US National Team member and Olympic bronze medalist Catie DeLoof has been added to the swimming & diving coaching staff at the University of Alabama, where she’ll coach alongside her former foe Margo Geer, who is the program’s head coach.
Neither DeLoof nor a representative for the University of Alabama responded for information about whether DeLoof was retiring as an athlete, and DeLoof has not made any announcement on her social media channels.
“Catie is an exceptional addition to our coaching staff,” Geer said. “Her extensive experience in high-level competition, combined with her dedication and enthusiasm will undoubtedly make a positive impact on our program. Catie’s passion for teaching the sport and developing skill and character has been evident from the beginning of this process. She is a great fit for this role, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the Tide!”
Geer and DeLoof swam similar events during their competitive careers. At the 2019 U.S. Open, which was Geer’s last National Championship meet, she finished 7th in the 50 free in 25.17 and Deloof was 5th in 25.14. At the same meet, Geer was 8th in the 100 free in 54.74, one spot behind DeLoof’s 54.41; and both also swam the 200 free.
Now the two will work together at Alabama where in the 4th season under Geer, the women’s team has begun to take on the image of their head coach. The freshman sprint duo Jada Scott and Cadence Winter led the Crimson Tide through the fall semester last season, though a shoulder injury for Scott eventually kept her out of the NCAA Championship meet.
A spokesperson for Alabama says that Scott has been rehabbing throughout the summer and that while the goal is to have her ready for the start of the season, there is no specific timetable yet.
While DeLoof doesn’t have any significant coaching experience at the collegiate level, she did work the University of Michigan summer swim camps from 2016 through 2019.
Michigan is DeLoof’s alma mater, where she earned 14-All-America honors, including 9 first team honors.
She was a five-time Big Ten Champion on relays and as a senior, she was the runner-up in the 50, 100, and 200 yard freestyles at the Big Ten Championships.
DeLoof made the U.S. Olympic Team for the Tokyo 2020 Games, where she earned a bronze medal as a prelims leg of the American 400 free relay.
She competed at four consecutive U.S. Olympic Trials meets from 2012 through 2024. In her last meet in 2024, she finished 7th in the 50 free and tied-for-6th in the 100 free. She would eventually lose to her University of Tennessee post-grad training partner Erika Connoly in a swim-off for a spot on the Olympic Team.
DeLoof has trained at a number of the world’s top clubs in her career. She grew up in the suburbs of Detroit swimming with the Grosse Pointe Gators, and after Michigan would train under Mike Bottom at Michigan, David Marsh at Team Elite, Todd DeSorbo at the University of Virginia, top-flight Briti9sh program Loughborough University, and most recently Tennessee Aquatics under Matt Kredich. She was also a member of the New York Breakers and Tokyo Frog Kings of the International Swimming League.
DeLoof is one of a number of high profile swimmers in the last four years who have jumped straight into coaching at the top level of collegiate swimming, including recently Sydney Pickrem at West Virginia, Annie Lazor at Florida, and Geer herself, who had essentially no full-time coaching experience when she was named the head coach at Alabama.
If she’s not retiring, this is an interesting switch for sure. Seemingly no coaching connection to Bama at all.
Seems to be a common theme there
RTR