Purdue Brings Alumna Caitlin Hamilton Back as Associate Head Coach
Purdue University on Tuesday announced the return of alumna Caitlin Hamilton as an associate head coach for the women’s team.
Hamilton swam for Purdue head coach John Klinge from 2009-13 and now returns on his coaching staff.
“I’m thrilled to have Caitlin return to campus and rejoin our team, working alongside me and everyone at the Burke Aquatic Center,” Klinge said in a press release. “She was an All-American and Big Ten medalist at our pool and has enjoyed an impactful coaching career since graduating from Purdue. She gained valuable experience as a head coach, and as an assistant –both here in the state of Indiana and in the SEC. Caitlin was the obvious choice and I’m grateful she’s back.”
Hamilton has a bevy of coaching experience, including as the head coach at Illinois State from 2020-23. She was most recently an associate head coach at Kentucky for two seasons.
Hamilton joined the staff of Kentucky coach Bret Lundgaard in 2023 when he took over the program. The Wildcats qualified multiple women to NCAAs each of the last two seasons, while the Kentucky men’s swim team finished 20th at NCAAs.
Hamilton’s Illinois State teams tallied 10 individual titles at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships, including a second-place team finish in 2022.
“I would like to express my gratitude to John Klinge and senior associate athletics director Ed Howat for the opportunity to return home to Purdue,” Hamilton said. “Their excitement for the future of Purdue Swimming is undeniable, and I am deeply thankful for their trust in me to be a part of it. Having the opportunity to work alongside the head coach I swam for is something truly special. Boiler Nation, I am ever grateful. Boiler Up!”
Hamilton was on the staff of Ray Looze at Indiana from 2017-19, when the Hoosiers won two men’s Big Ten titles and one women’s crown behind NCAA champions Ian Finnerty and Lilly King. She was a recruiting coordinator for IUPUI from 2015-17 and an assistant coach at Wyoming in 2014-15.
Hamilton was a distance freestyler at Purdue, setting team records in the 500 free, 1,000 free and 1,650 free. She still holds the freshman records in the latter two. She was an All-American in the mile as a freshman in 2010, as part of Purdue’s 16th-place finish, its best ever at NCAAs. She was a four-time silver medalist at Big Tens and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
