Kile Aukerman has joined the Ohio State Men’s and Women’s swimming programs as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2021-22 season. Aukerman joins Head Coach Bill Dorenkott’s staff after former volunteer assistant Kyle Patnode headed to the SEC to join Jeff Poppell’s new coaching staff at South Carolina in May.
Aukerman has spent the past several years coaching for the TAC Titans, a USA Swimming Gold Medal club in Cary, NC and home to 2020 Olympic Silver Medalist Claire Curzan. During his time at TAC, Aukerman worked primarily with 13-14 year old athletes in the Titans TAG 1.5 and Gold groups. Prior to joining the Titans, Aukerman spent a year training for the 2016 Olympic Trials, where competed in the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 IM under current TAC Head Coach Bruce Marcionda at the South Florida Aquatic Club.
The move to Columbus serves as a bit of a homecoming for Aukerman. Born in Cincinnati, Aukerman swam club in the area growing up before heading to Dayton, Ohio to swim for Wright State. During his four years competing in Dayton, Aukerman was one of the Raiders’ top swimmers, holding the school record in the 200 IM and 100 breast. He graduated in 2015 with a degree in biology with a concentration in exercise physiology and a minor in psychology.
The Buckeyes kick off their 2021-22 season on Friday with their annual Scarlet vs. Gray intrasquad meet. The team will then host a tri-meet against Virginia Tech and Penn State in Columbus on October 29th.