SUNY Potsdam Athletics

Ken McLaughlin enters his 18th season as head coach of the swimming and diving team at SUNY Potsdam.

Currently the most experienced coach in the State University of New York Athletic Conference, McLaughlin began his coaching career in 1985 at Potsdam. During his career, he has seen age group swimmers ranked as high as first in the U.S. He has also coached 12 junior national qualifiers, four senior national qualifiers - including one who placed - and two Olympic trial qualifiers. Additionally, McLaughlin has coached six NCAA national qualifiers, including one All-American, 13 conference champions, 22 Potsdam record setters and one SUNYAC MVP.

In 1998, McLaughlin also started the NCAA Division I women's program at Siena College. Within three years, the Siena women advanced from ninth to fourth place in the 10-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Coach McLaughlin holds a bachelor's in physical education and a master's from Indiana University. As a swimmer at Indiana, he was a four-year Division I national qualifier and a school record holder. In 1981, McLaughlin was ranked ninth in the world in the 50-meter freestyle