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Kelly KremerKelly Kremer is in his 24th season with the Minnesota swimming and diving staff in 2021-22, currently serving as the Men's and Women's Head Coach.
Most recently, Kremer coached junior Max McHugh to a pair of 2021 NCAA Championship titles and 2021 Big Ten Conference titles in both the 100 and 200 breast, while simultaneously recording the top-six fastest swims in the nation in the former of the two events (50.18). The two NCAA titles stand as Minnesota's first men's NCAA titles since 1996, and first men's swimming title since 1964. McHugh also set new Minnesota team records in both events (50.18 // 1:49.02), breaking records which he had previously set two years prior, and recorded the fastest relay-leg 50 breast split in history at the 2021 Big Ten Championships (22.40). For his efforts, McHugh was unanimously named the 2021 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, Minnesota's first swimmer to garner the award since Terry Silkaitis did so in 2003. During the 2019-20 season, Kremer helped coach Max McHugh to a 2020 Big Ten title in the 100 breast, a feat McHugh accomplished while swimming the nation's fastest time of the season in the event (50.67). Before the remainder of the season was canceled due to ongoing COVID-19 public health concerns, McHugh earned the No. 1 NCAA seed in the 100 breast and No. 3 NCAA seed in the 200 breast, where he would have been joined by eight other Gophers on the national stage. In 2018-19, Kremer coached Bowen Becker (50 free, 100 free) and Max McHugh (100 breast, 200 breast) to All-American honors in 2019, with both having finished as NCAA runners-up. Kremer also helped lead five additional swimmers on the men's side to Honorable Mention All-America honors in the 2018-19 season In 2015, Kremer led the Gopher women’s swimming and diving team to a fourth straight Big Ten title, becoming the first women’s program at the University of Minnesota to achieve four consecutive conference championships. Kremer is a five-time Big Ten Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year, receiving the honor in 2006 (with co-head coach Terry Ganley), 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. He has coached four NCAA breaststroke champions and multiple Olympians. Kremer became the first head coach of a combined University of Minnesota men's and women's swimming and diving program on April 12, 2011. He took on this role after 13 years as an assistant, associate head coach and co-head coach with the Gopher men’s and women’s teams. Kremer, along with Ganley, had taken the Gopher women's program to unprecedented success as co-head coaches from 2004-11. This followed a run of six years as an associate head coach (2002-04) and assistant coach (1998-02) under Dennis Dale with the men's program. NCAA SUCCESS Under Kremer’s tutelage, Jillian Tyler and Haley Spencer won the 2011 NCAA 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke races, respectively. Kierra Smith won the 200 breast in 2015 with what was then the No. 3 time in NCAA history. Before Tyler and Spencer’s feat, the Gophers had only one NCAA women’s swimming champion. On the men's side, Kremer has coached Max McHugh to the Gophers' most recent NCAA titles, when McHugh secured the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke events at the 2021 national championships. Prior to McHugh's feats, the Gophers had not had a men's swimming title since 1964. The Gopher women’s team posted 10 consecutive NCAA finishes of 13th place or better from 2006 to 2015, including a program-best ninth-place showing with three individual champions (Kelci Bryant won 1-meter diving) in 2011. Most recently, Minnesota's women placed 10th in 2017 with Yu Zhou winning her second NCAA 3-meter title, Kierra Smith (200) and Lindsey Horejsi (100) earning silver in the breaststroke races and Sarah Bacon placing second in 1-meter. Smith swam the NCAA's second fastest 200 breaststroke time ever recorded (2:03.55) and Horejsi broke the Minnesota record in the 100 (58.03). The men’s team turned in NCAA top-10 finishes from 2000-04, Kremer’s last five years before moving to the women’s side. Kremer, who works closely with breaststroke, middle distance and distance swimmers, has been the personal coach for numerous All-America performances during his time at Minnesota. During the five seasons of Kremer’s tenure as head coach of the joint program, the women’s team has tallied 52 individual and 18 relay All-America honors. The men have earned 25 individual and eight relay accolades in that time, including honorable mention for Conner McHugh in both breaststroke events in 2017. BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS Kremer has been on the staff of eight total Big Ten championship teams at Minnesota. Before the women’s run of four titles from 2012-15, they also won in 2008 with Kremer and Ganley as co-head coaches. Kremer was on the men’s staff for three titles, as an assistant coach in 2001 and 2002 and the associate head coach in 2004. Kremer has been the personal coach for more than 30 Big Ten individual title performances at Minnesota. Among the notable achievements at Big Tens, Max McHugh won the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events in 202, while in 2015, Kierra Smith won both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke, and Brooke Zeiger won the 400-yard individual medley. The Gophers have dominated the women's Big Ten breaststroke events in recent years, having won 14 titles since 2008. The Gopher women won four gold medals at the 2017 Big Ten Championships, including a conference record-setting 200-yard medley relay. 100-yard backstroke champion Tevyn Waddell was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Yu Zhou was named Diver of the Championships and Diver of the Year after adding two more springboard gold medals. INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION Kremer has coached seven Gophers who have made the Olympic Games. Most recently, Bowe Becker won the gold medal as part of men's 4x100m freestyle relay, winning in a time of 3:08.97, at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Becker became the seventh Gopher in history to medal at the Olympic Games, the sixth to do so for Team USA and the fourth to earn gold. In addition to Becker, James Freeman represented Botswana at the 2020 Games, while Kierra Smith qualified to represent Canada at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. Kremer also coached Canadians Jillian Tyler (2008, 2012) and Mike Brown (2004, 2008), as well as 2000 Olympians Keam Ang (Malaysia) and Yoav Meiri (Israel). Kremer served as an assistant coach for the USA men at the 2013 World University Games in Russia. One of his former charges on the women’s side, Ashley Steenvoorden, won silver and bronze medals at the event. Kremer previously served as an assistant coach to Team USA at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico, and coached Haley Spencer to the silver medal in the 200-meter breaststroke. Ashley Steenvoorden, represented Team USA based on winning the 400-meter freestyle at the 2011 USA National Championships. Kremer’s previous international coaching experience included serving as Team Mexico’s head coach at the 2002 Short Course World Championships in Moscow, and assisting on Team USA’s staff at the 2004 World Cup meet in Melbourne. GOPHERS IN THE CLASSROOM The success has not been limited to the pool under Kremer's watch. Minnesota regularly earns CSCAA Scholar All-America Team status, including both the men’s and women’s teams for both semesters of the 2015-16 season. The Gophers have posted at least a dozen Academic All-Big Ten selections in each season with the women's program. The men have had at least 11 honorees in each of Kremer’s seasons in charge of both programs. Kaylee Jamison became the first Gopher to earn GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team honors in 2011. Jenny Shaughnessy was a second team GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2009. In 2015, both Jessica Plant and Chris Johnson received the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship. Plant also collected the Wayne Duke Award and Big Ten Medal of Honor. She was a Rhodes Scholarship finalist and a nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year for her excellence as a student-athlete. BEFORE MINNESOTA A native of Mandan, N.D., Kremer began his coaching career in 1988 with the Springfield Aquatics Swim Team in Springfield, Mo. From 1992-94, Kremer was the graduate assistant coach for Drury University, also in Springfield. He served as head coach for John Brown University for one year, 1994-95, before moving to Mission Viejo, Calif., to serve as assistant National Team coach to Bill Rose and the Mission Viejo Nadadores from 1995-98. As an athlete, Kelly finished fifth in the 100 backstroke at the 1991 US Open and participated in the 1992 Olympic Trials in the same event. During his collegiate career, he was a 24-time NAIA National Champion and 29-time NAIA All-American for Drury University, and was elected to the school's Sports Hall of Fame in the summer of 1997. Coach Kremer owns both a B.A. and M.Ed. in education, both from Drury. |
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JEFF KOSTOFFJeff Kostoff will be entering his third season with Minnesota Swimming & Diving in 2021-22. He was named Associate Head Coach of the men's and women's programs in August 2019.
In his first season with the Maroon & Gold in 2019-20, Kostoff quickly gained the trust and support of his student-athletes at the U. Bringing fresh new training tactics to Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, countless Gopher swimmers sped their way to new lifetime bests under Kostoff's tutelage in 2019-20. Kostoff also brought a wealth of recruiting experience to Minnesota in his first year with the team, as the Gophers attracted one of their best recruiting classes yet in the incoming 2020 freshman class. A member of the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame, Kostoff comes to the Maroon and Gold after spending three seasons as an assistant coach for the Cardinal. During his tenure with Stanford, Kostoff coached the men’s team to a 2017 Pacific-12 Conference Championship. Also under Kostoff’s tutelage, junior Abrahm Devine swam his way to a national championship in the 400 IM in the 2017-18 season, the school’s first NCAA title in any event since 2014. Additionally, Kostoff led a strong group of swimmers to NCAA qualifying times in each of his three years on staff. Prior to Stanford, Kostoff served as an assistant coach at Indiana University from 2013-16, where he coached U.S. National Team members Zane Grothe and Lindsay Vrooman. Kostoff’s coaching resume also includes four years as an assistant at the University of Maryland. In addition to his collegiate coaching career, Kostoff previously coached throughout various USA Swimming clubs, summer leagues and high school teams from 1991-99. As a student-athlete at Stanford, Kostoff was a two-time U.S. Olympian and five-time NCAA Champion (1983-87). Kostoff also swam on two U.S. World Championship teams during his collegiate career, setting 12 American records from 1982-86 and winning three NCAA team championships from 1985-87. Kostoff graduated from Stanford in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Kostoff resides in Minneapolis, Minn. His wife, Carol, works in hospital administration for Kaiser Permanente. Kostoff has two stepsons with Carol, the eldest of which, Nick, is a sophomore baseball player at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. The younger of the two sons, Ben, is currently a junior in high school in the Washington D.C. metro area. |
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Mike JoyceMike Joyce will be entering his first season with Minnesota Swimming & Diving in 2021-22. He was named Associate Head Coach of the men’s and women’s programs in May 2021.
Joyce is joining the Maroon and Gold after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Auburn University. In his time there, Joyce helped coach the Tigers to a 12th place team finish at the women’s 2019 NCAA Championships, as well as helping 12 student-athletes to 36 total All-American honors. Among those 12 were three who claimed at least six AA honors each, as Erin Falconer and Claire Fisch nabbed six apiece and Aly Tetzloff garnered an outstanding seven at the 2019 national championships. At the conference level, Joyce and the Tigers were able to tally a pair of top-six finishes at the women’s SEC Conference Championships over his three years with the program, with three individual SEC titles coming as a result. Before his time at Auburn, Joyce spent the 2017-18 season with the Arizona State University Sun Devils, helping coach them to 20th and 23rd place finishes at the 2018 men’s and women’s NCAA Championships, respectively. Prior to his one year stint at ASU, Joyce spent time coaching in the Ivy League with the Princeton Tigers. With the Tigers, Joyce served as the lead Sprint & Middle-Distance Coach, helping them claim the 2016 Ivy League conference championship and dual-meet titles as well as assisting 2016 Ivy League Men’s Coach of the Year Rob Orr. He also helped coach four individual Ivy League conference champions, three conference relay champions, seven Scholar All-Americans and seven Olympic Trials qualifiers. Joyce has also spent time as a volunteer assistant coach at NC State, as well as having experience with the Raleigh Swimming Association, Gator Swim Club Elite and the University of Florida. Over his career, he has also coached a number of World University Games, European Championship and Olympic Trials qualifiers. An All-American and two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, Joyce graduated from the University of Florida with his B.S. in Event and Recreation Management in 2011 before obtaining his Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Administration in 2015. In his time as a student-athlete with the Gators, Joyce earned a perfect four consecutive NCAA Scholar All-America and SEC Academic First Team honors. Joyce currently resides in Eden Prairie, Minn. His wife Kirsten, who was also an All-American swimmer at Florida, is a neonatal nurse. They have three boys together, Hayes, Graham and William, the younger two of which are identical twins. |
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Stacy BusackStacy Busack will be entering her first season as an associate head coach with the Minnesota men’s and women’s swimming and diving program in 2021-22. She was named to the role of associate head coach in June 2021, but had previously spent four seasons as a volunteer assistant coach for the Gophers from 2010-13.
A native of Fergus Falls, Minn., Busack rejoined the Gophers after spending five seasons in a coaching position at Oakland University. She originally joined the Golden Grizzlies in July 2016 as an assistant coach, and was promoted to associate head coach in July 2019. In her time at Oakland, Busack was no stranger to winning, as she helped coach both the men’s and women’s swimming programs to five straight Horizon League conference titles. Among the many student-athletes she’s helped coach at the highest level, the most recent and one of the strongest was 2021 All-American Susan LaGrand, who was the lone Grizzly to compete at the 2021 national championships. LaGrand was Oakland’s first All-American since 2016 and the first woman All-American since 2004. Before joining the Grizzlies, Busack spent four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh (2013-16). During her tenure at Pitt, Busack helped coach 25 separate women to set school records. Her coaching work prior to Pitt had all come with the Gophers. Prior to her time coaching, Busack was a force in the water for the Maroon and Gold from 2005-09. In that time, she managed to accomplish a remarkable amount, including earning 13 All-American nods and four individual Big Ten titles, helping her team secure the 2008 Big Ten Conference Championship title, qualifying in two events for the 2008 Olympic Trials, setting 14 separate Minnesota school records (five of which still stand as of June 2021) and securing her spot in the 2015 class of the Minnesota Aquatic Center Hall of Fame. Busack’s prowess in the pool came entirely in the sprint freestyle category, as all 13 All-American honors came from either individual or relay-leg sprint free performances. Her five standing Gopher records (as of June 2021) all came in the same fashion. Busack’s current Minnesota team SCY record in the 100 freestyle (48.08) stood as the Big Ten Conference record from when she set it at the 2009 Big Ten Championships until it was eventually bested in 2014. In the classroom, Busack excelled during her time as a student-athlete as well, as she managed to rack up three Big-Ten All-Academic honors and an Academic All-American honor over her career. |
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Maddy OlsonMaddy Olson completed her third season as an assistant coach/coordinator of recruiting and communications for Minnesota swimming and diving in 2020-21.
While assisting with the program's communications and recruiting efforts, Olson has played a vital role in attracting some of the best talent in the nation to the Twin Cities. In 2019, Olson helped attract a top-16 nationally ranked recruiting class to the U on the women's side. Olson also assisted in bringing in one of the top recruiting classes in the history of the program to Minnesota in the form of the incoming 2020 class. Olson returned to the U in May of 2018 after spending time at the United States Olympic Committee and USA Swimming where she worked in communications and social media, covering events like the 2018 Winter Olympics and 2017 FINA World Championships. Before her time out in Colorado Springs, Olson worked for the University of Minnesota Athletic Communications department throughout her undergraduate career and as a postgraduate assistant. During that time, Olson covered Gopher swimming and diving for three seasons. At Minnesota, she assists with all practice groups on deck, leads internal team communication and helps coordinate men's and women's recruiting efforts. Olson earned a B.A. from the University of Minnesota in journalism in 2016. She is a native of Champlin, Minn. and currently resides in Minneapolis with her dog, Frankie. |
Molly Belk
Molly Belk is Minnesota Native and comes to Minnesota Swim Camps after most recently acting as Assistant Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach at Purdue University.
Belk began her coaching career at Minnesota, serving as a volunteer assistant with the Gophers during the 2011-12 school year while pursuing a master’s degree in elementary education. She earned both a bachelor’s of science and a master’s of education in elementary education. In 2012, the Minnesota women won the Big Ten title and finished 15th at the NCAA Championships.
From July 2017 to November 2018 Molly Belk was the head coach of the men’s and women’s programs at Manhattan College. She was the youngest DI Female Head Coach of a combined Men and Women's program at the time. The Jaspers broke 25 school records during the 2017-18 season.
In 2018 Coach Belk started her tenure at Purdue University. During 2018 Program records by seniors Jackie Smailis (100 and 200 back) and Taite Kitchel (100 fly) as well as the 200 and 400 medley relay teams highlighted Belk's first season with the Boilermakers. In addition, Senior Taite Kitchel closed out her distinguished career as a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier in 2019. She eclipsed the program record in the 100 butterfly and was recognized as Purdue Athletics' female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor.
In 2019 Molly Coached Paralympic swimmer and 50-meter fly world champion Evan Austin. Austin qualified for his third Paralympics in June 2021. Austin went on to win a pair of medals at the Paralympic Games, including gold in the 50 fly (S7) with an American record time of 28.98. He also took bronze in the 400 free (S7). During the 2019 fall semester, Olympian Jinq En Phee represented Malaysia and Purdue at the Southeast Asian Games and FINA Swimming World Cup in Budapest. With Belk on hand in the Philippines, Phee won gold in both the 50- and 100-meter breaststroke. It was her third consecutive gold in the 100 and she's a seven-time medalist at the biennial showcase overall. Jinq En Phee then went on to qualify for her second Olympic Team and represented Malaysia it the 2021 Tokyo Olympics During Belk's time at Purdue Kaersten Meitz was added to the USA Swimming National Team, punctuated by qualifying for the World University Games. She was a finalist in the 400 and 800 free at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
As a swimmer at Minnesota, Belk was Minnesota swimming & diving’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient as a senior and also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree She was an NCAA qualifier and 2-time team Captain.
Belk began her coaching career at Minnesota, serving as a volunteer assistant with the Gophers during the 2011-12 school year while pursuing a master’s degree in elementary education. She earned both a bachelor’s of science and a master’s of education in elementary education. In 2012, the Minnesota women won the Big Ten title and finished 15th at the NCAA Championships.
From July 2017 to November 2018 Molly Belk was the head coach of the men’s and women’s programs at Manhattan College. She was the youngest DI Female Head Coach of a combined Men and Women's program at the time. The Jaspers broke 25 school records during the 2017-18 season.
In 2018 Coach Belk started her tenure at Purdue University. During 2018 Program records by seniors Jackie Smailis (100 and 200 back) and Taite Kitchel (100 fly) as well as the 200 and 400 medley relay teams highlighted Belk's first season with the Boilermakers. In addition, Senior Taite Kitchel closed out her distinguished career as a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier in 2019. She eclipsed the program record in the 100 butterfly and was recognized as Purdue Athletics' female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor.
In 2019 Molly Coached Paralympic swimmer and 50-meter fly world champion Evan Austin. Austin qualified for his third Paralympics in June 2021. Austin went on to win a pair of medals at the Paralympic Games, including gold in the 50 fly (S7) with an American record time of 28.98. He also took bronze in the 400 free (S7). During the 2019 fall semester, Olympian Jinq En Phee represented Malaysia and Purdue at the Southeast Asian Games and FINA Swimming World Cup in Budapest. With Belk on hand in the Philippines, Phee won gold in both the 50- and 100-meter breaststroke. It was her third consecutive gold in the 100 and she's a seven-time medalist at the biennial showcase overall. Jinq En Phee then went on to qualify for her second Olympic Team and represented Malaysia it the 2021 Tokyo Olympics During Belk's time at Purdue Kaersten Meitz was added to the USA Swimming National Team, punctuated by qualifying for the World University Games. She was a finalist in the 400 and 800 free at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
As a swimmer at Minnesota, Belk was Minnesota swimming & diving’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient as a senior and also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree She was an NCAA qualifier and 2-time team Captain.