Chase Kreitler is confident he can not only turn around Pitt’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs, but he also believes that the Panthers have what it takes to reach the sport’s greatest heights.
And he should know, he’s spent plenty of time there.
Kreitler was introduced Wednesday as Pitt’s new men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach, bringing with him years of experience with the top program’s in the country.
“There’s no question, you win with people,” said Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke. “And it takes a tremendous university and a team to bring the best people to our program. I’m confident we have found that person and leader in Chase.
“We wanted someone with integrity always, incredible confidence, an excellent communicator, a genuine relationship builder, strong recruiting connections here in the state of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, a passion to compete in the ACC and experience building a national championship winning culture.”
Kreitler sports an impressive resume in the sport, having been an assistant previously at Cal for four years. While there, he won two national titles (2019 and 2022) and finished runner-up in 2021.
Prior to Cal, he was a volunteer assistant with the women’s team at Stanford under Olympic team head coach Greg Meehan. While there, he worked with Olympic gold medalists Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel, among others.
He also spent two years with perennial power Texas as a volunteer assistant, winning two more national championships, and has been with the U.S. National Team since 2018, coaching gold medal Olympians Ryan Murphy and Tom Shields.
“It’s about mentorship,” Kreitler said. “There’s a lot of different ways that you can mentor people. It’s very unique to do it in college athletics, because you get to spend 20 hours per week with the people that you’re mentoring.”
Kreitler is tasked with taking over a program that has stumbled in recent years, but could be the next Pitt program to turn its path around.
“There’s a number of people who have been All-Americans and there’s a history of Big East titles, but the transition to the ACC is different,” he said. “It’s an elite swimming conference.
“It hasn’t been done here before, and I think some other people were scared to take it on, to be honest with you. For me, it’s invigorating.”
Kreitler will hope to bank on a solid recruiting landscape in the region, particularly in Pennsylvania, where he has seen ‘elite’ talent be produced.
“The blue collar ethos and work ethic in this area is a perfect match for a place where you’ve got to work hard,” he said. “Everybody’s working hard, but we’ve got to do something extra special to move ahead of other programs.”
Pitt utilizes Trees Pool in Oakland, which was built in 1963 but has gone through numerous upgrades over the years. Kreitler feels that it, along with Pitt’s various recent investments into athletic facilities and student-athlete support, are more than suitable attributes to establish a winning culture to Pittsburgh.
“We can get it done here, we can absolutely get it done here,” he said. “There’s nothing stopping us.”