Arizona’s swimming and diving teams have shown significant progress under the leadership of Coach Ben Loorz, who was hired two years ago to rejuvenate a program that had seen better days. Previously a top destination under Frank Busch, the program had declined under subsequent coaches. Loorz, who had a successful stint at UNLV, was brought in by Arizona athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois to turn things around.

Big 12 Achievements

In his first season, Loorz led both the men’s and women’s teams to runner-up finishes at the Big 12 Championships, with six male swimmers earning Honorable All-American honors at the NCAA Championships. His second season saw further improvements, with Loorz being named Big 12 Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year and Dwight Dumais earning Big 12 Men’s Diving Coach of the Year. Notably, diver Luke Hernandez was recognized as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

The teams posted competitive results, with the women defeating Texas A&M and nearly overcoming ASU, while the men triumphed over Texas A&M and USC, both top 25 programs. These achievements highlight the narrowing gap between Arizona and its top rival, ASU, which remains the conference champion.

Challenges and Future Prospects

Despite these successes, Arizona’s swimming and diving teams face challenges in reaching national prominence. As a non-revenue sport, they do not benefit from the name, image, and likeness era, and Loorz lacks the recruiting cache of some elite coaches. Nevertheless, his efforts in the first two seasons have laid a foundation for future growth, with Year 3 expected to be pivotal in determining how close Arizona can get to competing for national titles.

While the Big 12 lacks the depth of competition seen in the Pac-12, Arizona’s progress under Loorz suggests a promising future for the program, provided they continue to attract talented swimmers and divers.

Original reporting: Arizona Desert Swarm (Tucson Sports) — read the source article.