Two-time NCAA All-American Naya Higashijima serves as associate head swimming coach and is in her fifth season on the Hilltop (2023-24).
Higashijima brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Hilltop, including previously serving as associate head coach at UCLA.
She helped the Mustangs to three straight runner-up finishes at the American Athletic Conference Championships (2020-22), and led individuals to 11 championships along with three relay victories. In 2020, she mentored butterfly specialist Erin Trahan to All-America honors, while flyer Luana Alonso earned an invite to the 2023 NCAA Championships in the 100 fly.
Overall, the Mustangs have produced 29 NCAA B standards during her time on the Hilltop, and earned 51 all-conference individual and relay honors.
In seven seasons with the Bruins, the team posted six top-25 NCAA finishes and five top-five finishes at the Pac-12 Championships. In the classroom, UCLA also earned Scholar All-America Team honors.
Individually, she helped guide student-athletes to 53 All-America honors at the NCAA level, while mentoring 13 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers, six U.S. National Team members and one Olympian.   Â
Prior to her time at UCLA, Higashijima served as an assistant coach for six seasons at UC Santa Barbara.
Higashijima mentored 13 men and women to qualifying standards for the 2008 U.S. Trials, including a pair of semifinalists, and 12 All-America honors were earned under her watch.
Overall, she helped the men's and women's teams to seven Big West Conference team championships and the women to a top-25 NCAA finish in 2008.
A standout swimmer at Oregon State, Higashijima was a two-time All-American in the 200-yard butterfly. She earned her highest placement of eighth at the 2003 NCAA meet, which also saw her team earn its first top-25 finish in program history. In 2002, she placed 10th in the event. Â Overall, Higashijima set five individual records and one as part of a relay.
A native of Kawaguchi, Japan, Higashijima graduated from OSU in 2004 with a degree in liberal studies with a concentration in multi-media communications and a minor in Chinese.
Coming from a long line of swimmers, her father, Shinji, was a national record holder in the IM and currently works for FINA. Mother, Kaoru, was a National Champion swimmer in college and still coaches. Her brother, Issei, was also a national record holder in the 5k and the team manager at Michigan (2005, 2006), while brother, Sho, was part of the National Championship basketball team at Pima Community College (Ariz.) in 2010 and is currently a coach for a professional basketball team in Japan.
