Brandt Nigro – Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach

Brandt Nigro was named Associate Head Coach for The University of Texas Women’s Swimming & Diving program on May 18, 2026. Nigro joins the Texas employees with 13 years of collegiate teaching expertise, together with the final seven years because the Head Coach for Army West Point’s Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving applications.

Nigro arrives on the Forty Acres after a seven-year stint at Army West Point (2019-26), the place he served because the Head Coach for the Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving applications. Since June 2024, his title at Army has been Director of Swimming & Diving.

During Nigro’s time with the Black Knights, this system noticed its first NCAA Championship qualifier in over 30 seasons and recorded its first dual-meet victory over Navy in over 30 years. The Army males’s and girls’s groups posted a mixed 72-36-1 twin meet document in his seven seasons, together with a 34-12 mark in Patriot League competitors. Nigro earned Patriot League Men’s Coach of the Year honors in 2023 and 2025.

“Brandt is an exceptional fit for Texas,” mentioned Texas Women’s Swimming Head Coach Carol Capitani. “His most recent experience as Head Coach at Army West Point and at NC State brings immediate depth and credibility to our staff. Brandt’s energy, investment in his athletes, and his clear understanding of what it means to compete and succeed at this level made him a standout throughout this process. I’m looking forward to working together and continuing the sustained excellence that is Texas Swimming and Diving.”

In the not too long ago accomplished 2025-26 season, the trio of Catriana Gilmore, Molly Webber and Angie McKane made historical past by changing into the primary ladies swimmers to compete on the NCAA Championship since Army’s program joined Division I in 1991. Nigro led the Black Knights’ ladies to a 9-1 dual-meet document and a second-place end on the Patriot League Championship meet.

On the lads’s facet, Johnny Crush registered a fifth-place end on the 2026 NCAA Championship within the 100 backstroke with a school-record time of 43.84 and have become simply the second Black Knight in program historical past to earn back-to-back All-America honors within the 100 backstroke since Peter Witteried completed the feat in 1952, 1953 and 1954. Kohen Rankin additionally positioned thirteenth within the 100 breaststroke (51.47) to earn second-team All-America honors. Nigro paced the Black Nights’ males to a 6-2 dual-meet document and a second-place end on the Patriot League Championship meet.

During the 2024-25 marketing campaign, Army claimed their first sweep over Navy since 1988 and the lads claimed its first Patriot League title in 24 years with 19 first-place finishes on the championship meet. The males’s and girls’s applications posted a mixed 12-4 document in twin meets, together with an ideal 8-0 mark in convention motion. Webber claimed co-Women’s Highest Point Scorer on the Patriot League championship meet, and Crush earned Rookie and Men’s Swimmer of the Meet. Nigro earned 2025 SwimSwam Coach of the Year honorable point out recognition and was named the Patriot League Men’s Coach of the Year. Army positioned a record-setting 14 athletes on the All-Patriot League first workforce, and 22 athletes earned all-conference awards.

The Army program registered one in all its most profitable campaigns in historical past in 2023-24, setting program data in 26 of a doable 44 occasions through the season. Kohen Rankin certified for the NCAA Championships within the 100 and 200 breaststroke, changing into the primary Army swimmer to qualify for the nationwide meet since 1987. The Black Knights had 13 athletes named to the All-Patriot League first workforce, and 20 athletes earned all-conference awards.

Both Army groups completed second on the Patriot League Championship meet whereas setting a mixed 14 program data and 15 first-place performances. Webber was named Women’s Swimmer of the Meet and Highest Point Scorer after claiming three particular person titles and two relay golds. Wes Tate claimed Men’s Highest Point Scorer honors. Nigro was a finalist for the 2024 Mike Krzyzewski Teaching Character Through Sport Award, which acknowledges West Point cadet-athletes, coaches, officers in cost and sport educators for his or her excellent dedication to the event of noble character via athletic participation and management.

In 2022-23, Nigro earned Patriot League Men’s Coach of the Year honors, because the Black Knights posted this system’s first victory over Navy since 1990. Army earned a 189-111 victory over the Midshipmen within the twin meet, snapping a 30-plus 12 months drought and not using a win over its service academy rival.

Prior to his time at West Point, Nigro served as an assistant coach at NC State for 2 years (2017-19). His main obligations included working with the dash freestyle and stroke occasions, and he additionally assisted in recruiting.

The NC State males’s and girls’s groups swept the ACC Championship crowns in 2018-19. The Wolfpack ladies received 11 occasion titles on the league meet, setting a program document for many convention titles in a season. The males claimed 17 complete podium finishes, together with 5 titles. Coleman Stewart was chosen as ACC Meet co-MVP after claiming two particular person crowns and breaking a pair of league data.

At the 2019 ACC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship, Nigro helped direct the 200 freestyle relay squad to the league title whereas setting an ACC meet document and the second-fastest time within the nation (1:26.15), as every member of the relay cut up 21-second instances for the Wolfpack.

Both groups went on to tie program-best finishes on the 2019 NCAA Championships. The males secured its fourth-consecutive podium end result with a fourth-place effort on the nationwide meet whereas the ladies positioned seventh. Andreas Vazaios paced the lads with a person NCAA championship within the 200 butterfly. On the ladies’s facet, sprinter Kylee Perry superior to a pair of A finals within the 50 and 100 freestyle, a primary for a Wolfpack feminine sprinter. In addition, Nigro coached a number of relays to program data and all-time finest finishes within the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays.

In the summer season following the 2018-19 season, Perry earned a gold medal within the 50-meter (long-course) freestyle on the World University Games in Italy. Additionally, Nigro’s swimmers competed internationally on the World Championships, Pan American Games, Pan Pacific Games and Central American Games.

During the 2017-18 season, Stewart captured the person NCAA title within the 100 again to mark this system’s first particular person nationwide swimming champion since 2006. Anton Ipsen (1,650 freestyle) and Vazaios (200 butterfly) additionally received particular person NCAA crowns, giving the Wolfpack three particular person titles for the primary time in program historical past. In addition, NC State’s relay groups set NCAA, U.S. Open and American data to win each the 800 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay. The program-record 5 complete NCAA titles and 31 All-America performances helped the Wolfpack males put up a fourth-place end on the nationwide meet.

NC State additionally received the 2018 ACC title for the fourth-consecutive season, led by ACC Most Valuable Swimmer Ryan Held and ACC Men’s Swimmer of the Year Andreas Vazaios. The Wolfpack received 4 of the 5 relays and 10 of the 13 particular person occasions on the ACC Championship meet.

During his time in Raleigh, Nigro additionally performed a training function with Wolfpack Elite, the post-grad skilled group coaching at NC State. Nigro had the chance on this function to work with a few of the largest names within the sport, together with Cullen Jones, Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, Simonas Bilis, and Christopher Reid.

Prior to his time at NC State, Nigro labored for one season (2016-17) as Head Assistant Coach at Marshall University and helped the Thundering Herd to its most profitable season in program historical past. Marshall’s ladies’s workforce posted a third-place end on the 2017 Conference USA Championship meet with a program-record 724 factors. He served as the first coach for the dash and backstroke teams and tutored Sirena Rowe to earn 2017 C-USA Freshman of the Year accolades and advance to compete on the NCAA Championship meet. Rowe grew to become the primary Marshall swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2005. During the season, Marshall athletes set 11 faculty data, six pool data and recorded 10 NCAA B requirements and earned the nation’s fifth-highest workforce GPA.

Nigro labored for 2 years (2014-16) on the employees with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). While at UMBC, Nigro coached the membership workforce, Retriever Aquatic Club (RAC), and was an Assistant Aquatics Director. He guided the membership via USA Swimming’s Club Recognition Program, serving to it declare Level 4 Recognition, the very best stage for an American swim membership. Nigro coached a number of Junior National/Futures qualifiers, Academic All-Americans and Maryland Swimming senior champions. During this time window, he labored on the employees of USA Swimming’s Eastern Zone Select Camp.

Nigro started his collegiate teaching profession as a volunteer assistant at Wesleyan University (Middletown, Conn.) for one season in 2013-14. He primarily labored with the dash group whereas aiding with workforce practices and dryland periods.

Nigro beforehand served because the Head Junior Coach with the Cheshire YMCA Sea Dog Swim Club. He additionally labored as head coach at Brookfield High School, the place he led the ladies’ swimming and diving workforce to a Southwest Conference title in 2012, and coached at Joel Barlow/Immaculate High School and Bristol Eastern High School. An ASCA Level 4 licensed coach, he was chosen to the ASCA Fellows Class of 2016 and interned on the Sprint Salo Swim Camp on the University of Southern California.

A local of Bristol, Conn., Nigro swam for one 12 months on the University of Connecticut earlier than transferring to College of Charleston. While at Charleston, he received a convention title as a member of the 200 and 400 medley relay groups and was named to the Southern State all-conference and all-academic groups.

Nigro graduated from College of Charleston in 2005 with a bachelor’s diploma in political science. He later accomplished the grasp’s program together with a Sixth-Year Certificate in skilled faculty psychology and graduated with honors from the University of Hartford in 2009. Nigro and his spouse, Ginger, have two kids, Sophia and Hank.