Max McHugh 2026-27 Swimming and Diving Staff

On Sept. 24, 2025, Peterson Family Head Swimming and Diving Coach Michael Norment made his first hire at the helm for the Irish, adding NCAA champion Max McHugh to his staff as an assistant coach.

McHugh found tremendous success in his first season with the Irish, primarily working with the breaststroke group. Freshmen Jackson Armour and Gracyn Lanning were two of the bigger success stories in 2025-26. At the conclusion of his rookie year, Armour ranked second in the 100 breaststroke (51.77) and fifth in the 200 breaststroke (1:53.80) in program history. He was a 2026 NCAA qualifier and was named the program’s Freshman of the Year. Lanning cracked the top-10 in program history in the 200 breaststroke (2:12.85) and was a C finalist in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.28) at ACC Championships.

McHugh’s list of accomplishments as a collegiate student-athlete at the University of Minnesota is lengthy. The breaststroker is a four-time individual NCAA champion, seven-time Big Ten champion, 10-time College Swimming Coaches Association (CSCAA) All-American, 2021 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and 2019 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

McHugh joined the Irish after a year as an assistant coach at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo. Prior to Colorado College, McHugh served as an assistant coach from 2023-24 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.

A native of Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., McHugh earned two degrees from Minnesota: a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2022 and a Master of Education in Sports and Fitness Management and Administration in 2023. McHugh is also a three-time CSCAA First-Team Scholar All-American.