eager to wrestle under Olympic champion and Cowboy head coach David Taylor. Little did the world of NCAA wrestling know, but Dean was ready to make some noise in the 174 pound division.
Hamiti rolled through the regular season schedule, where he left a path of destruction. He had top 20 wins during the regular season and carried a perfect undefeated record into the Big 12 Tournament. Hamiti dropped a narrow 7-4 match to No. 1 Keegan O'Toole of Missouri in the Big 12 finals and all that remained on the year was the 2025 NCAA Championships.
KNOCKED OFF THE RETURNING NATIONAL CHAMPION 🤠
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 22, 2025
(3) Dean Hamiti Jr. of @CowboyWrestling defeats (2) Levi Haines 4-2 to advance to the finals at 174. #NCAAWrestling x 🎥 ESPN2/ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/pZKHEhuWEo
He took down Avery Bassett of Lock Haven and Matthew Singleton of NC State early on in the tournament. His first true ranked test came against No. 7 Patrick Kennedy of Iowa. Hamiti escaped with an 8-6 win and all that stood between Dean and a National Championship was a pair of former National Champions.
Hamiti met up with No. 2 Levi Haines of Penn State with a ticket to the finals on the line. The score remained locked at 1-1, and an overtime period would be needed to settle the championship score. Hamiti used a take down to pull ahead in the final seconds of the match to come away with a 4-1 victory. He hung up the phone at the end of the match as he checked one National Champion off the list.
174 NCAA Final 🏆: Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) defeats Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) in OT, 4-1, to win a national title! pic.twitter.com/tLiKom6mFm
— Saturday Night Lights (@WrestlingSNL) March 23, 2025
Awaiting Hamiti in the finals was No. 1 Keegan O'Toole, who was the only man to defeat the Cowboy this season. Hamiti scored a takedown midway through the match, which was reversed by the officials to push the score back to 1-1. Hamiti shot in for the takedown late in the third period, and a skirmish ensued. He would eventually get to the back of O'Toole, and the official awarded Hamiti the three.
As the final buzzer sounded, Hamiti came away with a 4-1 championship victory. It was the Cowboys' first national championship in close to five years. He wrapped up his career with the Cowboys with one of the best individual seasons in history. Hamiti was 27-1 on the season. He is once again an All-American and even better... a national champion.
Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.