The Man Behind Nova Southeastern’s NCAA Three-Peat: The Journey of Coach Ben Hewitt
Ben Hewitt has seen the sport of swimming from every angle. From a swimmer, to an assistant coach and now as the head coach at Nova Southeastern University, Hewitt’s experiences have shaped him into a championship-winning coach.
On Saturday, March 15, his NSU Sharks pulled off a “fourth-quarter comeback” to win their third consecutive NCAA Division II women’s national title. But for Hewitt, winning three championships in a row is not something that he ever imagined, and he wouldn’t have been able to pull off the feat without the journey he has had along the way.
A Swimming Background
Born and raised in Indiana, Hewitt first started competing at the age of six. While his early years in the sport were important for building a foundation, the passion for swimming in the Hoosier State allowed for his affection for the sport to blossom.
“Indiana Swimming is a good LSC,” he said. “They’ve got championship level support and resources, and the people that run it care greatly, so it all kind of worked out as a kid.”
Starting swimming with the Greenwood Gators, thanks to some encouragement from family friends, Hewitt was able to win an age-group relay championship around the age of 10. Two years later, his first individual state title came, and because of these accomplishments, Hewitt felt a flip switch inside of him.
“When I was 10 years old, I was on a relay good enough to win a state championship,” Hewitt said. “That was the tipping point, that tipped the scales, for me as a swimmer.”
Being able to win a club state title changed both Hewitt’s perspective and approach toward the sport, and that would only continue to develop. Swimming for Jim Todd at Center Grove High School, he was a crucial part of two top-10 team finishes at the state finals his junior and senior years. After high school, he became a four-year letter winner for Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. His time at Wabash proved to be extremely beneficial in his transition to the other side of the pool deck.
Transition to Coaching
Courtesy: Nova Southeastern
Following his graduation from Wabash in the spring of 2005, Hewitt wasn’t sure what the next stop on his journey would be, although his next destination ended up being a familiar place.
“I was fortunate enough that my coach in college, Peter Casares, had an opening on staff,” Hewitt said. “He hired me, and he was smart about it. He knew as a 22-year-old that I’m not going to be able to write the workouts in his vision or to coach the group with total autonomy, but he knew that I’d be an amazing recruiter of the school, having understood a lot of it.”
The opportunity that was provided to Hewitt allowed him to find his voice as coach and a recruiter. Being able to learn under someone like Casares granted him the opportunity to see first-hand what it really meant to be a coach on the collegiate level. With the stopwatch now in his own hand, Hewitt was able to get a more complete picture of why a head coach was making certain decisions, something that he couldn’t fully appreciate during his time as a swimmer.
While his time as both a swimmer and coach at Wabash gave Hewitt the footing he needed, he always knew that he wouldn’t be in Crawfordsville forever. Following the 2006 season, with some help from Casares, Hewitt was able to land an assistant coaching role under Jim Steen at D-III powerhouse Kenyon College. Looking back, the knowledge that Hewitt gained from coaching with Steen ended up being some of the most beneficial of his coaching career.
“I did not appreciate or recognize what was being given to me at the time and that’s I think, being a stubborn 23-24 year old, but I’m ultra thankful for that time,” Hewitt said. “There were definitely some ups and downs, but I learned a lot, and they were super gracious and super loyal to me.”
A New Journey
After spending two years as an assistant coach, Hewitt felt that it was time to try something new, so he left coaching. It was a decision that he felt he needed to make at that point in his life.
“I left ultimately because there was an opportunity in California,” he said. “I was like, I gotta get out of the Midwest. I gotta get away from all this.”
After spending two years in California, Hewitt returned home unsure of exactly what was next. It wouldn’t be long before he found the next stop on his journey, as an assistant coaching job was open at Wabash, where his brother was a senior on the team. Now under a new coach, Steve Barnes, Hewitt was able to regain his love and passion for swimming.
During this second stint with Wabash, while on a training trip to Fort Lauderdale, Barnes informed him that the school that they were training at, Nova Southeastern, would be starting a program and he wanted that to be on his radar.
Following the completion of the season, Hewitt informed Barnes of his intentions to find the next stop on his coaching journey. Barnes was extremely supportive of Hewitt’s desires and provided him with the resources to find his next coaching position. After interviewing for a few jobs and attending a coaches convention in Baltimore, more job opportunities around the country started opening up, including an assistant position at Nova Southeastern under Hollie Bonewit-Cron.
With the help of some connections, coincidentally from the same family that helped Hewitt get into swimming, he was able to get then Florida head coach Gregg Troy to give Bonewit-Cron a phone call recommending him for the position. While Troy helped Hewitt get his foot through the door, Bonewit-Cron made sure to do her own research before giving him the position.
“Hollie did her homewor,k too. She was very, very studious and diligent about the process,” Hewitt said. “I flew down on an interview…she was very open about the fact that she thought this was a good idea, she just wanted a couple of days.”
A couple days was all it took for Bonewit-Cron to make her decision, and Hewittt made the move to join her inaugural staff. Spending time with Bonewit-Cron allowed him the opportunity to learn even more about what it meant to be a head coach.
Head Coaching
After three years as an assistant coach at Nova Southeastern, Hewitt knew that for him to have the potential to take the reins as a head coach, he would have to get head coaching experience. At this time, the head women’s coaching position at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana was open, and the timing was ideal for Hewitt.
“It made sense practically, because my family was there, my father was starting to become ill and being able to also check that head coaching box,” Hewitt said. “I also knew that conference like the back of my hand with my experiences at Wabash and Kenyon.”
Even though Hewitt is a Wabash man, his time coaching for the Tigers was something he absolutely loved and taught him how to be a head coach. Lessons on when to be the intense coach and when to be the fun coach were crucial learning moments.
“You don’t realize just how many, how many things that you’ve learned,” he said. “I’ve looked back on that time and learned from it, and I do want to reflect on my time at DePauw, because I really think it relates really well to where I’m at now.”
Return to Nova
Following the end of his third season with DePauw, he got a text message from his former boss, Bonewit-Cron, informing him of her decision to resign from Nova to take the head coaching job at Miami (Ohio). Once he heard the news of her departure, he knew immediately that he wanted to be the next man in charge of the Shark program.
“Hollie told me exactly what I needed to do to get the job, and I had letters of support ready for the athletic director from my alumni that I coached there, and then it was a relatively easy process from there,” he said.
There were growing pains during the first part of his tenure because change is always difficult. However, the foundation Hewitt and his staff built during the pre-pandemic years wound up being crucial to the success his teams would see through the 2020s.
A Champion (x3)
While Sunshine State Conference titles had come for Hewitt at Nova, there was one trophy that was missing from his resume – a national championship. Going into the 2023 NCAA Division II Championship at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Hewitt knew that he had the best women’s team, but now it came down to finishing the job.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy…we had to get through the conference meet and help them see beyond it,” he said.
His Sharks were able to do more than just get through the conference meet as they swam to their first national title in program history, outdistancing runnerup Indy by 48 points. On top of winning a national championship, this trip was special for Hewitt because he got to accomplish it in a place in which he had so many memories.
“I kept telling them all these great stories,” Hewitt said. “You know, this is where I was my best. These are where my fondest memories are. Look at that wall on the other side of the pool when you walk in here. I mean, this is swimming’s Yankee Stadium. This is special.”
The next year, while faced with a little more adversity, Nova was able to win its second consecutive national title, which set the stage for a three-peat in Indianapolis in 2025. However, it was not easy for Hewitt and his Sharks. Longtime D-II powerhouse Drury led the majority of the meet and after five days of intense competition, it all came down to the 400 freestyle relay. However, before the race started, Hewitt needed to find a place to get away from the swimmers and prepare himself for one more battle in the water.
“Relying on my youth, I knew exactly where I could just hide in that facility, and I said, I’ll come out right before the race,” he said.
To be national champions for the third year in a row, Nova had to win the race or beat Drury by two places. As the race came down to the final stages, the battle was between Colorado Mesa and Nova, and as anchor Maya Esparza took the water, she left no doubt.
Reflecting on what this team accomplished Hewitt said: “I think all my teams were talented and wanted it, but this team had an extra level of grit and hunger.”
What’s Next?
Back home in Fort Lauderdale, Hewitt is busy refining and building his next team that will try to make it four national titles in a row. Yet, he still takes time to pause and look at the journey that has got him to this point.
“I have a lot of people to thank, and I stand on their shoulders, my parents, my brothers, my coaches, it’s just all part of that fabric of who I am,” he said.
As Hewitt prepares for another journey with another team, he looks forward to the opportunities that will continue to present themselves on his journey.
“I look fondly upon the opportunity that someone presents to really test us and push us to be better and to come back fighting,” he said.