Entering the 2026-27 season, Ray Looze takes on his 22nd year at the helm of both the men's and women's swimming programs at Indiana University and his 25th season mentoring the IU men. Looze has achieved historic success as both a coach and a world-class swimmer, accomplishments that he carried into his tenure with the Hoosiers since his hiring in June 2002.

Since arriving in Bloomington, Looze has made it his mission to return Indiana swimming to the elite level it had maintained throughout the 1960’s and 70’s. Now, both the Indiana men’s and women’s programs are enjoying a period of sustained excellence both at the national and conference levels.

Nationally, Looze has returned the men’s team to national powerhouse status – Over the last five years, only three men’s programs have consistently finished top five nationally: Texas, Florida and the Indiana Hoosiers. The men of Indiana have not finished outside the top six since 2018, earning seven top five finishes in those eight full seasons.

The women’s program has surged into national prominence as well, reaching new heights with its four best NCAA finishes coming in the last four seasons – including a record fourth place performance in 2025. The Hoosiers have placed seventh or better each of the last four seasons, also earning 10 top 10 finishes in 11 full seasons going back to 2015.

Following the 2025-26 season, Looze earned his fifth consecutive Big Ten Men’s Coach of the Year award. Looze now owns the conference records for most men's coach of the year awards (10), women's coach of the year awards (7) and total coach of the year awards (17). Looze is the only Big Ten coach to have won the men’s and women’s awards in the same season – having done so four times (2016, 2017, 2024, 2025).

Looze won national coach of the year honors in consecutive seasons, earning the ASCA Coach of the Year award – for leading “American Swimming Excellence on the world level” – In 2017 and the CSCAA Coach of the Year award in 2018. Looze is a member of both the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame (Class of 2021) and International Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame (’26) and, in 2021, was named to the CSCAA’s all-time “100 Greatest Coaches” list.

Looze has won 15 Big Ten Championships – including five straight on the men’s side. His swimmers have totaled 23 national titles, 216 Big Ten titles and 858 All-American honors. In addition, Looze has coached 19 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year winners, 13 Freshman of the Year winners and 17 Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships winners. Indiana athletes have earned six Big Ten Swimmer of the Year awards over the last five seasons.

It’s hard to talk about Looze’s legacy without mentioning Lilly King, who spent essentially her entire collegiate and professional career training in Bloomington. Looze helped King become a three-time Olympic Champion and eight-time NCAA Champion who set world records in the 50-meter breaststroke, 100-meter breaststroke, 4x100-meter medley as well as NCAA records in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events during her career.

2025-26 Season

Despite graduating five national champions and 18 All-Americans from its 2024-25 teams that finished third at the men’s NCAA Championships and fourth at the women’s meet, Looze’s Hoosiers maintained their status among the top programs in the country in 2025-26.

Looze led the men of Indiana to a fifth consecutive top five finish. At the national meet, the Hoosiers repeated as the No. 3 team in the nation despite returning only four individual scorers from the previous year's roster. Ten of Indiana's 15 All-Americans were first-time individual point-scorers. Hoosiers set Big Ten and program records in four events. Two-time NCAA Champion Zalán Sárkány closed his career with an NCAA record in the 1,000-yard freestyle, splitting an 8:33.10 during his second-place performance in the 1,650 free.

The Indiana men also captured their fifth straight Big Ten title, totaling 12 Big Ten individual or relay titles and 27 medals at the conference championship meet. Indiana’s dominance showed not only in its 336.5-point margin of victory but in three podium sweeps as well: in the 100-yard backstroke, 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle.

The women’s team broke nine program records and collected 34 All-American honors to finish seventh at the NCAA Championships. Indiana finished ninth or better in each relay and totaled four medals: in the 200-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard freestyle (Liberty Clark), 100-yard butterfly (Alex Shackell) and 200-yard butterfly (Shackell). The Hoosiers closed the meet with their third Big Ten record of the week in the 400-yard freestyle relay, clocking a 3:07.51 to finish fifth. IU’s quartet of freshmen Liberty Clark, Alex Shackell, Grace Hoeper and senior Kristina Paegle tied or broke that 400 free relay Big Ten record three times during the season.

At the Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, IU rallied from fourth place through three days to finish second for a second straight season. The Hoosiers have finished in the top three in 20 consecutive seasons with 15 championship or runner-up finishes during that span. Indiana set Big Ten Championship records in the 400 free relay (3:07.72) and 100 free (Clark – 46.22) and won four conference titles.

Looze and his staff showcased recruiting and development with an impressive freshman class that finished second in scoring at the NCAA Men’s Championships and third at the women’s national meet. Six Hoosier freshmen earned All-American honors in their first season, led by Josh Bey, Liberty Clark and Alex Shackell.

Bey was named the Big Ten Men’s Swimmer of the Year and Freshman of the Year, becoming the third athlete to earn both awards in the same season. As a freshman, Bey set the No. 8 fastest 400 IM (3:34.90) and No. 10 fastest 200-yard breaststroke all-time (1:48.79). He placed second in the 200 breast and seventh in the 200 IM and 400 IM to become the highest scoring freshman and Big Ten athlete at the NCAA Championships.

Clark was the unanimous selection for Big Ten Women’s Freshman of the Year after breaking seven program records, two Big Ten records, two Big Ten Championship records and two 17-18 National Age Group records during her first season in cream and crimson. The Chico, California, native reached the podium in all seven of her events at the NCAA Championships, highlighted by a silver medal in the 200-yard freestyle and bronze in the 200-yard freestyle relay. During the meet, Clark became the fifth woman to break the 1:40 barrier in the 200 freestyle before becoming the second to do it twice, recording times of 1:39.70 and 1:39.88 on college swimming’s biggest stage.

Shackell set program records in the 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard butterfly and in four of five relays as a freshman. The Carmel, Indiana, native earned NCAA silver in the 100 fly as the lone freshman in the A final, as well as bronze in the 200 fly and 200 freestyle relay.

International Competition – Olympics and World Championships

Looze is a three-time Olympic coach, serving as an assistant for the U.S. Olympic Team at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and for Team Lithuania at Paris 2024. Looze has sent 26 athletes to six different Olympics. In that span, Hoosiers have collected nine Olympic gold medals, and 18 total medals, in swimming (four silver, four bronze).

As well as his Olympic coaching experience, Looze has also served as the head coach for the United States at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships and 2015 World University Games as well as for the women’s team at the 2014 short course world championships. He was a U.S. assistant coach at the 2009 World University Games as well and has served Team USA as an assistant at several World Aquatics Championships.

Looze has produced double-digit Olympic swimmers in consecutive cycles. Eleven swimmers with ties to the program participated at the Paris Games, the most during Looze’s tenure. That group included five members of the U.S. Olympic Team as well as athletes representing Egypt, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands and, for the first time in school history, Singapore and Lithuania. In her third and final Olympics, Lilly King swam the breaststroke leg of the women's 4x100-meter medley relay that won gold and set a world record. Anna Peplowski and Blake Pieroni each helped Team USA secure silver medals in the men's and women's 4x200-meter freestyle, respectively.

Ten Hoosier swimmers combined for eight medals at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Sprinters Zach Apple and Blake Pieroni both contributed to Team USA’s gold medals in the men’s 4x100-meter freestyle and 4x100-meter medley. King captured medals in both breaststroke events – silver in the 100m breast, bronze in the 200m breast – as well as silver in the 4x100m medley. Annie Lazor, who trained in IU’s pro group ahead of the 2020 Summer Games, joined King on the 100m breaststroke podium with a bronze medal.

Lilly King retired from swimming following the 2025 World Aquatics Championships as a three-time Olympian (2016, 2020, 2024), three-time Olympic Champion and six-time Olympic medalist. King also won 20 World Championships between short course and long course and 28 total medals. With her world title in the 200-meter breaststroke in 2022, King became the first American – male of female – to win a career treble of golds of any stroke at the long course world championships. King’s world records in the 100-meter breaststroke (LCM – 2017) and 4x100-meter medley (SCM – 2024) still stand today.

Like King, Pieroni also medaled in Rio, Tokyo and Paris. Both King and Pieroni are natives of the State of Indiana.

Hoosier swimmers have totaled eight medals at the last two World Aquatics Championships – short course in 2024 (Budapest) and long course in 2025 (Singapore). Looze served Team USA as an assistant coach in Singapore, with four Hoosiers on the U.S. National Team and 13 total IU swimmers competing at the meet. King capped her career with a world championship in the 4x100-meter medley, and Josh Matheny captured bronze in the men’s race. Anna Peplowski captured silver and an American record with the U.S. women’s 4x200-meter freestyle. Caspar Corbeau added to his long course medal collection with a bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke.

In Budapest, Zalán Sárkány earned a hometown win in the 800-meter freestyle – his first world title. King medaled in the 50 breast, 100 breast and 4x100 medley, helping the U.S. set a short course world record in the relay.

Development

Countless swimmers have seen dramatic time drops over their careers in Ray Looze’s program. A few recent examples include Van Mathias, Jassen Yep, Anna Peplowski and Josh Bey.

One of Looze’s most striking examples of development came in 2023 through current U.S. National Team member Van Mathias. Prior to that season, Mathias had never finished higher than 26th individually at the national meet. Over the collegiate schedule, Mathias posted dramatic drops in the 50 free (20.05 to 18.89), 100 free (43.70 to 41.33) and 100 breast (54.74 to 50.57) over the year and ended his season as IU’s No. 2 swimming scorer behind Brendan Burns with 35 points at the national meet, collecting a team-best seven All-American finishes.

After retiring from swimming, Mathias became the program’s director of operations and made his return to the pool in his free time – training at the IU pool. Since then, Mathias has become the American record holder in the 50-meter breaststroke (26.39) and 100-meter breaststroke (58.01) and third-fastest all-time in the 100-yard breaststroke (49.54).

Yep had the moment of the meet at the 2025 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, winning the 200-yard breaststroke national title and becoming the third-fastest swimmer in the event all-time with his 1:48.30. The shock of the moment came from how much time Yep dropped over his collegiate career. Yep’s best time in high school was a 1:57.42. By his second Big Ten Championships in 2022, Yep had shaved almost four seconds off his lifetime best (1:53.86). A year later, Yep qualified for his first NCAA Championships with a season-best 1:52.33, and that next fall he went 1:50.71 at midseason before winning the 2024 Big Ten title with a 1:50.40. Yep shed another near-half second off his best at the 2025 conference meet with a 1:49.93 before ending his career with his astounding 1:48.30 – a total drop of 9.12 seconds across five collegiate seasons.

Peplowski became one of the nation’s top freestyle swimmers during her collegiate career and continues to develop in IU’s pro group. In short course yards, Peplowski dropped 2.92 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle (2.92), 7.57 seconds in the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.50) and 18.94 seconds in the 500-yard freestyle (4:33.86) to break the program records in each event. Her 200 free title as a senior was a crowning achievement, improving from 10th as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore and second as a junior.

In the long course pool, Peplowski dipped under 2:00 in the 200-meter freestyle for the first time with her first swim in an Indiana cap at the 2022 Phillips 66 National Championships. Two years later, she made the U.S. Olympic Team with a 1:57.04 that placed fifth at trials and went on to help the 4x200-meter freestyle relay win a silver medal. Peplowski dropped another 1.5 seconds the next year, her 1:55.70 making the 2025 World Championships roster. At that meet, she blasted a 1:54.75 split in the second leg of Team USA’s 4x200-meter freestyle, helping set and American record in 7:40.41 while earning a silver medal.

Bey saw significant drops in just his first season at Indiana, becoming the second-fastest freshman all-time in both the 200-yard breaststroke and 400-yard IM – behind only Leon Marchand. Bey went a 3:34.90 to win the Big Ten 400 IM title, dropping 7.71 seconds off his best time from high school. The freshman also shaved 4.95 seconds in the 200 breast during his first season, his 1:48.79 placing second at the NCAA Championships and ranking No. 2 in program history behind Yep.

‘Breaststroke U’

Indiana has won 12 NCAA breaststroke championships during Looze’s tenure, eight women’s titles and four men’s titles. Looze’s breaststrokers have combined for eight Olympic medals, four of those gold.

Five of the top 25 performers all-time in the men’s 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke set their best times while training under Looze. King remains the only woman to break the 56-second barrier in the women’s 100 breast despite setting her personal best in 2019.

Between King and Mathias, Hoosiers own seven of 16 American records in breaststroke events between long course meters, short course meters and short course yards.

During Looze’s tenure, 10 Hoosiers have combined for 32 Big Ten breaststroke titles, led by King (8), Cody Miller (7) and Finnerty (6). Kevin Swander was Looze’s first breaststroke champion, winning the 100 breast in 2004 and 2006, bookending a 200 breast title in 2005. The Indiana women won 200 breaststroke titles in nine of 10 seasons between 2016-2025 thanks to King (2016-19), Emily Weiss (2021), Brearna Crawford (2022, 24-25) and Noelle Peplowski (2023).

At the 2025 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, Indiana took breaststroke dominance to a new level. On Friday, Indiana took the top five finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke before taking the top four in the 200-yard breaststroke on Saturday. That group went on to total 89 points in the breaststroke events at the NCAA Championships, by far the most of any program. Yep won the national title in the 200 breast, and Caspar Corbeau earned top five finishes in each event.

With essentially a brand new breaststroke group, Indiana again led the NCAA in breaststroke scoring at the 2026 NCAA Championships. Five first-time NCAA point-scorers – Alexei Avakov, Toby Barnett, Josh Bey, Noah Cakir and Travis Gulledge – combined for 63.5 points at the national meet. Bey and Barnett set the Nos. 2 and 3 times in program history, both going under 1:50 for the first time in their careers. With a bronze medal performance at Big Tens, Cakir set the 17-18 National Age Group record in the 200 breast with a 1:50.47.

NCAA Champions

Twelve Indiana swimmers have earned the NCAA Champion title under Ray Looze, combining for 23 national titles under his guidance. Looze has produced an NCAA champion in every stroke – Twelve breaststroke, five backstroke, two butterfly, two freestyle, two relay.

IU won seven NCAA titles at the 2025 NCAA Championships between men’s and women’s swimming and diving, marking a new high in Looze’s partnership with IU head diving coach Drew Johansen. Three swimmers won titles. Anna Peplowski capped her legendary collegiate career with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle. Jassen Yep brought a breaststroke title back to Bloomington in the 200-yard event, his win marking perhaps the moment of the championships. And Zalán Sárkány – a transfer from Arizona State – won his second straight title in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a dominant performance on the final day.

Brendan Burns won a national title in each of the previous three seasons. Burns repeated as NCAA Champion in the 100-yard backstroke in 2023 and 2024, becoming the third fastest man ever at the time with a 46.31 in his first championship in the event. The year before, Burns beat a stacked field in the 200-yard butterfly to deliver IU’s first title in the event since 1973. Burns won Big Ten Swimmer of the Year each of those seasons.

Indiana won five NCAA swimming titles in consecutive seasons from 2018-19. In 2018, thanks to Ian Finnerty and Lilly King, Indiana became the first program to complete the sweep of all four NCAA breaststroke titles. King won both for a fourth straight season in ‘19, while Finnerty repeated in the 100 breast that year. IU also repeated as champion of the men’s 400-year medley relay, as the quartet of Gabriel Fantoni, Finnerty, Vini Lanza and Zach Apple topped the podium both years. Vini Lanza won a close battle in the 2019 100-yard butterfly final to capture the individual title.

Prior to King’s four-year breaststroke dominance, IU had been one of the leading programs in backstroke, winning three titles. Kate Fesenko (200 back) and Ben Hesen (100 back) delivered Indiana’s first swimming titles of Looze’s tenure in 2008. Fesenko also became the first female swimming champion in program history. In 2014, Brooklyn Snodgrass followed Fesenko’s lead with a title of her own in the 200 backstroke.

Other Indiana Highlights

Indiana has earned the Big Ten’s best finish at each of the last 10 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
Both the Indiana men and women made history at the 2025 NCAA Championships, each setting program records for both All-American honors and points scored at the national meet. In a third place finish, the men totaled 51 All-American honors and 459 points. The women earned a program record finish, placing fourth with 312 points from 38 All-American performances.
IU set the American record in the 200-yard medley relay at the 2025 NCAA Championships, as Luke Barr, Brian Benzing, Finn Brooks and Matt King clocked a 1:20.92 to place fifth.
At the 2025 Big Ten Championships, the Hoosier men set the largest margin of victory in conference history. Indiana’s 1,579 points separated them it the field by 431 points. That week, IU won 11 Big Ten titles, earned 26 medals and set Big Ten records in three events.
Looze and the Indiana women’s team authored one of the greatest championship finishes in college swimming history at the 2024 Big Ten Championships. Needing two points to jump Ohio State in the team standings, IU outpaced the Buckeyes with a second place finish in the 400 freestyle relay to win the meet by half of one point.
Ten of Looze’s swimmers have combined for 14 Indiana University Athlete of the Year awards – honoring the top athlete, male and female, across the athletic department. Seven women have won the award 11 times since the 2006-07 academic year. Lilly King won the award four consecutive years from 2015-16, and Anna Peplowski went back-to-back in 2024 and 2025.
The Indiana men have swept the medals of at least one Big Ten championship final in four consecutive seasons. In 2023, it was the platform diving events and in 2024 the 200-yard breaststroke. IU swept both the 100 breast and 200 breast in 2025. In 2026, Hoosiers swept three events: the 100 back, 500 free and 1,650 free.
Perhaps nothing illustrates Looze’s ability to produce world-class swimmers in every stroke like Indiana’s sustained success in the 400-yard medley relay. Indiana won 10 straight Big Ten titles in the event between 2016-25. In addition, the Hoosiers have finished top five nationally in the 400 medley relay at each of the last eighth NCAA Championships, highlighted by consecutive titles in 2018 and 2019 as well as repeat runner-up finishes in 2022 and 2023.
The Indiana women won three consecutive Big Ten titles from 2009-11 as well as four conference championships in five seasons between 2007-11. Prior to its active streak of five consecutive Big Ten Championships, the men won three straight in from 2017-19.
In 2026, Bloomington, Indiana, native Kristina Paegle finished her career as the women’s program record holder for All-American honors with 24. During her career, Paegle broke the 50-yard freestyle record as well as several relay records, setting new standards for sprint success.

A proven winner before arriving at IU, the highlights of Looze's career are remarkable:

Five seasons as the head men's swimming coach at the University of the Pacific produced four Big West Conference Coach of the Year honors
• Two seasons as the head coach at the esteemed Peddie School resulted in a mythical national championship
• One season as a graduate assistant at the University of Texas ended in a NCAA team championship
• In four years as a varsity swimmer at the University of Southern California, Looze's career was highlighted with: both academic and athletic All-America honors; top 10 finishes in eight NCAA events, including a second-place swim in the 400-yard individual medley at the 1990 NCAA Championships; a finance degree magna cum laude; an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and being recognized as a finalist for both the Rhodes Scholarship and the Walter Byers Award
• On the international swimming scene, was a member of the 1990 United States Goodwill Games team and that year was ranked among the world's best in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medleys
• At the United States Olympic Trials in Indianapolis in 1992, just missed qualifying for the Olympic Games by placing third in the 400 individual medley and fifth in the 200 IM.

Looze arrived at Indiana after spending five seasons as head swim coach at the University of the Pacific. He took over the helm of the men's swimming program on August 16, 1997, and beginning in 1998, he assumed the role as head coach for both the men's and women's swimming programs. Looze was named the Big West Conference Men's Swimming Coach of the Year in four consecutive seasons (1998-2002). In 2002-03, Looze led both teams to Big West Conference championships and subsequently was named the Big West Coach of the Year in both men's and women's swimming.

Prior to his tenure at Pacific, Looze served as the head coach at the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J., from 1994-95, where he led the storied prep school to Swimming World's mythical national championship in 1995. As a men's swimming graduate assistant at the University of Texas, he was part of another national championship team as he helped the Longhorns capture the 1991 NCAA title. He also worked as the assistant men's swimming coach at Harvard from 1992-93. At the club level, Looze has coached the Phoenix (Ariz.) Swim Club from 1995-96 and Tiger Aquatics in Stockton, Calif., during his tenure at Pacific.

Success has followed Looze throughout his coaching career. In only a short period of time, the University of Southern California product took Pacific's program to new heights.

After taking over the men's program in 1997, he guided his 1999 squad to a second-place finish at the Big West Championships and earned Big West Coach of the Year accolades for his efforts. At the same meet, the Pacific women's team won its first-ever Big West title, outscoring second-place UC-Santa Barbara by 112 points.

As a student-athlete at Southern California, Looze was a standout in and out of the pool. He became the first non-football playing Trojan in school history to earn GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. In 1989, he was recognized as the school's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was also a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner and received recognition as a finalist for the 1989 Rhodes Scholarship and the 1990 NCAA Walter Byers Award.

As a Trojan, Looze was a four-time All-America selection in swimming. At the 1990 NCAA Championships, he finished second in the 400 individual medley and ultimately earned a spot on the 1990 U.S. Goodwill Games squad. He finished the 1990 campaign ranked among the world's best in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medleys.

Looze graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in business finance from the University of Southern California and earned a master's degree from the School of Education at the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Kandis, have two children: Bryce Ryan and Mackenzie.

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