Kameron Chastain 2023-24 Swimming and Diving Staff
Associate Coach
On June 1, 2022, Chastain was named an Associate Coach at Notre Dame. He had spend the previous seven seasons at his alma mater of Louisville with Lindauer as an assistant coach.
During his time at Louisville, Chastain oversaw the Cardinals earn an ACC men’s team title, four Top-10 finishes between both squads at nationals and a number of individual champions on the national and international stage. In each of his seven seasons at Louisville, at least one of the men’s or women’s teams finished in the Top-3 at ACC’s and both teams finished in the Top-3 in six of those seven seasons.
During the 2021-22 season, the Cardinals continue to collect honors and excel in the pool as well as the classroom. The men finished second in the ACC Championship and the women were third. The women finished sixth at the NCAA Championship and the men were 12th. Both teams were named as CSCAA Scholar All-American Teams. With the NCAA granting an extra year of competition to the sports which were impacted by the pandemic, Nick Albiero and Evgenii Somov had the unique opportunity to win gold medals in their signature events for five straight years: Albiero in the 200 butterfly and Somov in the 100 breast. Another super senior, Daniel Sos, became the first Cardinal to ever win the grueling 400 Individual Medley at ACCs. Arthur Albiero was named as on the of the 100 Greatest College Coaches of the Past 100 Years by the CSCAA and former Cardinals Mallory Comerford and Kelsi Worrell were named as two of the top college 100 swimmers of the century. In all, the Cardinals won four gold medals, six silver medals and 9 bronze at ACCs. At NCAAs, the Cardinal men had seven All-American swims and two Honorable Mention All-American swims. For the women at NCAAs, the Cards had seven All-American swims and 10 Honorable Mention All-American performances. To cap off a stellar career, Nick Albiero was named ACC Swimmer of the Year and ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Despite an abrupt end due to the coronavirus pandemic that resulted in the cancellation of the NCAA Championships, the 2019-20 season was still memorable for the Cardinals. UofL qualified 10 men for the national meet and tied their program best with 12 qualifiers on the women’s side, and both the women (1105.5 points) and men (1066.5 points) finished third at their respective ACC Championships. Grace Oglesby defended her 200 butterfly title for the third-straight year, Arina Openysheva was the runner-up in the 200 freestyle, and UofL finished in the top-3 in all five relays at the Women’s ACC Championships. Oglesby was also the recipient of the prestigious Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship Award. At ACCs for the men, the 400 medley relay team of Mitchell Whyte, Evgenii Somov, Nicholas Albiero, and Andrej Barna earned gold while setting a new ACC Meet Record. The 800 freestyle relay quartet of Albiero, Colton Paulson, Barna, and Samuel Steele also won, while the 200 and 400 freestyle relays took second. Albiero had himself a meet, winning his third-consecutive 200 butterfly title in 1:38.65 which broke the ACC Meet Record and moved him up to No. 4 all-time in history; he also won the 100 backstroke and was named the All-ACC Academic Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Somov defended his 100 breaststroke crown for the third-straight year and made it a sweep after winning the 200 breaststroke as well. Paulson grabbed the gold medal in the 200 freestyle, Haridi Sameh was the runner-up in the 50 freestyle, and Whyte finished second in the 200 backstroke. The Cardinals concluded the season with final rankings of No. 9 for men and No. 16 for women in the CSCAA Poll, had 31 athletes named as All-Americans, and was again selected as a Scholar All-American team.
In a memorable 2018-19, the women finished in fourth place at the NCAA Championship, the highest finish in program history. The Cards earned the program’s first-ever team trophy, securing fourth with 235 points. Louisville became the first ACC program in history to have both its men’s and women’s teams finish in the top five at NCAAs in a single season. Arthur Albiero earned his second straight ACC Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year honors and Mallory Comerford collected her third consecutive ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Year honor after winning two titles at the NCAA Championship and three ACC Championship gold medals (100, 200, and 500 freestyle).Grace Oglesby won gold in the 200 fly and 400 Freestyle Relay of Lainey Visscher, Mallory Comerford, Casey Fanz, and Arina Openysheva took gold. With the award, Comerford became the first women’s swimmer in ACC history to receive the distinction three times throughout her career.The men made history was made at the NCAA Championship as the Cardinals captured a program-record fifth place finish. The Cardinals’ 212 points were also the most scored by a Louisville men’s team at an NCAA Championship. The Cards became the first ACC program in history to have both its men’s and women’s teams finish in the top five at NCAAs in a single season. As a team, the men finished second at the ACC Championship for the fifth straight year. They concluded the dual meet season with a record of 5-4 with wins over Xavier, Tennessee, Virginia, Northwestern, and Missouri. Louisville was tabbed at No. 8 in the final CSCAA/TYR Poll. The Cardinals won five individual titles at the ACC Championship. Nicolas Albiero (200 fly) and Evgenii Somov (100 breast) won their second consecutive ACC championship, while freshman Bartosz Piszczorowicz won the 200 free crown. The Cards’ 800 free and 400 free relays also took home the gold.
In 2017-18, major awards during the collegiate season began when Nick Albiero was named ACC Freshman of the Year with Mallory Comerford winning ACC Swimmer of the Year, and newcomer Mariia Ashtashkina being named ACC Freshman of the Year for the women. In all, 24 Cardinals were named to the All-ACC team. At NCAAs, the Cardinals raked in the honors led by Nick Albiero (4x All-American), Zach Harting (3x All-American), Andrej Barna (3x All-American), Sam Steele, (All-American), Carlos Claverie (2x All-American), Evgenii Somov (All-American), Marcelo Acosta (All-American). (Harting, Albiero, Barna, Matyi Kovacs, Acosta, Carlos all earned HM All Americans status as well. On the women’s side, Sophie Cattermole (All-American), Mallory Comerford (6x All-American), Arina Openysheva (2x All-American) Lainey Visscher, (3x All-American), Avery Braunecker (All-American), Casey Fanz (2x All-American), Alina Kendzior (2x All-American) and Mariia Astashkina (2x All-American).
At the 2018 ACC Championships, Evgenii Somov and Nick Albiero were both two-time ACC Champions. The 200 Men’s Medley relay (Albiero, Harting, Claverie, Barna) also won gold at the ACC Championships in Greensboro. For the women, Mallory Comerford was a four time ACC Champion alsong with Grace Oglesby, a two-time ACC Champion; and Mariia Astashkina, an individual ACC Champion. The 400 Medley Relay team of Kendzior, Oglesby, Friesen, and Comerford won ACC Gold. Albiero coached his fourth NCAA Champion when Mallory Comerford won the 200 free.
The year 2016-17 brought the Cardinals to the forefront on both the national and international stage. Breakout star Mallory Comerford won five gold medals at the 2017 FINA World Championships, was the champion in the 100m free at 2017 Phillips 66 Nationals and tied for the 2017 NCAA title in the 200 free with Katie Ledecky. The Cardinals men’s team set 11 school records and finished second at the ACC Championship. The women’s team finished third in the ACC. In the NCAAs, the UofL men had 10 swimmers qualify in addition to qualifying for all five relays. The women qualified eight swimmers and all five relays as well. Women’s swimming led the nation in All-Americans with 11, finishing sixth overall to tie the school record for highest finish. The men finished 11th at the NCAAs with eight All-Americans. Andrea Cottrell and Zach Harting were named to Team USA and represented the Cards at the World University Games. On the international stage, UofL sent 10 swimmers and four coaches to the World Championships in Budapest where they won 11 medals (nine gold and two bronze) which was the third most medals in the NCAA. The Cardinals were a part of nine championship final appearances, helped set eight American Records and four World Records. Albiero was named Team USA Coach for the 2016 Short Course World Championships and the 2017 FINA World Championship. Chastain was named as the national coach for El Salvador in Budapest.
The year 2015-16 season saw the Cardinals win two more NCAA Championships with Kelsi Worrell picking up two more in the butterfly events. Worrell went on to make the Olympic team and win a relay gold medal after winning the Honda Award and being named as a First Team Academic All-American. She was named both the ACC Swimmer of the Year, and the 2016 Most Valuable Swimmer. In all, seven Cardinals went to Rio (Joao De Lucca, Andrea Kneppers, Tanja Kylliainen, Marcelo Acosta, Carlos Claverie, Grigory Tarasevich and Worrell). The men were the ACC Runners-up and the women were fourth. At NCAAs, the Cardinal men were 11th and the women placed eighth.
Chastain lettered for the Cardinals from 2010-14, served as captain and was a part of two conference team championships while competing NCAAs all four years. He was an all-Big East and All-American Conference performer. In all, he won nine conference championships and was a part of the school record ninth place finish at the 2012 NCAAs. After his 2014 graduation with a degree in exercise science, he served as a volunteer assistant with the UofL team while coaching age group swimmers at Cardinal Aquatics.
As a senior, Chastain was a conference champion in the 200-breast with a 1:54.68 and was a part of the winning 200-medley relay, helping the Cardinals to the AAC Championship. He qualified for the NCAAs where he earned All-American status in the 100 breast with his best time being 52.51 in that event. He competed at Grand Prix and U.S. Nationals where he was a finalist at both meets. He posted a 1:01.91 at nationals in the 100m breaststroke and a 27.92 in the 50m breaststroke.
Chastain was a major point producer in his junior year. He was part of the winning 200-freestyle relay at the Big East Championships with the help of his teammates to qualify for his third NCAA. Chastain placed 10th for an All- American Honorable Mention splitting a 19.82. At Big Easts, Chastain swam the 50-freestyle for 6th place. He swam the 100-breaststroke for 5th place, and the 200-breaststroke for 5th.
As a sophomore, he qualified for the NCAA Championships where he competed in the 100- and 200-breast and the 50-free. He finished 23rd in the 100-breast, 27th in the 200-breast, and 65th in the 50-free. At the BIG EAST Championships, Chastain was the BIG EAST Champion in the 100-breast and finished second in the 200-breast. For his third event, Chastain finished eighth the 50-free and was one of six Cards in the A-Final. He was also a member of the BIG EAST Champion 200-medley relay during which he swam the breaststroke leg. Chastain was a three-time All-Big East performer that year.
As a freshman, Chastain competed at the USA Nationals and was a four-time All-BIG EAST performer for the Cards in 2010-11. During the BIG EAST Championships, he competed in the 200- and 400-medley relays, the 200-free relay, and the 100- and 200-breast. He swam the breaststroke leg for the 200- and 400-medley relay teams. In the 200, he had the second-fastest split with a time of 24.17, helping the team to a first place finish with a B-cut mark. Chastain had the fastest split in the 400-medley relay, resulting in another team race victory and B-cut time. He swam the third leg for the 200-free relay and once again had the fastest split of his field, guiding the Cards to a first-place finish. In the 100-breast, Chastain added an individual first-place finish and made the national B-cut and finished seventh in the 200-breast.
Chastain is from Seymour Ind. where he swam for Dave Boggs at Seymour Senior High School. He won the IHSAA State Championship in the 100-breaststroke in 2010. He is a 7-time school record holder, 6-time All-American, and a 3-year All-State member.
He and his wife, Lindsey, have one son, Karsyn, and one daughter, Kathryn. Chastain earned his B.S. in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from Louisville in 2014 and an M.S. in Sport Management from Louisville in 2016.