Kirk Kumbier - Associate Head Coach / Director of Recruiting - Men's and Women's - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Kirk Kumbier

Title:
Associate Head Coach / Director of Recruiting - Men's and Women's
Email:
Phone:
919-962-6000

Kirk Kumbier was named an assistant coach for the University of North Carolina swimming and diving program in May of 2022. Kumbier came to Chapel Hill after spending the 2021-22 season as a volunteer assistant at LSU and a three-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Following the 2023-24 season, he was elevated to Associated Head Coach and Director of Recruiting.

As a member of the coaching staff, Kumbier has played a pivotal role in elevating the Tar Heels performances. During his tenure, he has helped guide the Tar Heel women to a 10th-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships, and a pair of 17th place finishes at the 2024 and 2025 Championships. He simultaneously helped the men to a pair of Top 25 NCAA finishes in 2023 (23rd) and 2025 (23rd). Kumbier’s efforts helped the women to back-to-back fourth-place finishes at the ACC Championships in 2023 and 2024, and the men to a fourth-place finish, their highest finish since 2016, to cap off an historic 2025 campaign.

On deck, Kumbier leads the sprint freestyle and sprint butterfly/backstroke groups as well as the team’s speed and power development program. In his time at Carolina, he has personally mentored numerous All-Americans along with Olympic Trials, World Championships, and World University Games Qualifiers including Greer Pattison, Grace Countie, Sophia Frei, Elizabeth Sowards, and Georgia Nel on the women’s side and Walker Davis, Boyd Poelke, Seb Lunak, Matthew Van Deusen, PJ Foy and Martin Kartavi on the men’s. Foy was also named a member of the U.S. National Team for 2025-26.

In his first season as a Tar Heel, Kumbier helped Foy earn two Top 8 finishes at the ACC Championships (50 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly), a 16th-place finish in the 100 Butterfly at NCAA Championships, and a fourth-place finish in the long course 50 butterfly at the 2025 U.S. World Championship Trials (US National Championships) in Indianapolis. He also mentored Kartavi to a 17th-place finish in the long course 50 freestyle at the World Championships.

At the 2025 ACC Championships, Foy and Kartavi traded top times for the Tar Heel record books in the 50 freestyle, with each breaking the original record and Kartavi ultimately setting the mark at 19.08. Additionally, Davis set and reset the 100 backstroke record multiple times in his final season with the Heels, bringing the new mark down to 45.24. His efforts have also helped Carolina elevate relays to Top 16 or podium finishes at NCAA Championships every year.

In three seasons, Kumbier’s efforts have helped the Heels rewrite the record books in his time in Chapel Hill. Both the men and women have set numerous program records over the past three years, including nine of 10 relay records, and a complete overhaul of the men’s record book during the 2024-2025 campaign, with over 35 new men’s records.

Prior to Carolina, Kumbier helped LSU to its highest SEC Men's Championship finish since 1997 and saw eight school records fall. He also helped tutor 2022 NCAA 50 and 100-yard freestyle champion Brooks Curry. While in Baton Rouge, he simultaneously served as the head age group coach for Tiger Aquatics.

Before joining the coaching staff at LSU, Kumbier served as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). He primarily coached the sprint freestyle and sprint stroke events. While at UCSD, three swimmers training under Kumbier qualified for the U.S. Swimming Trials. Additionally, in UCSD's final season in Division II, Kumbier helped lead both the men's and women's teams to a number one ranking in the CSCAA polls during the 2019-20 season. That year, a total of 26 athletes earned All-America honors and Kumbier guide sprint specialist Spencer Daily to the NCAA DII National Championship in the 50-yard freestyle.

Kumbier began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Allegheny College in 2011. He remained in the role of assistant coach until the 2013-14 campaign when he was tabbed interim head coach, and eventually permanent head coach. Kumbier guided nine of his Allegheny Gators to 14 school-record swims, with seven producing NCAA consideration qualifiers in 10 events.

Kumbier earned his bachelor's degree from Kenyon College in 2011 and helped the Lords to a conference championship in 2008 and three consecutive NCAA Division III National Championships in 2008, ‘09 and ‘10. He later secured a master's in counseling psychology through the Positive Coaching Program at the University of Missouri in 2016.