From his office in the Aquatic Center at Wheeler Rec, Evan Sholudko can see and hear the lapping waves of the 25-meter swimming pool. This is his domain 鈥� home of the incoming UB men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 Swimming and Diving teams. 鈥淚 try to do my best to steer everybody in the right direction,鈥� he said. 鈥淪omebody might not believe in themselves, or not think they鈥檙e capable of swimming to the level that they are really capable of. So, it鈥檚 my job to raise them up and prepare them.鈥�
Sholudko has six years of head coaching experience; the list of athletes he鈥檚 coached includes national swimmers and even an Olympian. When asked about this new opportunity at UB, he explained, 鈥淚 have certainly had some great opportunities鈥ut I like being able to build my own brand here at UB.鈥�
UB鈥檚 Vice President of Athletics and Recreation, Jay Moran, hired Sholudko last spring with the singular aim of building a competitive swimming and diving program. Sholudko was chosen for his wealth of experience and a proven track record of success. 鈥淸He] will reinvigorate our swim teams as head coach and I believe he will have success right away,鈥� said Moran. 鈥淗e cares about the development of his student-athletes and understands the importance of collegiate athletics in the lives of young people. I am thrilled to welcome him to our Purple Knight family.鈥�
UB鈥檚 President Danielle Wilken echoed Moran鈥檚 sentiments, saying, 鈥淓van鈥檚 commitment to the holistic development of our student athletes aligns perfectly with our values here at UB. We are confident that under his leadership, our Swimming and Diving teams will foster a strong sense of community and excellence within our university.鈥�
Building a program and a community is a tall order for anyone, but Sholudko seems confident that he is up to the task. 鈥淚 always wanted to be involved in sports, and here I am nine years after starting in this business, and I am still doing it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 always feel like a job.鈥�
Sholudko swam collegiately for four years on the varsity team at the University of Massachusetts, majoring in economics with a minor in Psychology. He placed fourth in the 400-IM and seventh in the 1650-free at the 2013 Atlantic-10 Conference Championships. He then began his NCAA coaching career in 2016 as an assistant coach at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he helped lead the program to an Empire 8 Conference Championship in 2017.
In 2017, Sholudko moved on to Assumption University, where he served as assistant head women鈥檚 coach and then head men鈥檚 swim coach, before serving two years as head coach of the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 swimming programs at Eastern Illinois University (EIU). At age 25, he was then the youngest head coach in Division I collegiate swimming.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of experience and made my own mistakes, and seen other people make mistakes and make good decisions bad decisions,鈥� Sholudko shared. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of pressure these days on what young people are experiencing on their way to find success, and I can share a lot of insight with young people.鈥�
In his three seasons with the Lewis University Flyers, Sholudko coached 42 men and 39 women to All-GLVC honors. Under his guidance, both programs finished fourth at the 2024 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championships and matched their highest finishes in team history. The men and women also achieved College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America team honors each of the six semesters under his leadership. Along with 19 CSCAA Scholar All-American recipients and many more honors, Sholudko was named the GLVC Coach of the Year at the 2023-2024 championships.
鈥淚 was building a great program, and I think a lot of my peers were shocked that I would leave it, but I鈥檓 a family-oriented guy,鈥� he said. Both he and his fianc茅鈥檚 families live in the region and the couple decided they wanted to be closer to family as they built their own. 鈥淚 was always telling people that I wished Bridgeport would overhaul their program and fund it, because if I could do anything there like I was doing at Lewis, it would be perfect 鈥� and then it happened,鈥� he laughed. 鈥淚 am ecstatic to return to the New England region and I can鈥檛 wait to get to work establishing a new level of success and tradition for our student-athletes.鈥�
The Purple Knight Swimming and Diving teams will officially begin competing in the fall of 2025 at the Division II level as an associate membership in the Northeast-10 Conference. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a certain level of athlete that we鈥檙e trying to recruit,鈥� explained Sholudko. 鈥淭he goal is to really build a conference championship team. UB鈥檚 reputation of being very inclusive, family-oriented, and competitive will be a draw for these students 鈥� and then as we build, I want people to know that UB Swimming means business.鈥�
As Aquatics Director, Sholudko will also be making sure the pool is operating properly and helping David Graham, Director of Campus Recreation and the Wheeler Recreation Center, manage lifeguards, pool rentals, and capital improvements to Wheeler Rec. 鈥淲e have a pretty well-oiled machine already,鈥� he said. 鈥淒avid Graham鈥檚 an incredible guy to work with.鈥�
Graham expressed his own excitement about the returning program and its new coach, saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to bring swimming back to UB and Wheeler Rec. Evan is an awesome addition to the Purple Knights Athletics team and has had proven success as a head coach at the college level. He鈥檚 a great fit for UB.鈥�
Being a swimmer himself taught Sholudko how to succeed as a coach, and he sees his student-athletes as emerging from his program with a better chance of success in their chosen fields. 鈥淪wimming really tests a person鈥檚 mental and physical attributes and can very quickly teach not only the importance of routine and quick thinking, but what it takes to be a successful human being,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 somebody who鈥檚 starting a business or running a corporation, I know that somebody who swam four years in college is going to be wired differently than somebody that didn鈥檛. I think it鈥檚 a huge advantage when you put it on your resum茅.鈥�
Sholudko has a big year ahead of him; he鈥檒l be getting married in the summer of 2025 and then will begin his inaugural season as head coach at UB. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to rest for the next nine months,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know all the ins and outs of what we need to do for success here and I鈥檓 chomping at the bit to get it done.鈥�
Eric D.聽Lehman聽is the director of publications and associate professor of English at 越南直播. He is the author or editor of 22 books, including “New England Nature, A History of Connecticut Food,” and “Bridgeport: Tales from the Park City.” His聽biography of Charles Stratton, “Becoming Tom Thumb,” won the Henry Russell Hitchcock Award from the Victorian Society of America and was chosen as one of the American Library Association’s outstanding university press books of the year. His novella “Shadows of Paris” and novel “9 Lupine Road” were finalists for the Connecticut Book Award. He has been consulted on diverse subjects and quoted by The Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, the BBC, the History Channel, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and The Wall Street Journal.