Kelly Nordell - Swimming and Diving Coach - Iowa State University Athletics

Kelly Nordell

Title:
Assistant Head Coach
Email:
knordell@iastate.edu
Phone:
515-294-3185

Kelly Nordell begins her 16th season on the Iowa State coaching staff in 2023-24 after joining the swimming and diving program as an assistant coach in June 2008 and earning a promotion to assistant head coach in 2010.

Nordell is primarily responsible for training the individual medley and distance swimmers. In addition to her roles on the pool deck, she is the head recruiting coordinator.

Under her lead coaching the 200 IM and 400 IM, sixteen of the top 20 times in program history in both events have happened under Nordell, including record holder in 200 and 400 IM Lucia Rizzo.

Following her senior season, Rizzo is now a top-20 performer in six events and holds five all-time top times in IM events. Rizzo became a top-10 Cyclone in the 200 butterfly, 400 IM and 500 free as a freshman. Also in the 2020-21 season, Nordell coached distance swimmers Brinley Horras, Sydney Jackson and Keely Tierney to all-time top distance performances. The trio took up seven slots on the top performers list and five slots on the top times list.

Nordell helped coach senior Haley Ruegemer back from an early-season injury in 2018-19. She swam for top-10 times in school history in three events: 1000 free, 1650 free and 400 IM.

The 2017-18 campaign proved to be very strong in Nordell's events. Silqi Luo capped off her career with a finals appearance in the 200 IM at the Big 12 meet, while the tandem of Mary Kate Luddy and Haley Ruegemer swam for third- and fourth-place finishes in the 400 IM with the top-two times in Cyclone history. Three distance swimmers earned All-Big 12 honors at the 2018 Big 12 Championships.

During the 2016-17 season, Nordell coached then-freshman Keely Soellner to one of the most outstanding rookie campaigns in team history. Soellner swam the team’s fastest times in the 200, 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle races and led-off the year’s best 800 freestyle relay. Soellner tackled the program’s 1000 freestyle record in just her fourth dual meet, becoming the first swimmer in team history to crack 10 minutes in the race. Later on in the year at the Big 12 Championship, Soellner re-broke her record in the 1000 en route to cutting more than 11 seconds off the team record in the mile.

In the 2014-15 season, Nordell coached Cyclone newcomers Roberts and Luddy to a combined four school records (200 IM, 800 freestyle relay 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke), 13 times on ISU’s all-top top-performers lists and eight All-Big 12 honors. Nordell coached Roberts to Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Big 12 Newcomer of the Meet recognition, the first time an Iowa State student-athlete has earned either award.

Nordell’s efforts on the recruiting trail have also heavily impacted the program. Since her arrival, the Iowa State swimming and diving team has compiled 83 dual meet wins over the course of 15 years. With Nordell on staff, the Cyclones have also earned top-three finishes at the Big 12 Championship in five seasons.

A University of Arizona alum, Nordell served as the head coach of the Des Moines Swimming Federation from 2001-08, developing the top senior girl’s program in the state and rejuvenating girls’ swimming in central Iowa. In 2007, Nordell coached two of the fastest 17-18 year old female sprinters in the country.

Prior to joining the Des Moines Swimming Federation, Nordell served as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Nebraska from 1988-2001. She coached 24 NCAA All-Americans and 34 conference champions while six of her swimmers posted times that ranked in the top-100 in the world. Her swimmers also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition four times.

From 1994-98, Nordell was head coach of the USS/YMCA Swim Team in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she transformed a recreation team into a state championship squad. She was instrumental in increasing the team membership by 100 percent.

Nordell was a three-time NCAA qualifier at Arizona and team captain during the 1984-85 season. Nordell specialized in middle distance events while swimming for the Wildcats.

Nordell is the daughter of Dallas Long, who earned a gold medal in the shot put at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and a bronze medal in 1960 in Rome. Nordell resides in Urbandale with her husband, Robert, and has three children, RJ, Emma and Peter.