Thomas Natal

Thomas Natal has overseen a strong introduction to the swimming program in his first three seasons, with both the men's and women's swim teams showing consistent improvement in the national rankings.

In his third season with the program, both men's and swim teams rose to fifth in the national rankings. At the 2019 NAIA National Championships, the men's team finished fifth overall, while the women's team finished sixth, with a combined 39 All-Americans coming from the two teams. Natal was named Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year for the second-straight season.

Natal guided both Loyola swim programs to top-10 finishes at the NAIA National Tournament in 2018, with the women placing 6th and the men in 9th, while earning a combined 13 All-American Honors. At the 2018 Conference Championships, Natal was named the Mid-South Conference Men's Coach of the Year.

In Loyola's inaugural swimming season, Natal led the women to a 14th place finish, and the men to a 15th place finish at the 2017 NAIA National Championships.

Natal joined the Wolf Pack after previously serving as the assistant men's and women's coach at the University of Connecticut. He also worked with the swimming program at Tulane from 2010-2013.

During his time in Storrs, Conn., Natal served as the head men's and women's recruiting coordinator and also focused his efforts as the head sprint and middle distance coach, while developing a new dry land training regimen for the team. During the 2014 season, 18 swimmers earned American Athletic All-Conference honors and both the men's and women's teams recorded winning records. In his two seasons with the Huskies, Natal coached 27 All-Conference selections.

Natal began his tenure at Tulane in August of 2010 as a volunteer assistant and later moved to full time assistant/recruiting coordinator in May of 2011. He served as interim head swim and dive coach from August 2012 to July 2013. In addition to guiding and coordinating the daily aspects of a NCAA Division I swimming program, he was responsible for the recruitment of the entire 2013-14 class.

Natal also served as volunteer assistant coach at the University of New Orleans (UNO) during the 2009 season, where he helped eight swimmers earn NCAA B cuts, coached two conference champions and had several top eight finishers at the Sun Belt Conference Championship Meet.

Prior to his time at UNO, Natal spent roughly five years as the the program director and head swim coach at Elmwood Fitness Center in Harahan, La. There, he coached five high school All-Americans and helped four swimmers qualify for Junior Nationals. He also served as the varsity head coach at Archbishop Chapelle High School in 2007.

A graduate of Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie, La., Natal was a four-time All-District selection and a three-time All-State selection. He won state titles in the 100m freestyle as a junior and both the 50m and 100m freestyle as a senior. Natal also swam for the Elmwood Sharks from 1992-99 where he posted six Junior National cuts and one Senior National cut.

Natal swam at Louisiana State University (LSU) from 2001-2003. He later earned his bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Our Lady of Holy Cross College in 2006.