Brian Barnes, head coach of the Lawrence Aquahawks Swim Club for the last four years, has resigned to become an assistant coach at Indiana University.

“I’m excited,” Barnes said. “I went to school there. I swam there. It’s an honor to work for my alma mater.”

Barnes, 29, is a native of South Bend, Ind. He came to Lawrence five years ago when he was hired to be an assistant coach at Kansas University. A year later, he took over the city’s burgeoning youth swim program.

“We knew he had a very close-knit family and we knew he’d go back to Indiana,” said Sisca Wolff, president of the Aquahawks. “We just didn’t know it would be this soon.”

Wolff said Barnes would be replaced by Mike Soderling, a former Kansas University swimmer who has been in charge of the Aquahawks’ age-group program.

“We’re lucky to have Mike on board,” Wolff said. “Replacing Brian from the outside would have been more difficult. As it is, the families know how good Mike is.”

The Aquahawks’ board will now search for a new person to take over the age-group program.

“We’ve established a hiring committee to review current coaches and any additional candidates,” she said.

The Aquahawks employ two full-time and six part-time coaches to oversee the nearly 200 young swimmers who participate in the year-round program.

Soderling, 32, has been Barnes’ top aide for the last four seasons. Prior to that, the former KU distance freestyler (1988-92) was a Kansas aide under Gary Kempf. He’s a native of San Diego, Calif.

“We’re not going to reinvent the wheel,” Soderling said. “I’m hoping for a seamless transition. I’ve worked very closely with Brian and I’m confident we’ll continue to have success.”

At Indiana, Barnes will be working under Ray Looze who was named the Hoosiers’ new head coach in late June. Looze spent the last five seasons at University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Barnes said.