Kevin Rapien Hired as USC Assistant Swimming Coach

Photo Courtesy: USC Athletics

With almost a decade of Division I coaching experience, Kevin Rapien is joining Troy as a men’s and women’s assistant coach, first-year Trojan head coach Jeremy Kipp announced.

Rapien completes Kipp’s staff, which also includes most recent addition Lea Maurer as associate head coach, seventh-year assistant coach Chase Bloch, first-year assistant coach Meghan Hawthorne (who joined Kipp at USC after stints with him at Northwestern and Boise State) as well as 22nd-year head diving coach Hongping Li.

Said Kipp on Rapien: “Kevin brings seven years of hard work and experience from his days at Cleveland State. Some of the best coaches in the country are working at the mid-major level and Kevin certainly fits that bill. He loves the sport and has worked tirelessly at his craft of coaching. He’s well known and well respected in the swim community and I cannot can’t wait to see what he does at USC.”

Rapien comes to USC after a year serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the California men’s swimming team which followed seven years as an assistant coach for Cleveland State’s men’s and women’s teams.

Rapien, who briefly assumed the acting head coach role at the end of the 2019 season, contributed to a program that won 40 conference titles (individual or relay races) during his tenure and one team championship.

He helped lead Cleveland State to one of the program’s top seasons in 2018 when the women’s squad finished third at the Horizon League Championships while the men were runners-up.

Among the top swimmers Rapien coached was 2018 Horizon League Women’s Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year Molly McNamara, who broke three school records at the league championships en route to a pair of butterfly titles. She also won the 200y fly in 2017.

In 2016, he helped Philipp Sikatzki finish fourth in the 100y fly at the NCAA Championships, the top result in program history. Sikatzki repeated as a 2017 NCAA qualifier in the event and was one of three CSU men who earned NCAA standards in eight events.

In 2013, Rapien helped Cleveland State to the Horizon League men’s title while the women were runners-up. Prior to arriving at Cleveland State, Rapien spent the two seasons as the head assistant swim coach at the University of North Dakota.

Rapien was a four-time letterwinner and team captain from 2005-2007 at Ashland University.

Said Kevin Rapien: “I am honored and grateful to have the opportunity to continue the rich tradition of success that USC Swimming and Diving has had over decades. In speaking with the coaching staff, their passion and commitment to the program makes me excited to jump in and get started.”

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