Jamestown – University of Jamestown Director of Athletics Austin Hieb announced Monday the hiring of Tony DeAnda as its women’s wrestling head coach.

“We’re excited to bring Tony back to the University of Jamestown,” said Hieb. “Tony’s years of experience and excitement for coming back are things that we think will serve our women’s wrestling program well going forward.”

DeAnda returns to Jamestown after spending the 2020-2025 seasons at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. He was the first women’s wrestling coach at NMU, and during his tenure, DeAnda coached 10 NCWWC national qualifiers, two NCWWC All-Americans, and 12 NWCA Scholar All-Americans. In 2022-23, DeAnda was named Regional Coach of the Year, and he coached a U23 world champion in 2024.

“I am excited and thrilled to get the opportunity to return to the University of Jamestown and want to thank Athletic Director Austin Hieb and the UJ search committee for this opportunity,” DeAnda said. “I had the pleasure of working at UJ for six years in the past and look forward to reconnecting with many familiar faces, friends, and great people that I got to work with, as well as meeting new co-workers and seeing the new additions and updates that have transpired on the UJ campus itself.”

From 2018-20, DeAnda was the women’s and men’s wrestling coach at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., While at Presbyterian, DeAnda coached five WCWA All-Americans and two NCWWC All-Americans, including two national champions. The team finished fourth at the 2020 WCWA Nationals, and two wrestlers qualified for the Olympic team trials. Academically, DeAnda had five Southern Conference Academic and ten Big South Conference Presidential Honor Roll honorees. 

DeAnda had two other head coaching stints–the University of Providence from 2017-18 and the University of Jamestown from 2011-17. At Providence, DeAnda coached a WCWA All-American to a runner-up finish and had two place winners at the 2017 UWW Under-23 Championships. At Jamestown, DeAnda had 16 WCWA All-Americans and six WCWA scholar-athletes. The team also had six Olympic team trial qualifiers during his tenure. 

Prior to becoming the head coach at Jamestown, DeAnda was an assistant coach with women’s wrestling at the United State Olympic Education Center from 2005-2011 and participated in the resident athlete program. He was ranked in the top 10 in the United States, was a Real Pro National Champion, and a three-time national place winner. DeAnda was a five-time National Champion in Mexico and competed at the World Championships in Turkey. He received NCAA All-American and NWCA Academic Honorable Mention honors during his training time at the Olympic Training Center. 

DeAnda graduated from the University of Nebraska with a B.A. in Spanish and a minor in Latin American Studies.