His paternal grandfather Dick Surhoff played in the NBA and was a world class softball player.

As a college swimmer at Texas, Surhoff is a 3-time NCAA champion, winning the 200 yard IM and team title in 2010, and the 4x100 free relay in 2012.

[2] At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, Surhoff placed 13th in the 200 m IM and 24th in the 200 m backstroke.

Surhoff's father played 19 seasons of Major League Baseball between three teams.

His mother, Polly, swam for The University of North Carolina and won a silver medal in the women's 400 m individual medley at the 1983 Pan American Games.