Update: After publishing, USA Swimming provided a letter that Greg Meehan sent to USA Swimming National Team Coaches outlining a new structure. The article below has been updated.
USA Swimming has named NC State head coach Braden Holloway as the singular head coach of the 2025 World Championship team, deviating from almost every meet in recent memory where there has been a separate men’s coach and women’s coach.
This is Holloway’s first appointment to lead a long course World Championship team, though he has several other major international appointments. That includes being named the head coach for the 2022 World Short Course Championships and the 2019 World University Games.
Prior Major Team USA Appointments:
- 2024 Olympic Assistant Coach for Team USA
- 2023 World Aquatics Championships Assistant Coach for Team USA
- 2022 World Short Course Swimming Championships Head Coach for Team USA
- 2019 World University Games Men’s Head Coach for Team USA
- 2017 World University Games Assistant Coach for Team USA
Holloway has been the head coach at NC State since summer 2011, and in that time he has been named a 10-time ACC Men’s Coach of the Year and 1-time ACC Women’s Coach of the Year. His teams have won 7 NCAA relay titles and 11 NCAA individual titles along with a combined 11 ACC team titles.
“A seasoned leader with prior experience on Olympic and World Championship staffs, Holloway offers a proven track record in athlete development and a strong commitment to Team USA’s continued international success,” USA Swimming said in a press release.
Assistant coaches are usually chosen at the conclusion of the selection meet, which this year is the US National Championships from June 3-7.
While the singular head coach is a deviation from past years, USA Swimming’s full-time National Team staff has also seen a dramatic reimagining in the last few months. Shortly after the NCAA Championships, Stanford head coach Greg Meehan was announced as the new USA Swimming National Team Director, returning the job to an elite coaching position that it has been for most of the last 35 years. His predecessor Lindsay Mintenko was an elite athlete and did have some coaching experience, but shifted the position to more of an administrative role.
Meehan also brought in Yuri Suguiyama, the former University of Wisconsin coach and the coach who first brought Katie Ledecky to international prominence, as the National Team Senior Director. Kim Williams, who was Meehan’s assistant at Stanford, was also brought on as Senior Manager and Coach.
This gives USA Swimming arguably the most robust National Team coaching staff in the modern era – which then shifts the needs of the National Team staff.
In a letter from Meehan to USA Swimming National Team coaches, he outlined a new coaching staff structure where a USA Swimming staff member would provide coaching support at various international meets.
“We’re also excited to be modeling a new potential staff structure this summer,” he said. “Greg Meehan (World Championships), Yuri Suguiyama (World University Games), Brendan Hansen (World Junior Championships), and Kim Williams (World & World Junior Championships) will serve as support coaches during international travel. In these roles, we will work alongside all coaches and directly with athletes, providing mentorship, insight, and cohesion across our teams. Our goal is to create a more unified experience across all of our international teams.”
The letter also outlined a commitment to “deliberately offer opportunities to emerging coaches to gain invaluable experience at the highest levels, while also allowing our more experienced coaches the chance to rest and recharge following an intense Olympic cycle.”
Meehan said that the total number of coaches on staff would remain unchanged.
USA Swimming won the medals table at an off-beat 2024 World Championship that was missing many of the world’s top swimmers in an unusual Olympic year scheduling. At the last complete World Championship meet in 2023, USA Swimming won 7 gold medals to 13 for Australia – the first time the U.S. didn’t lead the gold medal count since 2001.
The swimming portion of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships will be held from July 27-August 3 in Singapore.
Greg Meehan‘s Letter to National Team Coaches
Dear National Team & National Junior Team Coaches,
As we look ahead with great anticipation to an exciting summer of international competition, I’m writing to share important updates regarding our 2025 World Championships, World University Games (WUGs), and World Junior Championships coaching staff.
First, we are proud to announce Braden Holloway as the Head Coach for the 2025 World Championship Team. Braden’s leadership, experience as an Olympic/World Championship assistant coach as well as Short Course Worlds head coach, and deep commitment to athlete development and Team USA make him an outstanding choice to lead our team in Singapore.
As part of the restructured National Team Division, and in alignment with our long-term strategy toward success at LA 2028, we will name only one head coach for the World Championship staff this year. However, we want to emphasize that the total number of coaches on staff will remain unchanged. The remaining coaches, including Open Water, will be selected following the Toyota National Championships in Indianapolis. This adjustment allows us to move forward with greater cohesion and flexibility, supporting both our athletes and coaches in more strategic ways.
This new staffing approach reflects a broader vision: prioritizing the long-term development of our coaching cohort and ensuring Team USA is best positioned for peak performance at our home Olympics in 2028. To that end, we will deliberately offer opportunities to emerging coaches to gain invaluable experience at the highest levels, while also allowing our more experienced coaches the chance to rest and recharge following an intense Olympic cycle. This balance is essential to sustaining excellence across multiple Olympic quads.
We are also pleased to announce the head coaches for the 2025 World Junior Championships: Abi Liu will serve as Head Coach for the Junior Women and Peter Verhoef will serve as Head Coach for the Junior Men. Our National Junior Team Director, Brendan Hansen, made these appointments after their successful leadership of the NJT Performance Camp this past April. We are confident they will continue to build on the momentum they started there throughout the team’s time in Romania! The remaining World Junior staff will be selected following the Toyota National Championships, built around those coaches whose swimmers earn spots on the team — mirroring our approach with the World Championships staff.
The WUGs staff will be selected and announced promptly following Nationals. While we recognize that WUGs staffing will depend on selections from our two higher-priority competitions (Worlds and World Juniors), we want to underscore that the World University Games remains an important international meet for Team USA. It is a valuable opportunity for athlete development and international racing experience, and we are fully committed to assembling an excellent staff to support our team.
We’re also excited to be modeling a new potential staff structure this summer. Greg Meehan (World Championships), Yuri Suguiyama (World University Games), Brendan Hansen (World Junior Championships), and Kim Williams (World & World Junior Championships) will serve as support coaches during international travel. In these roles, we will work alongside all coaches and directly with athletes, providing mentorship, insight, and cohesion across our teams. Our goal is to create a more unified experience across all of our international teams.
We are incredibly excited for the opportunities ahead this summer, as Team USA competes across the globe. Whether in Singapore, Germany, or Romania, we are one team—Team USA—driven by a shared mission and unified by pride in representing the stars and stripes at the highest level.
Thank you for your continued dedication and leadership. We look forward to seeing many of you in Indy soon and working together to build something truly special on the road to LA 2028.
With appreciation,
Greg Meehan
I just read the other Braden article but the comments are closed on that, what’s his “notorious pull up routine”?
I think if we are choosing a National Team director based on international coaching success than that person should be the head coach at international meets.
1 As neutral as possible in relay selection
2 Not involved with an individual athlete preparation
3 ??
Ah…the Armchair National Team directors in full swing in the comment section. Always brightens up my day. 🤣
Ahh the toxic “I don’t find having conversations interesting so I just want nobody to give opinions on anything” crowd always comes through in the clutch to combat them. Thank you for your service.
I’d love it if they were conversations. Instead it’s a bunch of anonymous user names criticizing people without ever having filled the roles themselves. Opinions are like A$$holes, everyone has one
Let’s be honest, it was a huge F up last summer to have Nesty and Desorbo. Did they earn it, yes, but they were both so invested in the performance of THEIR OWN athletes, as they should be, they didn’t have time for team, team culture, team dynamics, coach dynamics, relay thoroughness, etc.
Exactly, but who’s to say that wont happen this summer with Holloway and Berkoff, Shackley, White, Noble if they all make it? I wonder if they’re gonna toy with the idea in the future of having a team head coach that doesn’t have personal interest in any of the team members. They might have done this in the past and I’m forgetting though
I only see 1, 2 at the most making it. Even with that, they aren’t the stars with the workload of Finke, Walsh (2x), Douglas, Ledecky.
You definitely forgot about Regan Smith:
50 BK, 100 BK, 200 BK, 200 FL
Is Bobby Finke adding a third individual event?
Finke is a 4:09 in the 400 IM. I don’t know if Kalisz is swimming anymore, but Finke has as good a shot as anyone for 2nd behind Foster if he swims it.
Seriously?
The final of the M 1500 FR is scheduled during the same evening session as the final of the M 400 IM at the World Aquatics Championships.
K. Berkoff will be the only representative from North Carolina State.
They did a few times in the past where Salo was the HC of sc worlds for the US and had no swimmers. And didn’t they just do this for the Jr World team? Abi Liu has likely no swimmers that will qualify.
Greg is there to make sure it won’t
You’ve said a lot here, but where are you getting the “didn’t have time for team, team culture, team dynamics, coach dynamics, relay thoroughness, etc.” from? I heard complaints about certain relay selections (usually someone getting a medal for a prelim swim), but what exactly are you referring to that says they didn’t have time for the team? I don’t believe any USA relays underperformed, so how did they fall short on relay thoroughness? I’m curious as to what I’m missing.
not sure if it was directed at the head coaches specifically but during a panel at the eastern states clinic last fall bob said one of the reasons the us failed at the paris olympics was bc the coaching staff didnt work well together (and didnt want to work w him)
interestingly carol who on that staff was part of the same panel and cosigned him saying it was different than she expected (in an unfavorable sense). there were some high profile club coaches on that panel and didnt seem like any of them objected to this characterization as well
in post paris interviews todd has said the coaching staff worked great together so i wonder where this difference in… Read more »
I did watch that panel regarding those comments, but I found them cryptic and unhelpful in assessing how the coaching staff worked with the team. I agree with your interpretation of the comments.
Paris 2024 Olympics
USA Swimming
Men – 2 G, 4 S, 3 B, 9 Total
Women – 5 G, 9 S, 4 B, 18 Total
Mixed – 1 G, 0 S, 0 B, 1 Total
At least the coaching staff got the mixed 4 x 100 meter medley relay correct this time around.
Maybe Bob Bowman should focus his attention more on the domestic swimmers than on the foreign swimmers.
The female contingent of USA Swimming performed as expected in the women’s relays at the Paris 2024 Olympics and far better than at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics when Greg Meehan was head coach of the women’s team.
USA Swimming
Women’s Relays at the Summer Olympics
2024 – 1 G, 2 S, 0 B
2021 – 0 G, 2 S, 1 B
In addition, the mixed 4 x 100 meter medley relay completely bombed at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.
If their own athletes mattered more, Douglass, not Huske, would have been swimming the free/anchor leg on the medley relay.
One thing missing a bit of focus here that is critical and why a single head coach who exhibits certain traits is a smart choice here or any year. Of course, alongside another exceptional coach in Meehan in the decision tree around not just relay selection but all of the factors that go into team culture and morale. There were obvious issues last summer in all of the above and Braden is a known entity around supporting the athlete, culture, motivation and Team USA above the individual. While it makes sense for those coaches with significant athlete participation to be on staff, having the top position(s) filled by a coach who may have fewer swimmers on the team but exudes… Read more »
USA Swimming could have named Matt Kredich or Arthur Albiero as the women’s head coach.
You want the infamous Tennessee taper to become the team USA taper?
Tennessee can taper, they just usually put more focus on SECs than at NCAAs.
The female athletes will already be tapered aside from Katie Ledecky.
We’ll see how it goes, I’m curious to see who else is gonna make the coaching staff. Gonna be weird if the big names like Nesty and Desorbo sit completely
I think those coaches should take a year off here or there from the top international team. It is such a huge commitment and actively takes away from the job they actually get paid to do. Todd did it in 2023 and Blaire took a spot on the team, which is a great way for other deserving coaches to get experience in those settings as well.
Yeah I mean if athletes are taking time off, I don’t know why coaches wouldn’t do the same.
To further Braden’s point, why do we even need a head coach when we have three highly qualified and highly paid National coaches?
And ones who have actually won national titles…..
Nesty has never won a national title, yet you weren’t in the comments the last few year’s listing that as a way to discredit HIS ability to be a team USA Head Coach.
If we only limited USA Head Coaching positions to NCAA national title winners, the selection list would be very small
Was he not on Troy’s staff when the women won in 2010 or does that not count?
Going off the implied intent behind @Hmm’s comment, it sounds like they would of had to be leading the team when they won…