Tennessee Swimming Mourns Death of Ben Kredich, Son of Head Coach Matt Kredich
The Tennessee swimming and diving community is morning the death of Ben Kredich, the son of head coach Matt Kredich.
Ben Kredich was killed on Monday afternoon after being struck by a vehicle in Knoxville. He was 24 years old. The driver in the crash has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence.
The program released a statement on Tuesday about Ben’s passing.
— Tennessee Swimming & Diving (@Vol_SwimDive) August 22, 2023
Ben was one of three children of Matt and Kim. Ben lived with autism. He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in music and played piano in local assisted living centers. (Kim is choral conductor who has devoted much of her life to working with children with disabilities.)
In addition to his parents, Ben is survived by brothers Miles and Coleman.
“Autism just seems like an adjective,” Coleman Kredich said of his older brother. “He was always my brother; he wasn’t my brother with autism. He was always a friend; he wasn’t someone’s friend with autism. And that was pretty incredible.”
Matt Kredich has been at Tennessee for most of his children’s lives, arriving in Knoxville in 2005-06. A four-time SEC Women’s Coach of the Year, he led the Vols to SEC titles in 2020 and 2022.
Kredich was the head coach for Team USA’s men’s team at the 2019 Pan Am Games, the women at 2015 Pan Ams and the women’s squad at the 2013 World University Games. He’s coached 13 Olympians at Tennessee, including medalists Erika Brown and Christine Magnuson.