University of Indianapolis Women's Swimming

Hite starting June 1 following the retirement of longtime head coach Gary Kinkead.   "We are extremely excited to welcome Jason and his family to the University of Indianapolis," said Dr. Sue Willey, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics.  He was the clear No. 1 choice of everyone on the search committee and coming from a program like Drury, we are very excited to bring him into the Greyhound family." Hite comes to the Circle City after spending the previous three seasons at Drury University, working with the distance team, coordinating recruiting and handling day-to-day operations.  Under the mentorship of DU coaching legend Brian Reynolds, Hite helped the Panthers win four NCAA Division II national championships in that span two each by the Drury men and women.   "I'm thankful to Dr. Willey for the opportunity to take over the swimming & diving programs at the University of Indianapolis after Coach Kinkead's tenure," said Hite.  "The strong academics combined with the support of athletics make UIndy a great place to be a successful student-athlete and build a top notch program.   "My goal for this team is to work with the coaching staff and the student-athletes we recruit to build programs that are competing for NCAA DII national championships.  We want to make UIndy a national powerhouse in swimming and diving."   Prior to his three-year stint as a full-time assistant at Drury, Hite was the head coach at various high schools in the Springfield, Mo., area from 1999-2012, garnering multiple coach of the year honors.   Hite earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Drury University.  As a student-athlete in the mid-90s, Hite was an All-American and Academic All-American for the Panthers, swimming IM, fly and distance.  He captained the 1997 team to a runner-up performance at nationals and spent the next two seasons as a graduate assistant at DU.   Drury has compiled a combined 22 swimming and diving national championships by its men's and women's squads, most in Division II history.   "I have been involved with Drury swimming and diving for almost 25 years," Hite said.  "It has been a privilege to swim for and work for Coach Reynolds, and I am very thankful to him for all he has taught me over the years.  It is not a mystery that the program he has built is the model for success in DII.  I hope to do the same at the University of Indianapolis."   In addition to coaching high school swimmers, Hite taught first, second and third grades in the Springfield Public Schools gifted education program from 1999-2012 and was also the longtime Aquatics Manager at Millwood Golf & Racquet Club in Ozark, Mo.

Steenvoorden joins the UIndy family as the first full-time assistant in program history.   "I am excited to have Ashley on staff at UIndy," said Hite. "Her experience at the college and world levels will be an asset to getting the program to the top of DII swimming and diving." A native of East Brunswick, N.J., Steenvoorden was a nine-time All-American and six-time Big Ten champion at Minnesota. She captained the Gophers to the 2012 Big Ten title, the first of four straight for the program.   Steenvoorden went on to take first in the 400 free (4:07.63) at the 2011 U.S. Nationals in San Antonio before capturing silver in the 1500 free (16:07.89) and bronze in the 800 free (8:29.79) at the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia.   Though she has been out of college only a short time, Steenvoorden will be able to draw from coaching experiences at a number of levels. She spent the previous two years as an assistant with the Minnetonka Swim Club while also spending the 2014-15 season both as the head coach of the Fridley High School team and a volunteer coach at her alma mater.   When asked about her new coaching position, Steenvoorden kept it short and sweet.   "I am honored and excited to be a part of the UIndy Family," she said. "I look forward to helping the program grow and reach the next level. Go Hounds!"   Steenvoorden graduated from Minnesota in December of 2012 with a degree in Elementary Education.  She has strong ties to her family, which includes a twin sister and two younger brothers.