It is Feb. 1, 2014. Then-Ball State senior diver Jacob Brehmer is preparing for his second-to-last home meet as a Cardinal.
Little does Brehmer know, in a few moments, he will set the second-best score for the 3-meter dive in school history with a 356.18.
“I had one of my lifetime-best scores,” Brehmer said. “It was really nice to do that and see where I came from as a freshman to my best as a senior at my home pool.”
Brehmer’s senior year would be his most successful, posting another lifetime-best with a score of 329.10 in the 1-meter dive against Miami (Ohio) a week later. In March 2014, he also placed in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive events in that year’s Mid-American Conference Championships. Additionally, Brehmer became the first male Ball State diver to qualify for the NCAA Division I Zone Championships in almost seven years.
Brehmer first got involved with diving his sophomore year while attending Chesterton High School in Chesterton, Indiana, when he took a diving class taught by the school’s former head swimming and diving coach, Kevin Kinel, who retired in 2019.
“My high school swim coach saw the potential in me and recommended I try out [for the team], and I’ve been going ever since 2008,” Brehmer said.
Brehmer had a decorated career at Chesterton High School, receiving multiple accolades. In Brehmer’s first year as a diver, he won the Most Improved award and helped guide Chesterton to conference, sectional and state championships.
In his second and last season as a diver for Chesterton before graduating in 2010, Brehmer led the school to conference and sectional titles while placing third individually in the state championship meet. An all-conference diver, he was also named team MVP.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Ball State in 2014, Brehmer joined the Cardinals’ swimming and diving coaching staff as a graduate assistant in the 2015-16 season. A few years later, he heard about an opening from a diver he coached in his time as a graduate assistant.
“One of the divers I coached while I was in grad school gave me a call last year when they let their old coach go,” Brehmer said. “He said, ‘Hey, this is going on. Are you interested in stepping in and filling that role?’”
Brehmer admitted he tried to get back into athletics after he left Ball State and when the opportunity emerged for him to take the men’s and women’s diving coach position at his alma mater, he seized it.
As the interim diving coach in 2020-21, Brehmer played a successful role in helping turn around Ball State Men’s Swimming and Diving. The Cardinals improved from a 2-4 finish in 2019-20 to a 4-1 finish in 2020-21.
Ball State junior diver Wyatt Blake saw improvement in his team’s performance, and that gave him a sense of confidence in both Brehmer and the Cardinals.
“Him coming in with a much better attitude and better insight has allowed us to be able to shine, and you can see with all our [personal records] and our zone cuts and everything,” Blake said. “We have progressed significantly since he has gotten here.”
Junior diver Madison Gatzlaff said Brehmer’s age and experience as a student-athlete have helped her and her teammates since he is able to successfully meet their needs.
“It’s been really fun to see us grow with a new coach and to see that coach grow into his role on his terms,” Gatzlaff said.
Brehmer takes pride in seeing the athletes grow inside and outside the pool and believes it has made his decision worth it.
“[My favorite part is] seeing how much each of them has grown,” he said. “Just from the time that I came in and seeing where they are now, in and out of the pool, is one of the coolest things.”
Brehmer’s presence has allowed freshman diver Ashleigh Provan to feel more comfortable and confident within the Cardinals’ environment. Provan said she was hesitant to open up while beginning the season but has become more communicative because of Brehmer’s coaching style.
“At the start of the season, I was shy,” Provan said. “He’s helped me break out of my shell a little bit, and he knows my struggles and he doesn’t push me too hard, but he pushes me to the point where I need to be pushed.”
The jokes Brehmer makes or when he pulls a diver off to the side before they compete reflects well on his connections with his athletes, Provan said.
“He knows when we are having a bad day, and he always tries to make us feel better,” Provan said. “He knows this experience being an athlete here, and he knows what Ball State does.”
Diving has allowed Brehmer to shine as an athlete, but it has also given him the opportunity to help new Ball State divers showcase their talents.
“Diving means a lot,” Brehmer said. “It has pretty much given me everything I have in my life right now. The majority of my friends come from this team. I’m in a career that I love because of diving. Anything of importance, I owe to diving.”
Contact Corbin Hubert with comments at cchubert@bsu.edu or on Twitter @corbin_hubert_.
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