University of Nebaraska at Omaha has removed the interim tag from Jessica Hessel after one season and named her the men’s and women’s swimming & diving head coach. She stepped into the role in September when Todd Samland, the coach who founded the program, resigned after 25 years leading the program.
Hessel spent 7 seasons as an assistant at UNO, including the two prior years as an associate head coach.
In her season as interim head coach, Omaha registered 179 personal bests. Four swimmers earned Summit League Peak Swimmer of the Week and one diver garnered a Peak Diver of the Week award. The Mavericks had 21 top-8 conference finishes, six All-Summit honors, one Zones qualifier, and broke 14 school records.
She is also an alumnus of the program. During Jessica’s four-year collegiate career at Omaha (2004-08), the Wichita, Kan., native anchored the Mavericks NCAA National Championship 400 free relay team in her senior season with teammates Kristy Gmeiner, Megan Guthmiller and Cait Hopkins. Hessel was a 10-time All-American and earned another 12 honorable mention All-American awards while setting four school records over her decorated career.
“I’m excited to remain in Omaha and to continue to build both programs to their full potential with our amazing student-athletes,” Hessel said. “They are invested in their training, academics, and the future of this program. We will continue to work hard and find new heights. There is no other team that I’d rather coach than this one here in Omaha and I’m grateful to be a part of it all.”
Prior to returning to Omaha, Hessel spent three years (2012-15) at Truman State at the D2 level, where she served as an assistant coach for two seasons before being elevated to Associate Head Coach in her final season. She was previously a Graduate Assistant at another D2 school, Henderson State, from 2010 to 2012. Over her coaching career, Hessel has guided three world championship qualifiers, 27 All-Americans and 38 honorable mention All-Americans.
Omaha is her first job at the D1 level.
In addition, Hessel worked as the Aquatics Director at the Jewish Community Center in Omaha and coached at Millard Aquatic Club and Millard South High School.
Hessel earned her bachelor’s degree in general studies from UNO in 2010 and her master’s degree in sports administration from Henderson State in 2012.
“I want to thank Adrian for his support over the past season and the opportunity to continue to lead this program. There are so many wonderful administrators, support staff and coaches that I get to work with that makes each aspect of this job enjoyable,” Hessel said. “I have been associated with this program for 20 years; as a recruit, a swimmer, an alumnus and most recently a coach. This is a place where I have built a strong support system as well as started a family. Being able to stay in Omaha and do what I love means everything.”
The Omaha women finished 4th at the 2023 Summit League Championships. That was one spot lower than their 3rd place finish a year prior, though the conference grew from six team to eight in 2023.
The Omaha men finished 5th in 2023 with the same story – one spot lower, but out of a bigger overall conference. The 2022-2023 season was just the second in program history for the men.