The job that University of Evansville swimming and diving head coach Stuart “Stu” Wilson has done in three short years at UE has been nothing short of remarkable.
With Wilson on deck, the Purple Aces have completely rewritten the UE swimming record books. Of the possible 38 school records (men and women) in the 19 main NCAA swimming events, UE has broken 22 of them in Wilson’s three years as head coach. Overall, 35 percent of the swimmers in the UE top time charts have achieved their marks under Wilson’s leadership. Last year, the Purple Aces broke a school record 25 different times during the course of the year, and overall, UE has broken a school record 38 times over the last three years.
Evansville also made noise on the national stage last season, as UE made its first-ever appearance in the CSCAA National Invitational Championship. Fifteen Purple Aces qualified for the meet, with UE posting three top 10 finishes, led by Alon Baer’s ninth-place individual finish in the 200-yard breaststroke. Baer also posted an NCAA ‘B Cut’ time in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Mid-American Conference Championships, just the fifth NCAA Division I provisional mark in UE men’s swimming history.
UE has also excelled in the classroom in Wilson’s three years as head coach, as the Purple Aces have garnered CSCAA Scholar All-America team honors on both the men’s and women’s sides in every semester Wilson has been head coach. Baer also earned CSCAA Scholar All-America second team honors for his work both in and out of the pool in 2022.
Of course, succeeding both in the pool and the classroom is nothing new to teams that Wilson has coached, as he brought extensive collegiate and club experience to the Evansville program when he was hired as head coach on June 1, 2019. Wilson was the Head Men’s and Women’s Coach at Georgia Tech from 2005 through 2009 after serving the Yellow Jackets as an assistant from 2002 through 2005. He also spent time as an assistant at Clemson in 2011 and 2012.
In his time at Georgia Tech, Wilson enjoyed great success, coaching eight ACC Champions, two ACC Relay Champions and over 30 All-ACC Swimmers to go along with 15 NCAA Qualifiers. Under his tutelage, four student-athletes were named All-American, six were recognized as Honorable Mention All-Americans and more than 30 garnered Academic All-American status.
Wilson recruited student-athletes with the Yellow Jackets who were responsible for breaking over 60 school records in a span of just four years. His work culminated in Gal Nevo being named the 2009 ACC Swimmer of the Year while setting the second-fastest time in NCAA history in the 400 IM at the 2009 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship. He also helped Nigel Plummer earn ACC Freshman of the Year accolades in 2009.
Aside from his collegiate work, Wilson has a great deal of club experience, most recently working as the Senior Coach at Nitro Swimming in Cedar Park, Texas. Other club team work includes: Head Senior Coach at Southern Crescent Aquatic in Peachtree City, Georgia, Head Coach and Director of Competitive Swim Teams at Swim Seventy in Norwalk, Connecticut, Director of Competitive Swimming with the Tampa YMCA and Senior Swim Coach at Swim Atlanta in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Prior to working in the college ranks, Wilson worked with Swim Atlanta in Roswell, Lilburn and Marietta, Georgia from 1990 through 1998 in numerous capacities. One of his numerous highlights was his work with eventual Olympic silver medalist and world champion Amanda Weir, who set three National Age Group Records under his watch. She was named the Rookie of the Meet at Nationals in 1998.
He has led 16 Olympic Trial and 50 Senior National Qualifiers, while helping six athletes represent their countries in the Olympics and World Championships. Wilson worked with over 40 Junior National Qualifiers, more than 60 Top Sixteen Age Group Swims in the United States Swimming, and 30 Georgia State Champions and state record holders.
