Kaden Huntrods enters his fifth season at the helm of the Northern State swim program in the fall of 2025. He is the third head swim coach in program history and joined the Wolves program after two seasons as the head coach at Iowa Lakes Community College.
In 2024-25, Northern State went 1-8 overall and 0-4 against league opponents in dual action. Two school records were broken by Jacie Flockhart in the 1M dive with marks of 251.05 in the 6-dive and 426.05 in the 11-dive. The Wolves finished ninth at the NSIC Championships, scoring 170 points.
The Wolves went 4-9 in 2023-24, finishing the year eighth at the NSIC Championships. Lilly Grebner won three NSIC Championships in the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 fly, and added a runner-up finish in the 100 IM. The sophomore qualified for the NCAA Championships and earned the first All-American honors of her career taking 12th in the 200 fly at the national meet. In the spring of 2024, Grebner was honored as a CSC Academic All-American, the first in program history, following a strong season. In addition, the 2023-24 Wolves broke six school records.
Northern State went 8-7 in team competition in 2022-23, recording their first winning season in program history. The Wolves posted their best NSIC Championships finish since 2017 with four individual conference titles, five all-conference performances, and a fifth place team finish. In addition, two school records and four freshman records fell in the 100 IM, 400 Medley Relay, 200 Fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM. Lilly Grebner became just the second single season 4-time NSIC Champion in program history. Lauren Forsyth added an All-Conference accolade in the 200 Fly. Grebner qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400 IM (27th), 200 IM (32nd), and 200 fly (24th) and capped off her season awards as the NSIC Freshman of the Year. Grebener clocked the second fastest 100 IM time in Division II as a true freshman. In addition, the Wolves found success academically sitting first in the NSIC and seventh in the country for team GPA.
In his first season at the helm, Huntrods posted a 4-4 record overall and 3-4 mark in the NSIC, recording the most dual wins since the 2016-17 season. The Wolves tallied their first invitational win in program history, taking the Dragon Invite with 310 points over MSU Moorhead and UMary. Northern placed sixth at the NSIC Championships, notching 221 team points. One school record was broken in the 200 free relay, while two freshman records were struck down in the 500 free and 1650 free. In addition, three Wolves swam to NSIC All-Conference finishes including Maddie Gonzales (200 back), Haley Osborne (200 free), and Lauren Forsyth (200 fly). Osborne tallied an NCAA 'B' standard in the 200 free, racing to a time of 1:52.45. Finally, the squad posted the fastest time improvements since the 2016-17 season.
In his two seasons leading both the men’s and women’s programs at ILCC, Huntrods coached his teams to ten top-6 placings at the NJCAA National Meet. In addition, the Lakers broke two individual records and one relay record in his tenure. He opened his collegiate coaching career as a student assistant and then graduate assistant at South Dakota State University.
While on the Jackrabbit staff, Huntrods assisted with the team fundraising effort, instituted an underwater stroke analysis program, and assisted with the day-to-day recruiting and program development efforts. He recruited the 2021 Summit League Champion in the men 200 IM and saw numerous school individual and relay records fall.
Huntrods has coached with numerous youth clubs including the Paso Robles swim team, Madison Makos, and Mitchell Aquatic Club. He is a Level III certified coach through the American Swim Coaches Association and the United States Masters.
Huntrods earned his bachelor of science in Exercise Science from Dakota State University and master of science in Sport and Recreation Administration from South Dakota State University.
