Pitt Names Austin Pillado Associate Head Swimming Coach

PITTSBURGH – Austin Pillado has been named affiliate head swimming coach for the Panthers, Katie Kasprzak, Director of Swimming & Diving, and Ian Walsh, Head Swimming Coach, introduced on Tuesday morning. Pillado involves Pitt after two seasons at Washington State, starting as an assistant coach earlier than being promoted to affiliate head coach.

“Austin Pillado is an incredible addition to our staff,” Kasprzak stated. “He brings experience at the highest level of the sport from his time with an NCAA Championship-winning program to coaching athletes on the international stage. As a sprint coach, his technical expertise in the pool is exceptional, but what sets Austin apart is the genuine relationships he builds with his student-athletes. His passion and athlete-centered approach make him exactly what we were looking for in an associate head coach. We are excited to welcome him to the Pitt family.”

Pillado joined the Washington State program as an assistant coach previous to the 2024-25 season and was promoted to affiliate head coach the next summer season. In two seasons with the Cougars, he compiled a 15-0 twin meet file — together with an 8-0 mark in yr one which was the primary undefeated twin meet season in program historical past — whereas WSU broke 29 college information, produced 14 Mountain West Conference champions and logged 60 top-10 instances in program historical past. Working primarily with the dash group and breaststrokers, Pillado developed two All-Americans: Emily Lundgren, who completed sixth within the 200 breaststroke on the 2025 NCAA Championships for the best particular person end in WSU historical past and have become this system’s first four-time NCAA qualifier and All-American, and Darcy Revitt, who turned the primary Cougar All-American within the dash occasions after ending sixteenth within the 100 freestyle and the primary to interrupt 22 seconds within the 50 freestyle as a freshman. Their performances on the 2026 NCAA Championships marked the primary time WSU had a number of All-Americans at a single meet. Revitt additionally earned a bronze medal within the 50 freestyle for Great Britain on the 2025 European U23 Championships, and Pillado coached freshman Barbora Mileisyte to a Lithuanian National Record within the 50 lengthy course meter butterfly.

“We are thrilled to have Austin join our program as associate head coach,” Walsh stated. “Katie and I have prioritized finding the right individuals for our staff that will not only bring talent and expertise to the pool deck, but also passion for serving our student-athletes in the highest capacity. Austin checks every box. His experience and success at the highest level of our sport, combined with his reputation for developing the whole person, makes him an outstanding fit for our program. We look forward to sharing the deck with him and welcoming him to Pittsburgh!”

Prior to Washington State, Pillado served as an assistant coach at Arizona State in 2023-24, the place the lads’s program claimed its first nationwide championship in program historical past and the Pac-12 title for the second consecutive yr. He primarily skilled the breaststroke group, which noticed 4 males break the 52-second barrier, and labored with skilled group athletes together with Simone Manuel, Ryan Held and Olivia Smoliga. Before Arizona State, Pillado spent two seasons at Penn State, the place he labored primarily with dash freestylers and breaststrokers as this system broke 9 college information. In 2022-23, he coached Victor Baganha to an All-American end within the 100 butterfly on the NCAA Championships, the primary All-American for Penn State in that occasion in 20 years.

Pillado’s teaching expertise additionally features a stint as an assistant coach for the Swedish National Team on the 2022 European Championships, an assistant function at Saginaw Valley State in 2020-21 the place he coached the Male Freshman of the Year and this system broke seven college information, and three seasons as a volunteer assistant at Texas A&M from 2017-20, throughout which the Aggies received two SEC championships, produced 11 convention champions and earned 33 All-Americans.

“I would like to thank Katie Kasprzak, Ian Walsh, Blaire Ford, and the rest of the Pitt family for this opportunity,” Pillado stated. “From the initial conversations to the moment I stepped on campus, it was clear that Pitt has set out to create the best model for the program to foster an athlete-centered environment in the pool, the classroom, and the Pittsburgh community. Pitt Swimming & Diving is hungry to continue its rise through the ACC and NCAA ranks as well as on the international stage as we look toward LA 2028 and beyond. I am looking forward to building on the success of the program while recruiting student-athletes who want to be part of the strong family atmosphere here. Exciting things are happening in Pittsburgh and I cannot wait to help this program continue to thrive. Hail to Pitt!”

A Florida native, Pillado competed at Davis and Elkins College from 2013 to 2017. He was named this system’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2016 and likewise competed in a single season of observe and discipline. He holds a bachelor’s diploma in sports activities administration/athletic coaching from Davis and Elkins and a grasp’s diploma in sports activities administration from Texas A&M.