Washington State has added Parker Hughes to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season, the school announced on Wednesday. Hughes fills an open position on the staff after Austin Pillado departed the program to join Pitt as an associate head swim coach.
“From the moment Parker stepped foot on campus I knew we had found the right person,” head coach Russell Whitaker said. “Parker’s alignment with our vision, goals, and core values as a program stood out to us immediately through the hiring process. Parker has a passion like no other for the sport of swimming. That is shown from his experience as a student-athlete and his continued research and involvement in the sport with his thesis on swimming. We are excited to welcome Parker to the Cougar family and for all that he will bring! Congrats Parker!”
Hughes arrives after most recently earning a master’s degree in exercise physiology and biomechanics from TCU where he defended his thesis on mechanical determinants of maximal sprint velocities in the four competitive swimming strokes.
He spent his final three seasons at TCU where he was a team captain for two seasons. He spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Michigan where he notably was a part of the Michigan men’s Big Ten team title in 2019. He also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2020 and 2021.
The Washington State women finished 2nd at the 2026 Mountain West Championships and went on to finish 41st at the 2026 NCAA Championships with three points. Emily Lundgren was 15th in the 200 breast while Darcy Revitt was 16th in the 100 free.
