Minnesota Hires Zach Mertens as Assistant Coach

minnesota golden gophers team cheer celebrate

Photo Courtesy: Walt Middleton | University of Minnesota Athletics

Minnesota Hires Zach Mertens as Assistant Coach

The University of Minnesota Friday announced the hiring of Zach Mertens as an assistant coach on the swimming and diving staff.

Mertens has spent the last six seasons as an assistant coach at Division II Drury University, the last five as a full-time assistant.

“We are excited and fortunate to have Zach join us! He has been an instrumental part of Drury’s success over the past several years,” Director of Swimming and Diving Kelly Kremer said in a university release. “Zach is creative and tireless in his approach to recruiting, and he has proven to be a great educator and coach with the Panthers. We are looking forward to Zach’s positive impact with our student-athletes and with our entire Golden Gopher Swimming and Diving Program.”

Drury has had recent success in Division II. It was the runner-up at NCAAs last year on the men’s side, while the women’s team finished fourth. The team was also the runner-up at NCAAs in 2021 but was forced to vacate that trophy due to errors in determining eligibility of athletes.

Big Ten Swimming News

“I’m thankful to Coach Kremer and the University of Minnesota’s athletic department for this wonderful opportunity,” Mertens said. “The ‘U’ embodies commitment to excellence for the entire student-athlete experience on a competitive stage like no other. I’m thrilled to be part of such a dedicated staff. Go Gophers!”

Mertens graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in 2014, where he was part of the swimming and diving program. Mertens has a tangential tie to Minnesota in being one of the six recipients in 2022 of the Jean K. Freeman Scholarship from the CSCAA; the award is named after the same person whose moniker graces Minnesota’s natatorium, the first woman to become a full-time NCAA Division I head coach and who spent 31 years leading her alma mater, the Golden Gophers.

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