MANHEIM, Pa. – Two-time national champion and current Kutztown University assistant coach Ziad Haddad was recently announced as one of seven inductees into the Jim Koch Division II Men's Wrestling Hall of Fame class of 2026 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).
 
Haddad established his legacy among KU's greats with back-to-back heavyweight national championships and undefeated seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
 
Haddad, who grew up in nearby Orefield, Pa., returned to the area and joined the Golden Bears prior to the 2012-13 season after two years at Division I North Carolina. He made an immediate impact, going 27-5 and finishing fourth at the NCAA Division II Championships for the first of three All-America honors in his career.
 
Haddad backed up his debut in maroon and gold with two of the greatest seasons in program history.
 
In 2013-14, Haddad completed an unblemished 25-0 season to win his first national title. He was the favorite in his weight class from the outset of the season and never relinquished his top ranking. Haddad won his first of two Super Region 1 titles and was named DII National Wrestler of the Year.
 
For an encore, Haddad produced a 30-0 record in 2014-15 and claimed his second consecutive national championship. He became the first Kutztown wrestler to accomplish the feat and the program's second multi-time national champion along with 2023 Jim Koch DII Hall of Fame inductee Joe Kemmerer (2007 & 2009). Haddad won his second straight Super Region 1 championship and topped a bracket comprised of Division I and II wrestlers to earn his first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship. He was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the PSAC Championships and Most Dominant Wrestler at the NCAA DII Championships.
 
Haddad concluded his Golden Bear career with an 82-5 record (40-1 in duals), 22 pins, three technical falls and 25 major decisions. He is one of three KU wrestlers to record an undefeated season and the only one to do it twice. Haddad is tied for fifth in career pins and ranks sixth in career wins at Kutztown. Including his redshirt freshman season at UNC, Haddad earned 99 collegiate victories.
 
Haddad was inducted into the Kutztown Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.
 
Joining Haddad as 2026 Jim Koch Division II Hall of Fame inductees are Franz Affentranger (CSU Bakersfield), Eric Bates (Illinois State), Terry Hall (Cal Poly), Kris Nelson (North Dakota State), Brandon Newill (Pitt-Johnstown) and Florencio Rocha (CSU Bakersfield).
 
The induction ceremony will be held August 1, 2026, as part of the 2026 NWCA Convention at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Md.