TUCSON, Ariz. – A nationally-recognized coach with a championship pedigree, Ben Loorz was named the University of Arizona's Swimming and Diving Head Coach, Vice President and Director of Athletics Desireé Reed-Francois announced Wednesday.
"We sought to hire a head coach with a successful record of coaching, recruiting and holistically developing student-athletes at the highest of levels," Reed-Francois said. "Coach Loorz is a proven leader who is nationally recognized in the swimming and diving community with a championship vision for our program. He is a tireless recruiter with an exceptional history of developing championship culture and will grow upon the legacy of the program as we enter the Big 12 Conference. We are proud to welcome Coach Loorz, his wife Jenn, and their family to the University of Arizona."
Loorz guided UNLV to a WAC conference crown in men's swimming last season, marking the Rebels' fourth consecutive conference championship while setting a conference record in scoring. He was also named the WAC Swimming Coach of the Year for a fourth straight year in 2024. UNLV's women's program, which competes in the Mountain West, tied a school record with 15 all-conference performers in 2023-24 while Vika Yanovska won the 1-meter dive crown last season to give UNLV its first ever MW diving title. Loorz was also named the 2021 MW Women's Swimming Coach of the Year.
Throughout his eight seasons in Las Vegas, Loorz coached the Rebels to a total of five WAC and MW conference championships while earning five runner-up finishes. The program has set nearly 40 school records during his tenure in addition to winning 70 WAC and 20 MW individual and relay championships.
"I want to thank the search committee, Desireé Reed-Francois, University leadership and the entire Arizona Athletics Department for the opportunity to continue the storied legacy of this program while growing and developing our student-athletes to become champions," Loorz said. "The University of Arizona is a special place, and my family and I can't wait to get to campus and begin this exciting journey together."
UNLV student-athletes have amassed numerous conference honors under Loorz's leadership, which include Ruby Howell being named the MW Freshman Swimmer of the Year in 2021, George Ratiu earning WAC Freshman Swimmer of the Year in 2021 and Kris Matuszewski repeating the feat in 2023. The Rebels also had a pair of representatives, Zsuzsanna Jakabos and Vuk Celic, compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Loorz also trained Kasia Wasick, from Poland, who finished fifth in the 50-meter freestyle in the Tokyo Games before becoming the top sprinter in the world in 2022 and 2023.
High-level success outside of the pool also marked Loorz's tenure in Las Vegas as the program tallied a total of 27 CSCAA Scholar All-Americans and dozens of academic all-conference team members.
Prior to his championship tenure at UNLV, Loorz spent six seasons as the head coach at Cal State East Bay where he led the Pioneers to three conference championships, three runner-up finishes and two top-25 showings at the NCAA Division II National Championships. He was a two-time Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference Coach of the Year at CSU East Bay while coaching six All-Americans for the Pioneers.
Loorz began his initial stint with the UNLV program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2007 to 2010 and was part of three team conference championships on the men's side. He served as a graduate assistant at the University of Utah for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. While on staff with the Utes, the program won MW championships both seasons.
A California native, Loorz swam collegiately at American River College in Sacramento after graduating summa cum laude from the University of Southern California in 1999. He later earned his master's degree from Utah in 2008.
Loorz and his wife, Jennifer, have four sons.
