LEXINGTON, Ky. – On Monday, Head Coach Bret Lundgaard announced the addition of Karissa Kruszewski as an associate coach for the Kentucky Swimming and Diving program, bringing highlights of major collegiate and international coaching success and experience to Lexington.
“Karissa is going to be a critical influence on this exciting next chapter of Kentucky Swimming and Diving,” Lundgaard said. “Her experiences and skillsets extend throughout all facets of elite college swimming, and her fingerprint will be on our program’s continued improvement in the national and international swimming arenas.”
Most recently, Kruszewski joined the UCLA Bruins as a women’s assistant coach in 2019 before being promoted to associate head coach in October 2022 and a brief period as acting head coach from February-August 2024. She also was the recruiting coordinator, expanding the reach of student-athlete recruitment to the international stage. This aided in her achieving the role at the World University Games of assistant coach, social media lead, and head of sponsorships.
In her stint with the Bruins, the team went 25-19 in dual meets from 2019-25 and finished top four at every Pac-12 Conference Championship for four years, and a seventh-place finish at the Big Ten Conference Championship this season. They also finished 22nd at the 2024 Women’s NCAA Championship, their highest finish since 2017, along with 55 individual NCAA qualifiers and 17 broken records from 2019-25. During this time, the swimming & diving program was also recognized three times for the highest GPA among athletic teams on UCLA’s campus.
Originally from Murietta, Calif., Kruszewski spent her college career at the University of Wisconsin where she received her bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2013 and M.S. in organizational change leadership from the University of Wisconsin, Platteville, in 2020. Prior to this, she attended UC Irvine for the first year of her collegiate career (2008-09), where she was a scholar-athlete, before transferring to the Badgers.
After graduation, Kruszewski found her first head coaching jobs on the women’s side at Oregon High School in Oregon, Wisc., and the men’s team at Stoughton High School in Stoughton, Wisc., from 2013-15.
She then jumped to the collegiate NCAA DII level in 2015-16, spending one season at Cal East Bay as the assistant coach, recruiting coordinator, and academic supervisor for the swimming and diving program. The team went on to finish second at the 2016 PCSC Championships, notching four school records, 17 NCAA B Cuts, and six student-athletes being named to the All-PCSC Team.
After her time there, Kruszewski moved to the NCAA DI level with UNLV, where she stayed for three seasons (2016-19) before joining the Bruins. At UNLV, she primarily coached middle distance and distance swimmers and assisted as the recruiting coordinator.
“I am excited to be a part of the University of Kentucky swimming and diving programs!” Kruszewski said. “I have great respect for the work being done here under Bret and want to thank him and all those involved for this opportunity. I’m eager to contribute to both teams’ pursuit of greatness and excellence on the SEC, NCAA and international scene.”
“I’m grateful to have her expertise, passion and leadership on our staff,” Lundgaard said. “I’m confident our student-athletes will benefit from their partnership with her and appreciate her care for them as people, students and athletes.”
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