Poppell Welcomes All-American Nils Wich-Glasen Back Home
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head swimming and diving coach Jeff Poppell announced today that Gamecock All-American Nils Wich-Glasen has joined the staff as assistant men’s swimming coach. The five-time All-American dominated the breaststroke for the Gamecocks 2015-18 and is still the program’s 200 record holder.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Nils to our staff,” Poppell said. “He returns to South Carolina after a great career in the pool and successful coaching seasons in the New England area. He will not only bring some great experience to our program but an unrelenting drive and passion to help put our Gamecock men back on the national map.”
Wich-Glasen continued to train and compete in the pool through 2023, while also learning the ropes of coaching at the same time. His coaching career began as a lead clinician in the Fitter and Faster Swim Camps where he collaborated with Olympians, Olympic coaches and renowned swimming professionals. He went on to achieve a top three ranking among all clinicians.
In 2023, Wich-Glasen turned to coaching full-time at both the club and college levels, joining the staffs at Gator Swim Club Seekonk and Bryant University. With the club team, he was the lead coach of the Titanium Group, which is the highest level skill group and designed for success at the national level. Wich-Glasen was involved in all aspects of the group’s training – developing a structured in-water approach, designing a periodized approach in the weight room and utilizing video analysis software to further improve and fine-tune technique. In his first season at the club, he helped the team to its highest finish at the New England Senior Championships and developed multiple top-100 swimmers in their age group.
At Bryant, Wich-Glasen developed periodization training and led breaststroke-specific practices for the men’s and women’s teams in 2023-24. The Bulldogs’ breaststroke group turned in one of their best finishes in the America East Conference meet with seven A-Final and two B-Final swims, contributing to one of Bryant’s highest team finishes since joining the conference.
Wich-Glasen’s Gamecock swimming career included at least one All-America recognition in each of his four seasons (2018 – 200 breast; 2017 – 100 and 200 breast; 2016 – 100 breast; 2015 – 200 breast) as well as three All-SEC Second-Team nods (2015, 2016, 2018). His SEC Championship career featured three silver and two bronze medals across the two breaststroke events. Graduating from the University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in international business, he was a four-time CSCAA Scholar All-American and made four appearances on the SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll. He capped his career as the Athletics Department’s 2017-18 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to return to South Carolina as part of the coaching staff, exactly 10 years after joining as a student-athlete,” Wich-Glasen said. “This program has always held a special place in my heart, and I am eager to contribute to the continued success of our student-athletes. I look forward to working with Coach Poppell and the rest of the team to help Gamecock Swimming become better than it has ever been.”
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