ASU Swim and Dive: Sun Devils embrace new era, headed by Herbie Behm

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State swim and dive enters a new era in the program this season with heightened expectations. But they’ll do so with a new man in charge and without their French sensation, Leon Marchand.

Head coach Herbie Behm replaced Bob Bowman this Spring. Bowman left ASU and is now the head coach at the University of Texas, a program with a rich swim and dive history of its own.

Behm is no stranger to the ASU swim and dive program. The young head coach swam on the team from 2010-2013 and has coached under Bowman since 2018. Behm joins a group of now nine head coaches in the athletic department who are alumni of Arizona State.

What’s next for ASU swim and dive?

Coming off its first NCAA championship in program history, Behm looks to build on that success and sustain it.

“It’s an exciting time with a lot of success last year, and the doors open really for a lot of people to step up and become major contributors to the team,” Behm said.

After Marchand won four gold medals in Paris, ASU swim and dive has received a lot of eyes and expectations for this season.

Despite the loss of Marchand, who went professional after his record-breaking junior year and golden Paris Olympics, the Sun Devils return three Pac-12 champions.

Junior Jonny Kulow, senior Patrick Sammon and sophomore Ilya Kharun will lead ASU in its first year in the Big 12 and Behm’s first year as head coach.

Ilya Kharun’s new leadership role

Kharun competed in the Paris Olympics this summer and came home with a bronze medal. Now, he’s determined to build on that success and be a leader for his team.

“I try to give them advice. I try to make them into the best of what they can be,” Kharun said.

Behm added that it helps when the team is doing warmups or practice laps and Kharun finishes two or three seconds ahead of everyone else on the team. He chuckled and said it lets them know where they need to get to compete with the best of the best.

Sun Devils are full of young talent

Although ASU has leaders like Kharun returning this season, there’s plenty of new faces and youth in the program. There are big shoes to fill, but Behm believes in the deep, young group of newcomers.

“We have a very talented team, a very deep team, it’s deep, but it’s also very young,” Behm said. “Our freshman class is one of the most talented classes we’ve really ever had, and really wide variety in that of the events they swim.”

Herbie Behm takes over the program

When following the steps of a highly regarded coach like Bowman, Behm will look to make adjustments that fit his coaching style while keeping the program at the level Bowman built it to.

“It’s like, what’s going to be best for the team, not necessarily whose idea it was,” Behm said. “What do we have to do to keep moving forward.”

Behm mentioned getting the community more involved with the program and paying more attention to the women’s team as two things he’d like to work toward.

Swim and dive is a program that has had a lot of success at ASU, and Behm’s goal is to drive a crowd out to support his athletes to create a more competitive and fun environment for them.

The women’s team has seen a lot of improvement over the last few years. Behm wants to focus more on their side of the program to give them an opportunity to reach that next level.

The Sun Devils come into this season ranked inside the top 25 in both men’s and women’s. The men’s team ranks No. 6, while the women break the top 25 at No. 21.

The men will look to defend their NCAA Championship this season. The Sun Devils have lost just one regular season meet in the last two seasons. If they can keep that up, they’ll be competing for their second championship in as many years.

On the women’s side, the Lady Devils will look to achieve their first winning season since 2018. Behm has a lot of belief in this group and their top 25 ranking should give them further confidence.

ASU swim and dive gets underway Friday, October 4, at 6 p.m. in the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center against UNLV.

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