Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich has completed what has been a 100% overhaul of his coaching staff with the hiring of LSU assistnat Lance Asti, according to sources close to the LSU program.
Asti is a 2001 Tennessee graduate, meaning that this new staff will have a heavy contingent of former Tennessee students – Tyler Fenwick and Ashley Jahn as graduate assistants, and Asti as an undergrad.
Asti’s stock has skyrocketed in his two seasons as an LSU assistant and recruiting coordinater; in the 2010-2011 season, he focused on the sprint group where Jane Trepp and Amanda Kendall came from nearly-nowhere to produce one of the best sprint duos in the country.
His cupboard at Tennessee in the sprint group won’t be immense, but definitely has some big pieces. That includes senior-to-be Caroline Simmons, a transfer to Tennessee prior to last season, who swam a 22.05 in the 50 free at NCAA’s.
But Matt Kredich hit the sprint trail hard in 2011, and signed among others Faith Johnson out of North Carolina. She’s one of the top, if not the top, sprint freestyle specialist in the class. She already has bests of 22.4 and 49.1 in the 50 and 100 freestyles, which will put her second in the Volunteer pecking order as a freshman.
Though Kredich has said he doesn’t believe in a “one coach, one group” approach to college swimming, Asti’s expertise will surely be utilized in developing this young class of freestylers.
Those who were at Olympic Trials also saw that Kredich has added Bill Boomer to the mix on a periodic consulting basis. Another great move.
Great hire and a great guy. One of the more underrated sprint coaches in the country.
excellent hire