North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Swimming & Diving Adds Dan Kesler to Staff as Associate Head Coach
6/24/2023 3:52:00 PM | Swimming
RALEIGH – NC State swimming and diving head coach Braden Holloway announced on Saturday the addition of Dan Kesler to the Wolfpack staff as associate head coach. An NC State graduate and program alumnus, Kesler comes to Raleigh following two seasons as head women's swimming coach at Utah Tech
"I am excited to welcome home Coach Dan Kesler," said Holloway. "As I reviewed our program, our people and our vision, I knew the fit of this person would be an important aspect of our program's growth at this time. Dan wears his heart on his sleeve, has endless energy and is beyond well-prepared to help make an impact for our student athletes. He prioritizes building relationships with the student-athletes not only in the pool but out of it. He has coached alongside some of the greatest in our sport and has experienced and navigated through adversity at each of his stops in his career. He has a gift to share with the sport, and I am happy that he will be sharing his gift in Raleigh."
Kesler was associate head coach for two seasons at Florida State before taking the head coaching job with the Trailblazers, and prior to that, he had a seven-year stint as an assistant coach at Arizona State (2012-19).
"I am thrilled at the opportunity to come home to Raleigh and work with Braden and his staff," said Kesler. "The culture that they have created is exceptional, and I am looking forward to adding to what has already been established. Coming home to Raleigh is a dream come true, and I would like to thank Braden for this opportunity."
While at Utah Tech, Kesler was most recently named 2022-23 WAC Coach of the Year after leading the women's team to a fourth-place finish at the conference meet. It was the program's best such finish at any conference meet in program history as the Trailblazers racked up with four individual titles and 10 total medals.
At Florida State, Kesler helped lead both Seminole programs to fifth-place finishes at the ACC Championships in 2021.
His time at Arizona State also included responsibilities as the team's recruiting coordinator, and Kelser spent his final four years there working under Florida State alumnus Bob Bowman, best known for coaching Michael Phelps. In his tenure, the Sun Devils earned six top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championships on the men's side and two on the women's side.
Kesler's coaching career began at Wingate where he was the top assistant coach for the Bulldogs and oversaw the mid-distance and distance swimmers. He helped lead the men's team to five-straight Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship titles and multiple top-six finishes at NCAAs. During his last season at Wingate (2011-12), he also served on the NCAA Division II top-25 poll selection committee. Under his leadership, Kesler helped the Bulldogs break all 19 records on both the men's and women's teams, and he mentored Iaroslav Denysenko who was voted 2012 NCAA Division II Swimmer of the Meet after winning three distance freestyle national titles.
A 2003 graduate of NC State, Kesler swam collegiately for the Wolfpack from 2000 to 2003 during which he was teammates with Coach Holloway. He was named a team captain as a junior and was an ACC finalist in multiple distance events during his career. A native of Westminster, Md., Kesler qualified for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials while representing Green Terror Aquatic Club.
