Simek enters his fourth year as the director of swim and diver operations in the 2025-26 season.
Throughout his third season (2024-25) he helped Liv Dorshorst etch her name into the 500 freestyle top-10 list as she own's the program's third-quickest time (4:49.04). Adelaide Reaser closed out this season swimming the program's 10th-fastest 400 IM (4:20.38). He coached Kennedy Rainwater to the 10th-fastest 1000 freestyle time of (10:08.64). Outside of the Illinois season, Rainwater won the women's USA Aquathlon on a time of 38:41. She placed ninth overall out of nearly 200 participants.
His sophomore campaign (2023-24) he led Adelaide Reaser to a pair of top-10 program marks. She clocked the program's third-fastest 1650 freestyle (16:43.10) and seventh-fastest 1000 freestyle (10:06.51). Additionally, Paloma Canos Cervera recorded the school's fifth-fastest 1650 freestyle (16:46.22) under his guidance.
He joins the Illini after spending the last five seasons as the head coach of the men’s/women’s swim and dive team at his alma mater, Truman State University. Before becoming the head coach, he served the 2017-18 season as the interim coach. He was also a Health and Exercise Science Instructor from 2015-19. He taught undergraduates swimming techniques and the benefits of swimming.
As interim coach he helped the women’s team finish third and the men’s team finish fifth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship. Throughout the year there were plenty of strong performances. He had multiple conference champions, a Freshman of the Year recipient and 12 school records broken under his direction. This team had a 90% improvement ratio in the post season and three All-Americans were named.
In his first season as assistant swimming coach, 2015-16, Simek helped the women’s team to a GLVC title and a 12th place finish at the Division II NCAA Championships. The men’s team finished fifth and 27th respectively. In his second season he assisted the women’s team to a second-place finish and the men to a fourth-place finish in the GLVC Championships.
Simek was named head coach ahead of the 2018-19 season. This season he led the women’s team to a third-place finish and the men to a sixth-place finish in the GLVC Championships. During the COVID-19 shortened season six of his swimmers named to All-American honors.
Prior to Truman State, Simek worked as a graduate assistant at Minnesota State University from 2013-15. During the summers of 2018-22 Simek coached at USAFA Swim Camp in Colorado Springs. He also coaches at the Rockwood Swim Club in the summer months.
Simek earned his Master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Minnesota State. He earned his Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Exercise Science and Psychology with a minor in Biology from Truman State.
Prior to his coaching days Simek competed as a student-athlete at Truman State. He was a nine-time honorable mention All-American and was a team captain. He is the son of Jim and Ellen Simek and also has a twin brother, Andrew.
