Eric Skelly Takes Over as Foresters’ Headvert Swimming and Diving Coach

Contact: Mike Wajerski, Lake Forest College Sports Information Director, wajerski@lakeforest.edu

LAKE FOREST, Illinois — Eric Skelly is the Foresters’ new head swimming and diving coach, introduced Lake Forest College Assistant Vice President for Athletics Jim Catanzaro on Wednesday, April 8.

“I am incredibly honored and excited to join the Forester family,” started Skelly. “The College has a stellar academic reputation and I am deeply impressed by Coach Catanzaro’s vision for the athletic department. Having started my career in Illinois, I am well aware of the immense talent in this region. I look forward to leveraging those roots to build a perennial power in the Midwest Conference. Personally and professionally, this is a wonderful opportunity for my family and me to return to an area where we have such strong ties.”

For the final 15 years, Skelly was the pinnacle swimming and diving coach at University of Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. His ladies’s group claimed 14 consecutive Mid-South Conference titles whereas the boys made it a sweep in all however three of these seasons. Under Skelly’s route, Cumberland swimmers have been named All-Mid South Conference almost 300 instances and have mixed for 17 MSC Swimmer of the Year and a dozen MSC Freshman of the Year awards.

Cumberlands was additionally extraordinarily profitable on the nationwide stage throughout Skelly’s tenure. This previous yr, the Patriot males have been the runners-up on the NAIA National Championship Meet whereas the ladies completed third. His males’s and girls’s groups positioned among the many high eight at each nationwide meet since he turned this system’s head coach with a mixed eight top-three finishes. Skelly’s swimmers received 4 occasions on the 2026 NAIA Championships and claimed 16 particular person occasion titles, two NAIA Swimmer of the Year awards and an NAIA Diver of the Year honor with him as head coach.

Skelly’s success over time has led to a number of honors. He was named MSC Men’s Coach of the Year 4 instances and earned the consideration on the ladies’s aspect twice. He was additionally named NAIA Women’s Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2018.

Athletes at Cumberland have been additionally profitable within the classroom since Skelly took over as head coach, with 26 Patriots being named College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America Scholar All-Americans and 38 being named Academic All-MSC. The Patriot women and men earned CSCAA Scholar Team standing every of the final 4 years.

Skelly’s collegiate teaching profession additionally contains three years as an assistant on the University of Nevada, Reno and three at Valparaiso University.

During his personal collegiate profession, Skelly was a two-time All-American whereas competing for Ashland University and nonetheless ranks among the many high 10 in program historical past in each backstroke occasions. He earned a Bachelor’s diploma in Criminal Justice Administration from University of Phoenix and a Master’s in Sports Administration from Valparaiso.

Skelly joins Zoe Rebol on the Forester teaching employees. Rebol served as this system’s interim head coach in the course of the 2025-26 season and was named Midwest Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year. She will stay with this system as an assistant coach underneath Skelly. 

“I am extremely excited about the future of Forester Swimming and Diving,” exclaimed Catanzaro. “Coach Skelly already has an extremely long and impressive list of accomplishments as a collegiate head coach and Coach Rebol did a tremendous job with the team this past winter. I am confident they will lead an already strong program to even greater levels of success.”