Courtesy: Illinois State Athletics
NORMAL – Illinois State Swimming & Diving head coach Riley Hilbrandt announced the hiring of Kennedy Gilbertson as the program’s new assistant coach on Wednesday. Gilbertson comes to Illinois State following a successful collegiate swimming career at Iowa and, most recently, coached at the collegiate level at Colby College.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kennedy to our coaching staff and team,” Hilbrandt said. “Kennedy was a standout swimmer at Iowa and has coaching experience at club, high school, and collegiate levels. Throughout the interview process her love and passion for swimming truly stood out, which I believe will go a long way with not only the success of our current student-athletes, but future Redbirds to come. She is determined and full of energy, which is exactly what I was looking to bring on deck. I’m so excited to get Kennedy here to Normal and get to work.”
Gilbertson recently worked for one season at Colby College as an assistant swim coach, where she helped with meet travel, pool/meet setup and timing, and recruiting. Her main charge was the sprints group, where she wrote group sets and practice plans in addition to assisting at practice and meets in other areas. Prior to her move to the collegiate level, she coached at Iowa City West High School as the head coach from August to November 2024. In that role, she created practice routines, worked with assistant coaches on team culture, ethics and technique and oversaw all junior varsity and varsity lineups. She also spent time as a club coach at IFLY working with swimmers aged 15-18 and worked as a lifeguard throughout her collegiate career.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to coach at Illinois State” Gilbertson said. “I’m excited to be on deck, coaching and helping our Redbird student-athletes reach their full potential. I want to thank Riley, Cindy Harris and Dr. Jeri Beggs for the opportunity, and I can’t wait to get started.”
As a student-athlete at Iowa from 2020-2024, Gilbertson was named the team’s MVP following the 2023 season and later represented the Hawkeyes at the World Championship Trials on the national stage. She is still the Iowa school record holder in the 100-yard backstroke and earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Iowa in May 2024.
