After 10 seasons, Thomas Natal announced in late July that he stepped down as the head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach at Loyola University in New Orleans.
In June of 2015, Natal was announced as the first ever coach of both programs, and began the task of launching them from scratch.
In November of 2024, Natal was also named Director of Aquatics at the university.
“We are incredibly grateful for TJ’s decade of service to Loyola and the lasting impact he has made on our swimming programs, our student-athletes and our entire department,” Loyola New Orleans Assistant Vice President of Athletics Brett Simpson said in a statement. “:He built our men’s and women’s swimming programs from the ground up and established a strong foundation of competitive success, academic achievement and care for student-athletes. TJ has also been a valued colleague and an important part of the Loyola community. While we will miss him, we are excited for TJ and wish him continued success in this next chapter.”
Last season, Natal helped guide the Loyola men’s team to a 15th-place finish at the NAIA championships in Indiana. The women finished 23rd.
The best team results in Natal’s tenure came in 2019 in his third season, when the Loyola men finished 5th and the women 6th at the NAIA meet.
Natal was twice named Mid-South Men’s Conference Coach of the Year and was named the conference’s Women’s Coach of the Year once.
Natal swam at LSU from 2001 to 2003 before starting his coaching career. Before being hired at Loyola, he spent time as an assistant at Connecticut and Tulane.
