Davenport's swimming and diving head coach, Justin Vasquez, announced the hiring of Alec Kandt as his top assistant prior to the 2020-21 season. Kandt, a native of Inver Grove Heights, Minn. and former four-year varsity letterwinner at Michigan State University (2013-17), came to DU after coaching for the East Grand Rapids Aquatics Waves Swim Club for over two years.
"Alec is a young coach with a lot of experience," said Vasquez. "He has worked alongside some of the best coaches in the world while mentoring some of the best swimmers in the world. He has a great coaching mind and I'm very excited to have him join us at Davenport."
In his first season at DU, Kandt helped lead a young and dynamic program though the tough Covid season. On the men's side, he helped lead them through their first official season with multiple top 8 finishes at the GLIAC Championships as well as several personal best times and NCAA 'B' cuts. He also helped lead the women to a top 5 finish with multiple personal best times and NCAA 'B' cuts at the GLIAC Championships. Academically, the women’s team was named a Scholar All-American Team for the third-straight season.
Before coaching in the area, Kandt made a stop in Gainesville, Fla. (August 2017-July 2018) where he was both a volunteer coach at the University of Florida and an assistant coach at the Gator Swim Club. Prior to his stay in The Sunshine State, Kandt volunteered at MSU (February-July 2017), assisted at Mid-Michigan Aquatics (April 2016-August 2017) and helped with Michigan State Swim Camps (June-July 2016).
As a student-athlete for the Spartans, Kandt was a successful breaststroker from Smiley Senior High School in Minnesota. His accomplishments included the following:
- Four-year varsity letterwinner (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
- Big Ten Championship finalist (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
- Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year (2013-14)
- Male Swimmer of the Year (2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17)
- Current varsity record holder (100-yard breaststroke)
- Represented MSU at the US Open (2016)
- Olympic Trails Qualifier (2016)
- Represented MSU at the Big Ten All-Star Meet (2016)
