Pat Ota has been named head coach of the UNLV men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs after the departure of Ben Loorz for the University of Arizona last month. Ota has spent the last eight seasons with the Rebels and has been serving as the interim head coach since May.
Ota’s previous roles at UNLV have included being associate head coach as well as head assistant coach. Since coming to Las Vegas in 2016, Ota has helped lead the Scarlet & Gray to five conference championships, including the men’s team’s fourth consecutive Western Athletic Conference title with a meet points record this past spring and the women’s squad’s 2021 Mountain West crown.
“Pat has been a part of building upon UNLV swimming & diving’s championship culture for almost a decade,” Harper said. “He has a proven track record with conference championships and NCAA Championship qualifiers, and also understands the process that goes into developing great student-athletes, both in academics and in athletics. He is the right person to lead this program to continued success.”
As a member of the UNLV coaching staff, Ota has helped produce a combined 73 WAC and MW individual and relay champions, 35 school records and six conference records. Additionally, the Rebels have seen eight individuals and three relay teams qualify for the NCAA Championships, three individuals reach the U.S. Olympic Trials and one student-athlete (Vuk Celic) go on to compete in the Olympics during his time on campus.
“I am honored to have this opportunity to continue our success here at UNLV, while having the confidence of the student-athletes and our administration to lead the Rebels into the future,” said Ota. “I want to thank our athletics director Erick Harper and the search committee for the opportunity to convey my passion for UNLV and the Las Vegas community. I’ve learned so much from Coach (Ben) Loorz over the last eight seasons, while I’ve relied on the support of my wife, Razilee, and my family. I look forward with great enthusiasm as I enter this next stage of my coaching career.”
Last season, the UNLV women finished 2nd out of 9 teams at the Mountain West Conference Championships, led in part by a conference record from senior Blanka Bokros in the 200 fly that continued a three-year win streak.
She and fellow senior Ruby Howell both qualified for the NCAA Championships, though only Bokros is listed as a 5th year on UNLV’s roster for next season.
The men’s team won their 4th-straight WAC title, meanwhile, and set a new conference points record of 972 in the process. That surpassed their own 2021 record of 907 points.
Ota’s prior coaching stops:
- 2011-2016: Fresno State women’s swimming & diving, assistant coach
- 2007-2011: Fresno Pacific swimming & diving, head assistant coach
Ota has had success with sprinters everywhere he has been. That includes assistant with the training of Kasia Wasick at UNLV when she was ranked as high as #2 in the world in the 50 free, and at Fresno Pacific where he led a sprint group that had 9 individual NAIA champions.
Ota swam collegiately at UCSB from 2002-2006, helping the team win conference titles in 2004 and 2006. He was a three-time Big West Champion in the 100 back, the 2005 Big West Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and a 2006 NCAA Division I National Championship qualifier.
Ota graduated with a bachelor’s degree in film studies from UC Santa Barbara in 2006 and later earned his master’s degree in positive coaching from Missouri in 2020. He and his wife, Razilee, have a daughter, Alicia (12), two sons, Evan (8) and Theo (2), and a baby girl on the way in July.
Pat is extremely knowledgeable and understanding. Very deserving of the job. Very happy for UNLV
Huge! Lets go Pat!!
Congrats, Pat!
Pat is a class act and has already been so invested in UNLV. GREAT PICK!
Incredibly excited for the Pat Ota era of UNLV Swimming & Diving!!
Great choice for UNLV. Pat’s swimming roots run deep, coaching runs in the family for sure.