Kevin Woodhull-Smith Becomes First Head Swim Coach at Northern Kentucky University

By Charlotte Wells on SwimSwam

Kevin Woodhull-Smith has been hired as the first men’s and women’s swimming head coach of Northern Kentucky University’s inaugural program.

Woodhull-Smith will head up the new program as it kicks off its first season in the fall of 2024.

“I am very excited to be named the first head swim Coach at NKU,” Woodhull-Smith said in a statement released by the school. “Adding a NCAA Division I men’s and women’s swim team is an amazing thing for college swimming.”

Woodhull-Smith comes to Northern Kentucky University from Barton College, where he served as the head coach of men’s and women’s swimming for three years and was named the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year three times. He led Barton’s women’s team to a conference championship victory in 2021, as well as securing three runner-up performances and two third place finishes across both teams.

Prior to his head coaching stint at Barton, Woodhull-Smith was the assistant swim coach at East Carolina University from 2012 to 2020 and served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater North Carolina State University from 2010 to 2012.

Athletics Director Christina Roybal expressed her excitement for Woodhull-Smith to take up the role of head swim coach.

“He has a proven track record of recruiting student-athletes and focusing on building confidence during training and the mental preparation to develop successful swimmers,” Roybal said.

In his own swimming career, Woodhull-Smith competed all four years at North Carolina State, where he graduated in 2010, and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials in the 200 IM.

Northern Kentucky competes as an NCAA Division I school in the Horizon League, where there are already six other men’s and women’s programs currently sponsoring swimming.

Men’s and women’s swimming are two of six new sports that are set to be added to the university’s athletics program by the 2026-2027 academic year. Men’s and women’s triathlon and women’s stunt will also begin competition during the 2024-2025 academic year alongside the swimming program.

SwimSwam: Kevin Woodhull-Smith Becomes First Head Swim Coach at Northern Kentucky University