LAWRENCE, Kan.Â
– Andrew Derrick, who led Gonzaga to four-straight WCC Championships and a top 20 national ranking in four of the last five seasons, has been named the third head coach in Kansas Rowing history, Director of Athletics
Travis Goff announced Friday. Derrick, a three-time WCC Coach of the Year, signed a five-year contract that will go through the 2030 season.
"We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Andy, his wife Karin, and their three children, Kathryn, Josephine and Jack to the Jayhawk family," Goff said. "Andy has been entrenched in the highest levels of the rowing community for the past 25 years and has an intense passion for the sport and a deep understanding of how to build a program for sustained success. He is committed to a student-athlete's complete development and connects with his rowers on and off the water.
"Andy and his family will fit perfectly into the culture of Kansas Athletics, and we can't wait to get him here and enter an incredibly exciting new era of Kansas Rowing."
Derrick comes to Lawrence after five years at Gonzaga that were filled with championships, accolades and national success. Derrick has also served as the head coach at Seattle Pacific and Central Oklahoma and has spent time as an assistant coach at Oklahoma and UCF.
Derrick has also reached the pinnacle of the sport as a student-athlete, earning a National Championship with the University of Washington in 2001 and finishing as a National Champion Runner-Up twice. He also represented the United States on the international stage, competing at the U-23 World Championships in 2001.
"My family and I are thrilled to be joining the Kansas Athletics and Lawrence communities," Derrick said. "We were blown away with the people we met, resources dedicated, and the care given through the process to take us from not looking, to accepting this truly amazing opportunity. In particular I'd like to thank
Travis Goff, Maya Ozery, the entire search committee and the other coaches that took time to show us what an amazing place KU is."
"I'd also like to thank everyone in Spokane, staff and team, that contributed to our success. It is hard to leave such great people that have been a huge part of our life the last five years."
In his five seasons at Gonzaga, Derrick led his squad to four-straight WCC championships and a second-place conference finish this past season. Under Derrick's direction, Gonzaga – from 2021-2024 – won four straight WCC titles, 10 of 12 individual event championships, totaled a conference win-loss record of 127-5 in NCAA events and finished in the top 20 at the NCAA championships each year, including tying the program's second-best mark of 17th in 2024.
Derrick will join a department in Kansas that has seen its student athletes set a program record for GPA the past two semesters and he will fit right in based on his team's academic success at Gonzaga. In 2024, the program set a team GPA record of 3.65 with 17 student-athletes being named National Scholar Athletes by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association. His team was also a major presence in the Spokane community, totaling 372 volunteer hours in the community and setting a department record for PRIDE points, which is awarded for involvement on campus, in the community and supporting other student-athletes.
At Seattle Pacific, Derrick overhauled a Division II program and lifted the Falcons into the national rankings. When Derrick took over, the program had four members in 2016, which grew to 35 in just more than two years. During his tenure, SPU accounted for several victories against Division I opponents, and in 2019, the Falcons placed fourth at the NCAA Championship. In 2020, the season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but SPU was ranked No. 4 in the CRCA/U.S. Rowing Coaches national poll.
The turnaround at SPU was no surprise after Derrick's success at Central Oklahoma. There, he led the program to its first-ever bid to the NCAA Championship in 2011. He went on to lead the team to the NCAA Championship in every year during his tenure, finishing as the National Runner-Up in 2016. He also produced the program's first All-American during his tenure and went on to develop 11 total All-Americans.
Derrick got his opportunity at UCO as a head coach after serving as an assistant at Oklahoma for two seasons, where he helped the program collect a 112-28 overall novice record and was named the 2009 South Region Assistant Coach of the Year. He was also the assistant coach at UCF and helped the Knights earn their highest program ranking of No. 9 in the 2007 national polls.
Derrick graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree, and went back four years later to earn his Master of Education in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership. He is married to the former Karin Brevick, who was an All-American rower at Washington State and former high school and club coach in both the US and Australia.
"I could not be more excited to get started and work with the athletes and staff at Kansas," Derrick said. "Our program will be defined by hard work and we're confident that very bright days are ahead for Kansas Rowing."