Max McHugh, a recently graduated four-time NCAA champion out of the University of Minnesota, is now a part-time assistant coach at the University of St. Thomas. McHugh confirmed his hiring to SwimSwam on Friday and said that he would continue training for the 2024 Olympic trials while coaching, and that his next major meet would likely be the U.S. Open later this year.
St. Thomas is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is just a seven-minute drive from McHugh’s alma mater. The university jumped from DIII to DI in 2021, and currently competes in the Summit League. At the 2023 Summit League Championships, the Tommies finished sixth on both the men’s and women’s side.
Notably, McHugh’s older brother Conner also had a stint as an assistant for St. Thomas, coaching them from 2018 to 2021.
McHugh is a part of a growing list of recently graduated or retired swimmers who have been hired by college teams as assistant coaches, which includes names like Coleman Stewart (Duke), Annie Lazor (Florida), Noelle Peplowski (Indiana), and Patrick Callan (Auburn).
In March 2023, McHugh finished his collegiate career by winning the 100 breast NCAA title and finishing third in the 200 breast. He won three consecutive national titles in the 100 breast (2021, 2022, 2023) and was also the 2021 NCAA Champion in the 200 breast. At the 2023 National Championships, McHugh notably had a breakout swim in the 50 breast, dropping nearly half a second and finishing first in prelims before getting DQed. He also placed 10th in the 100 breast prelims (1:00.77) before scratching the finals.
McHugh was part of the 2021-22 U.S. National Team. In July 2021, he set a best time of 59.57 in the 100 breast, which is just 0.37 seconds off of what it took to make the 2023 World Championships team in the event.
Great pick up for UST — very nice facility, I believe they can do a lot as DI program, especially with their past success and alumni base from Coach Tom. Max will hopefully amplify their transition into DI. Go Tommies!!
we are so back