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COACHING STAFF
Drew Johansen
Head Diving Coach
5th Season at Duke
Rochville ‘05
U.S. Elite Diving Academy founder and National Team coach Drew Johansen
is now in his fifth season as the Blue Devils diving coach.
In only his fourth year with the Blue Devil program, Johansen saw a
record five divers qualify for NCAA Zones and sent three divers to the 2011
NCAA Championships, with two divers collecting national titles. Junior
Abby Johnston won her first title on the three-meter, in addition to posting
a fifth-place showing on the one-meter, to collect All-America honors once
again. After rewriting the record book last season, sophomore Nick McCrory
did not disappoint. The defending national champion once again captured
the national title on the platform, setting the NCAA record for the second
consecutive year. McCrory had two dives that scored over 100 points apiece
to garner All-America honors for the second-straight year. In addition, the
sophomore standout placed fourth in both the one- and three-meter springboard
events. Johnston and McCrory also collected the ACC’s Most Valuable
Diver and Diver of the Year honors for the second-straight year. A new addition
to the roster, the Blue Devils picked up freshman platform competitor
Haley Ishimatsu, who made her international debut at age 13. Ishimatsu had
a banner year, breaking the Duke record on the platform during the ACC’s.
In her first showing at the NCAA Championships, the former U.S. Olympian
recorded an 11th-place finish on the platform.
Both Johnston and McCrory will redshirt the 2011-12 season to compete
internationally with the hopes of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics in London,
England.
Over the summer, Johansen served as the head coach of USA Diving’s
2011 World Championships team in Shanghai, China. He guided McCrory to
a sixth-place performance on the platform, as well as a fifth-place finish in
the men’s synchronized 10-meter event, along with David Boudia of Purdue.
Also under Johansen’s tutelage, Johnston finished sixth in the women’s
one-meter springboard competition.
Johansen made yet another incredible stride during the 2009-10 season.
In just three years with the program, he had four divers qualify for the NCAA
Zones, but more impressively, had two divers place in the NCAA Championships.
Arguably, his greatest accomplishment came this season with the addition
of freshman standout McCrory. McCrory demolished the record book,
setting every men’s record for both the pool and school. More incredibly, he
was the NCAA Champion in platform diving, while also placing second in the
2011-12 DUKE SWIMMING & DIVING
three-meter and fourth in the one-meter events.
During the 2008-09 season, a total of five men and women – four of them
freshmen – qualified for the NCAA Zones Diving Championships. The standing
school records in four of six total diving events were broken and re-broken
over the course of the year. Johnasen also directed freshman Johnston to a
fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, where she garnered All-America
honors on the three-meter board.
During the 2007-08 campaign, Johansen’s first at Duke, diver Julie Brummond
received All-ACC honors for her performance on the three-meter board
at the 2008 ACC Championships. She reached the finals on both springboards
and on the platform at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships under Johansen’s
leadership.
A former member of the U.S. Diving National Team, Johansen brings a
wealth of skills to the Duke program as he has had a variety of experience at
the club, collegiate and national levels. He has served as a U.S. National Team
coach for six years and also coached the U.S. Diving World Championship team
in 2005 and U.S. Diving Junior World Team in 2002. He founded the U.S. Elite
Diving Academy in Columbus, Ohio, in 2001, and it quickly developed into the
nation’s top junior and senior program, winning the U.S. Diving Junior Team
title in 2005 and Senior Team title in 2006.
Johansen’s NCAA experience includes head coaching stints at Illinois State
University and Florida Atlantic University, as he received conference coach of
the year accolades four times at FAU. During the 1992-93 campaign at FAU,
Johansen coached four All-America selections, three honorable mention All-
America picks and a three-meter national champion. He has also served as a
volunteer assistant at Ohio State University.
Johansen has received numerous coaching accolades, as he was the recipient
of the USA Diving Award of Excellence and was named USA Diving Coach
of the Year in 2006. Other career accolades include Junior Coach of the Year
(2002 and 2004) and U.S. Olympic Committee Finalist Developmental Coach
of the Year (2004).
The Florida native received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from
Rochville University in 2005. Johansen resides in Durham.
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