Joey Ferreri Named Swimming & Diving Headvert Coach – University of Cincinnati Athletics

CINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati Director of Athletics John Cunningham introduced on Wednesday the hiring of Joey Ferreri as the pinnacle coach of males’s and ladies’s swimming and diving.

Ferreri (pronounced fuh-RAIR-ee) has spent greater than a decade constructing his profession throughout the Bearcats program, totaling 13 years as each a student-athlete and coach.

A former Cincinnati swimmer from 2013-15, Ferreri steadily rose via this system’s teaching ranks. He accomplished his eleventh season on workers after serving as recruiting director from 2019-21 earlier than being promoted to affiliate head coach in the summertime of 2021.

“I’m excited to announce Joey Ferreri as our new head coach for men’s and women’s swimming and diving,” Cunningham mentioned. “Over more than a decade as an assistant coach after competing as a student-athlete and earning his degree from UC, Joey has proven to embody the Bearcats’ spirit every step of his career. We had a rigorous national search, and Joey proved there was no one more equipped to take the reins of this program and lead it forward. Congratulations to Joey, his wife, Sara, and his son, Vinny.”

During his tenure, he performed a key position in guiding Cincinnati to a number of profitable seasons, highlighted by teaching 15 NCAA qualifiers, two Big 12 champions, 54 American Athletic Conference (AAC) champions and 16 AAC file holders, together with two U.S. Olympic Trials semifinalists.

After an intensive nationwide search that attracted vital curiosity from a deep and aggressive pool of candidates, Ferreri emerged because the best choice to guide this system.

“I’m honored to be named head coach of Cincinnati’s swimming and diving programs,” mentioned Ferreri. “I’m incredibly grateful to Director of Athletics John Cunningham and Deputy AD Maggie McKinley for their trust and belief in me. I’ve spent more than a decade preparing for this opportunity, and I’m ready to build a program that is prepared, passionate and driven to compete at the highest level. I’m excited to lead our student-athletes as we chase success in the classroom, in the pool and on the national stage.”

Ferreri has demonstrated a robust recruiting technique, bringing in and growing high-impact athletes resembling Joleigh Crye (three-time All-American, two-time convention champion, four-time NCAA qualifier, and college file holder), Michael Balcerak (eight-time convention champion, two-time AAC Swimmer of the Year, AAC Freshman of the Year, and file holder), Jessica Davis (NCAA qualifier and file holder), Owen Chiles (highest Bearcat scorer on the 2026 Big 12 Championships), and Taira Vroom, the highest-ranked feminine signee in program historical past.

This previous season, Crye collected Big 12 Swimmer of the Year honors, whereas Mia Hensley was named the Big 12 Student-Athlete of the Year.

Ferreri has performed a key position in elevating Cincinnati swimming and diving right into a constant championship contender, highlighted by a historic 2025 season wherein the Bearcats captured their first Big 12 particular person titles, set a program-record NCAA “A” reduce within the 200-medley relay, and noticed standout performer Crye earn All-America honors and UC Student-Athlete of the Year. In UC’s transition to the Big 12, each groups posted fourth-place finishes and produced NCAA qualifiers for the primary time since 2017, whereas persevering with a multi-year run of success that features seven convention champions and 12 college information in 2023, a CSCAA Open Water National Championship, and a number of Olympic Trials qualifiers. Across his tenure, Ferreri has helped information this system to convention championships, runner-up finishes, and sustained excellence, with Bearcats swimmers incomes main convention awards, breaking quite a few college and convention information, and persistently performing on the nationwide and worldwide degree.

Additionally, Ferreri has an intensive open water background as each an athlete and a coach. He served on the USA Open Water National Select Camp in 2016 and as an assistant coach in 2018. At the 2018 Open Water Nationals, he had three athletes compete, with the highest finisher putting because the seventh American.

As a student-athlete, Ferreri earned a number of top-eight finishes on the AAC Championships throughout his time at Cincinnati, highlighted by a fourth-place end within the 1650 freestyle (2014). A five-time Dean’s List honoree, he was named Newcomer of the Year in 2014, acknowledged by the Bearcats Strong program, and served as crew captain his senior season. He earned his bachelor’s in advertising in 2015 and grasp’s in enterprise administration in 2018.

He resides in Northern Kentucky together with his spouse, Sara and son, Vinny.