St. Bonaventure has hired Alex Kandt as the next head swimming and diving coach. Kandt fills the position previously held by Mike Smiechowski who departed the program last month to be an associate coach at Penn State.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to join the St. Bonaventure community,” Kandt said. “This university has such a rich history of tradition and success, and I consider myself lucky to contribute. I want to express my gratitude to Bob Beretta, the athletic department, and the university for trusting me with this program. Assuming the role of head coach is not something I take lightly, and I am excited to further the growth, success, and development of the athletes within the program.”
Kandt arrives at St. Bonaventure after most recently serving as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois. The SIU women were 2nd while the men were 3rd at the 2026 Missouri Valley Championships. While at SIU, Kandt primarily coached the sprint and breaststroke groups.
Prior to his time at SIU, he was lead recruiting coordinator at Arkansas from 2022-2025. He was a member of the Czech Republic national coaching staff. Kandt helped begin the men’s swim and dive program at Davenport University on the west side of Michigan, leading recruitment and training plans for the team’s sprint and stroke groups.
Kandt began his coaching career at his alma mater, Michigan State. He was an 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in the men’s 100 breaststroke and set a school record in the 100 breast for the Spartans.
The St. Bonaventure men finished 3rd out of seven teams while the women were 6th out of 10 teams at the 2026 Atlantic-10 Championships.
