University of Wisconsin-Madison

As he enters his sixth season at the helm of the Wisconsin men's and women's swimming and diving programs in 2023-24, Yuri Suguiyama is looking to build on an already very successful tenure. Suguiyama has led the Badger men and women back to the upper echelon of the Big Ten and developed a host of NCAA champions and All-Americans. 3 NCAA Champions 20 Big Ten Champions 35 All-America Honors 32 School Records Broken 46-15 Dual Meet Record 4 Straight Top-20 NCAA Finishes for Badger Women The Badgers recorded one of their successful seasons in 2022-23 with the Badger women placing 15th at the NCAA Championships while the UW men tied for 23rd. Both teams also finished fourth at the Big Ten championships. Wisconsin picked up 10 All-Americans for both men and women while the men's team broke five school records. Junior Phoebe Bacon was also named the Wisconsin Female Athlete of the Year. During the 2021-22 season, Suguiyama guided freshman Paige McKenna to a NCAA title in the 1650-yard freestyle as the Badger women finished 17th at the NCAA Championship while the men's team tied for 34th. On the Big Ten level, Wisconsin earned fourth-place finishes at both the men's and women's Big Ten championships. The year prior witnessed the UW men and women both swimming to fifth-place finishes at the 2021 Big Ten Championship while the women grabbed 19th at the NCAA meet and the men checked in at 28th. In the 2019-20 that was cut short due to COVID-19, Suguiyama’s program saw plenty of success. Beata Nelson won three individual Big Ten championships in the 200 IM, 100 Back and 200 Back. The NCAA championships was not held due to COVID-19 but seven school records were broken (Women's 100 Fly, 400 Medley Relay, 800 Free Relay; Men's 200 IM, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay, Men's Platform) and the program had 12 overall CSCAA All-Americans. The men had their highest Big Ten finish in almost 20 years. Nelson was named the Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, the conference’s most prestigious award given to those who attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work, while Eric Guenes was awarded the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship. In his first season, Suguiyama oversaw a Wisconsin women's program that produced six All-Americans, a group led by CSCAA National Swimmer of the Year Beata Nelson. Nelson won three national titles at the NCAA championships — the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley — and helped the Badgers to an All-America showing in the 800 freestyle relay. At the NCAA meet, Nelson claimed the American and U.S. open records in the 100 back (49.18) for the second time on the season. Her efforts in the 100 back and 200 back (1:47.24) both stand as collegiate records. Nelson’s NCAA performance followed a sweep of the 100 back, 200 back and 200 IM at the Big Ten championships, where she was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships for the second-straight season and added the title of Big Ten Swimmer of the Year. The Badgers had a pair of NCAA qualifiers on the men's side in record-setting junior Cam Tysoe, who earned All-America honorable mention in the 200 backstroke, and sophomore MJ Mao. Having established himself as one of college swimming’s top young coaches during a decorated run as an assistant, Suguiyama came to Madison after spending six years as associate head coach of the men’s program at Cal, where he helped the Golden Bears to first- or second-place NCAA finishes in each of his seasons in Berkeley. That run included Cal's national title in 2014 and, most recently, a runner-up finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Including the 2018 team title, Suguiyama was part of three Pac-12 Conference championships at Cal and, at one point, helped the Bears put together a run of 28 consecutive dual meet wins. In addition to his work with the Bears, Suguiyama has built an impressive international coaching resume. He was named special assistant to the national team director for Team USA at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and also served as an assistant coach for the American squads at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships and 2015 World University Games. Following his Olympic assignment, Suguiyama served as men’s head coach for Team USA at the 2016 FINA Short Course World Championships. Suguiyama’s time at Cal was preceded by a six-year run as coach of Nation’s Capital Swim Club in Washington, D.C., where he mentored then 15-year-old Olympic champion Katie Ledecky, who claimed gold in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2012 Olympics in London. She went on to win four more golds at the 2016 Games in Rio. Himself a standout swimmer for Nation’s Capital Swim Club, Suguiyama went on to compete collegiately at North Carolina, where he finished as the Tar Heels’ record-holder in the 1000 and 1650-yard freestyle. He earned first-team All-America honors as a senior, in addition to being a three-year All-ACC selection. Suguiyama graduated from North Carolina in 2004 with degrees in political science and economics. He and wife, Abby, are the parents of Luke.

A former Wisconsin team captain, Kristy King returned to her alma mater for the 2018-19 season and was elevated to associate head coach in 2022. King moves into her new role after four successful seasons as an assistant coach on the Badgers’ staff, playing a particularly integral role in the success of UW’s women’s squad. “Kristy has been instrumental in growing our program and changing the culture on our pool deck,” head coach Yuri Suguiyama said. “Her specific work with our women’s team saw them achieve one of our best season’s in recent memory with many exciting things on the horizon. From being a team captain to an assistant coach and now an associate head coach, Kristy is a Badger through and through. I look forward to sharing the pool deck with her for many years to come.” "I am so grateful for Coach Yuri's leadership and guidance over the past few years and I am excited for this new opportunity to grow as a coach,” King added. “It is a privilege to learn from one of the best coaches in the world and work alongside our amazing staff every day. There is no better place to be a student-athlete than the University of Wisconsin and I look forward to many more years as a Badger.” In 2021-22, King helped coach the Badger women to a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten, the school’s highest in five seasons. King has worked with multiple All-Americans during her time at Wisconsin, including Beata Nelson, Phoebe Bacon and Paige McKenna among others. In 2019-20, King coached Beata Nelson to three individual Big Ten Championships in the 200 IM, 100 Back and 200 Back. In a season that was deprived of the NCAA Championships due to COVID-19, King helped the women’s program to a 3-2 dual meet record, three school records broken (100 Fly, 400 Medley Relay, 800 Free Relay) and 12 overall CSCAA All-Americans. Nelson was named the Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, the conference’s most prestigious award given to those who attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work. In addition to the success she garnered with the women’s program in her first two seasons, King also helped land SwimSwam’s No. 7 ranked women’s recruiting class of 2020. In her first season with the Badgers, King mentored Nelson to become a three-time Individual National Champion in the 200 IM, 100 Back and 200 Back. Nelson, the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, became a three-time Big Ten Champion in the same events. Additionally, King and the staff had one Relay All-American in the 800 Free Relay and two Relay Honorable Mention All-Americans (women’s 200 Medley Relay and 400 Free Relay). There were six school records broken in the 2018-19 season: Women's 200 IM, 100 Back, 200 Back, 800 Free Relay; Men's 100 Breast, 200 Breast. King amassed a decade worth of experience at three college programs after graduating from UW in 2008, including her most recent two-year stint at Michigan. The Wolverines women claimed Big Ten team titles in both of King’s seasons on deck and, in 2018, scored their best NCAA finish in 22 years with a fourth-place showing at the national meet. Her biggest impact with the Wolverines was in the breaststroke, with seven of the program’s 10 fastest marks in the 100-yard breast coming during King’s tenure. She helped Miranda Tucker set school records in the 100 and 200 breast on her way to All-America finishes in both events at the NCAA championships. King also served as women’s recruiting coordinator at Michigan, a role she held at her previous stops at Iowa and George Mason, as well. During her four-year tenure at Iowa, King helped Emma Sougstad set four school records and achieve a top-50 world ranking in the 50-meter breaststroke, while also guiding Roman Tussov to three NCAA championships appearances and a Big Ten runner-up finish in the men’s 100 breast. King’s two seasons at George Mason were highlighted by the success of Ashley Danner, a two-time NCAA runner-up, and Amanda Kendall, a Pan American Games champion. In addition to her coaching and recruiting duties, King also oversaw the Patriots’ dryland and weight training programs. A Green Bay native, King was a two-time state champion at Preble High School and became a second-generation Badger when she followed in the footsteps of her mother, Jean, by committing to swim at Wisconsin. King twice earned Academic All-Big Ten honors on her way to graduating from UW with a degree in economics and was named a team captain as a senior.

Former Wisconsin swimmer Jennah Haney is in her second season as an assistant coach at her alma mater in 2019-20. Before returning to Madison, Haney spent the previous two seasons on staff at Akron, serving one year as a graduate assistant before being named assistant coach in 2017-18. In addition to her on-deck role, she served as the Zips’ recruiting coordinator. A native of Milton, Wisconsin, Haney was a four-year letterwinner for the Badgers who competed in the breaststroke and individual medley. She earned Academic All-Big Ten honors three times and was named recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award as a freshman. Haney graduated from UW in 2014 with a business degree in consumer affairs and went on to earn a master’s in education/sport science at Akron in 2017. Prior to joining the staff at Akron, Haney spent a year as an assistant coach with T2 Aquatics in Naples, Florida. Her responsibilities included serving as lead coach for the program’s senior performance and senior one groups. Haney’s coaching career began in Madison, where she spent a year as a coach with Badger Aquatic Club after finishing her time as a competitive swimmer.