University of Minnesota Athletics
Kelly Kremer - Women's Swimming & Diving
- Title:
- Director of Swimming and Diving
- Email:
- kreme010@umn.edu
- Phone:
- 612-207-5748
Kelly Kremer enters his 29th overall season on the University of Minnesota swimming and diving staff and his 15th year leading both programs as Director of Swimming and Diving heading into the 2026–27 season. Under a contract extension securing his leadership through 2028, Kremer continues to guide the Golden Gophers as one of the most consistent and respected leaders in collegiate swimming and diving.
Under Kremer's guidance, Minnesota has maintained a firm standing as a national powerhouse. The Gopher men’s program holds one of the longest streaks in NCAA Division I history, having secured top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championships for 33 consecutive seasons (1992-2024), while the women’s team holds a top-25 streak spanning nearly two decades. Kremer has coached four individual NCAA champions—including Jillian Tyler (2011; 100 breaststroke), Haley Spencer (2011; 200 breaststroke), Kierra Smith (2015; 200 breaststroke), and Max Mchugh (2021; 100 and 200 breaststroke, 2022; 100 breaststroke, 2023; 100 breaststroke)—and established Minnesota’s dominance in the Big Ten with more than 14 individual conference titles in breaststroke events since 2008.
Kremer’s influence extends prominently to the international stage, having coached seven Gopher swimmers to the Olympic Games. Most recently, he coached Bowe Becker to an Olympic Gold Medal with Team USA in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay at the Tokyo Olympics, making Becker the seventh Gopher in history to earn Olympic gold. His international coaching resume also includes serving as an assistant coach for USA Men at the 2013 World University Games and 2011 Pan American Games, as well as Head Coach for Team Mexico at the 2002 Short Course World Championships. Beyond Becker, Kremer has guided international Olympians James Freeman (Botswana), Kierra Smith (Canada), Jillian Tyler (Canada), Mike Brown (Canada), Keam Ang (Malaysia), and Yoav Meiri (Israel).
Academic excellence remains a cornerstone of Kremer’s programs. Both the men’s and women’s squads regularly earn CSCAA Scholar All-America Team honors, while routinely placing double-digit student-athletes on Academic All-Big Ten rosters each season. Among his notable academic standouts is Jessica Plant, a Rhodes Scholarship finalist who earned both the Big Ten Medal of Honor and the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship.
Before taking the helm at Minnesota, Kremer built a rich coaching foundation starting in 1988 with Springfield Aquatics. He later served as a graduate assistant at Drury University, head coach at John Brown University, and Assistant National Team Coach for the Mission Viejo Nadadores under legendary coach Bill Rose. As an athlete, Kremer was a 24-time NAIA National Champion and 29-time All-American at Drury University, placing fifth in the 100 backstroke at the 1991 U.S. Open and competing in the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials. He was inducted into the Drury Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
