The University of Pittsburgh has informed its swimmers and divers Chase Kreitler as the next head coach of the swimming & diving program. In a letter sent out to the athletes last night, they were notified of the hire and that Kreitler will be in Pittsburgh next week to meet the team.
Kreitler has served as an assistant coach for the Cal men’s swim & dive team for the past 4 years, helping the Golden Bears to NCAA team titles in 2019 and 2022. He’s also served as a U.S. National Team coach every year since 2018, also serving on American coaching staffs for the 2018 Pan Pacs and 2019 World University Games. While at Cal, Kreitler is credited for working closely with 2019 NCAA Swimmer of the Year Andrew Seliskar.
Prior to his stint at Cal, Kreitler was a volunteer assistant with the Stanford women’s team, and before that, the Texas men’s team. With his background, Kreitler brings coaching experience with 3 of the top NCAA programs in the country to Pitt, not to mention his U.S. National Team experience. He also served as an assistant coach at LSU for 3 seasons (2013-2016), and Eastern Michigan University before that. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Cal State Bakersfield. During his time as an athlete at CSU Bakersfield, Kreitler was named co-captain for his senior season, and earned the university’s Outstanding Student award in exercise science. While at Eastern Michigan, Kreitler earned his Master’s in Exercise physiology.
The school hasn’t released contract details, but those familiar with the process said that the school budgeted about $175k for the head coach’s salary and another $320k for the diving coach and assistant coaches.
Chase and his wife also just welcomed a new baby into their family.
At the 2022 ACC Championships, the men’s team finished 9th, while the women’s team was 11th. Pitt qualified 3 athletes to men’s NCAAs, however, none of the 3 scored points. One diver qualified for women’s NCAAs, also not scoring points.