Bio:
• Gill is in his seventh season as SJU's head swimming and diving coach in 2025-26. He became the fourth head coach in the program's 46-year history on Aug. 12, 2019. He also serves the SJU athletic department as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.
2024-25 Season:
• The Johnnies finished second out of six teams Feb. 19-22 at the 2025 MIAC Championships and 36th out of 47 teams March 19-22 at the NCAA Division III Championships. Brayden Slavik '26 was named the MIAC Co-Swimmer of the Year while Gill was awarded the conference's Coach of the Year title. Diver Eli Grabinski '25 and Slavik both qualified for the national meet, each earning All-America honors. Grabinski finished eighth on the 1-meter board and 14th on the 3-meter, while Slavik took 15th in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
2023-24 Season:
• SJU swimming and diving finished third out of six teams at the MIAC Championships. Eli Grabinski ’25 won the 3-meter dive and was named the MIAC Men’s Diver of the Year for the third-straight season, while Carter Larson ’25 placed first in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyles and Brayden Slavik ’26 won the 400-yard individual medley and 1,650-yard freestyle to give SJU a total of five conference titles, the program's most since 2003 (6). Grabinski competed at the NCAA Regional in Ohio and just missed qualifying for one of the six NCAA bids and was an alternate for the NCAA Championships. He finished fourth in the 1-meter dive and sixth on the 3-meter board.
2022-23 Season:
• SJU placed second out of six teams at the MIAC Championships for the second-straight season in 2022-23. A trio of divers – Jack Grabinski ’23, Eli Grabinski ’25 and Connor Reed ’23 – competed at the NCAA Regional in Chicago. Jack just missed qualifying for one of the nine NCAA bids and was a first-alternate for the NCAA Championships. Eli was named MIAC Diver of the Year after he won the 3-meter dive and took second to his brother Jack on the 1-meter board at the MIAC Championships. Liam Noble ’25 was SJU’s other MIAC champion in the 100-yard backstroke.
2021-22 Season:
• The Johnnies finished second out of six teams at the 2022 MIAC Championships. Eli Grabinski '25 was named the MIAC Men's Diver of the Year after he won both events, the first Johnnie to do so since John Deters '92 - a seven-time All-American and the 1991 national champion on the 1-meter board - who accomplished the feat three consecutive years from 1990-92. Joe Koller '23, like Grabinski, also won two conference titles. He became the first Johnnie to win the 100-yard backstroke since 2012 (Logan Arnold) with a school-record time of 50.88 seconds.
2020-21 Season:
• The Johnnies competed in an abbreviated schedule, though Jack Grabinski '23 and Connor Reed '23 were named College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) All-Americans. Grabinski received first-team honors in the 3-meter dive, while both divers earned second-team distinction on the 1-meter board. Due to the cancellation of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships for the second consecutive season, the CSCAA Board once again adjusted the selection criteria for each division. Swimming selections were made on the basis of verified performances in bona-fide competition submitted by their respective coaches, while diving selections were conducted via a video evaluation of performances from the 2020-21 academic year.
2019-20 Season:
• He directed the Johnnies to a third-place finish at the 2020 MIAC Championships. Two of his divers, Jack Grabinski '23 and Connor Reed '23, competed at the NCAA Central Regional, and Grabinski became the first Johnnie diver to advance to nationals since 2011. Grabinski, however, did not compete after the NCAA canceled all winter and spring championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Past Experience:
• A 2007 graduate of St. Cloud State, Gill served as head swimming and diving coach for the men’s and women’s teams the last four seasons at Loras College (Iowa). Loras sent student-athletes to the NCAA Division III Championships each of the last three seasons and collected six All-America honors. The Duhawks totaled 64 All-Conference honors, including 14 conference champions.
• Prior to Loras, Gill was the head coach at the La Crosse (Wis.) Area Family YMCA from 2014-15. Eight of Gill’s athletes qualified for YMCA Nationals and his team placed third at the YMCA state meet, in which multiple state champions were crowned across different age groups.
• Gill was a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater for two seasons (2012-14) and coached nine Division II All-Americans. The SCSU women won back-to-back Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships during his tenure.
• His coaching experience also includes stops at the St. Cloud YMCA (2011-12), the Fox Cities YMCA in Appleton, Wis. (2009-11) and as an assistant at the College of Saint Benedict (2007-08). Gill was also a deck coach at Stanford’s swim camp during summer 2008.
