Kennedy Gilbertson is in her first season with the Redbirds as an assistant coach.

Gilbertson recently worked for one season at Colby College as an assistant swim coach, where she helped with meet travel, pool/meet setup and timing, and recruiting. Her main charge was the sprints group, where she wrote group sets and practice plans in addition to assisting at practice and meets in other areas. Prior to her move to the collegiate level, she coached at Iowa City West High School as the head coach from August to November 2024. In that role, she created practice routines, worked with assistant coaches on team culture, ethics and technique and oversaw all junior varsity and varsity lineups. She also spent time as a club coach at IFLY working with swimmers aged 15-18 and worked as a lifeguard throughout her collegiate career.

As a student-athlete at Iowa from 2020-2024, Gilbertson was named the team's MVP following the 2023 season and later represented the Hawkeyes at the World Championship Trials on the national stage. She is still the Iowa school record holder in the 100-yard backstroke and earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Iowa in May 2024. Illinois State Swimming & Diving head coach Riley Hilbrandt announced the hiring of Kennedy Gilbertson as the program's new assistant coach on Wednesday. Gilbertson comes to Illinois State following a successful collegiate swimming career at Iowa and most recently coached at the collegiate level at Colby College.

Gilbertson recently worked for one season at Colby College as an assistant swim coach, where she helped with meet travel, pool/meet setup and timing, and recruiting. Her main charge was the sprints group, where she wrote group sets and practice plans in addition to assisting at practice and meets in other areas. Prior to her move to the collegiate level, she coached at Iowa City West High School as the head coach from August to November 2024. In that role, she created practice routines, worked with assistant coaches on team culture, ethics and technique and oversaw all junior varsity and varsity lineups. She also spent time as a club coach at IFLY working with swimmers aged 15-18 and worked as a lifeguard throughout her collegiate career.

As a student-athlete at Iowa from 2020-2024, Gilbertson was named the team's MVP following the 2023 season and later represented the Hawkeyes at the World Championship Trials on the national stage. She is still the Iowa school record holder in the 100-yard backstroke and earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Iowa in May 2024.