SMU men’s swimming and diving head coach Eddie Sinnott has announced the hiring of Keith Dawley as the swimming assistant.
“We are excited to welcome Keith to the SMU staff,” Sinnott said. “He has a proven history of success at the Division I level, and is no stranger to the American Athletic Conference and Dallas area. He will no doubt be a great addition to the Mustang family and our commitment to continuing the great culture our program has established.”
Dawley joins the SMU staff after serving as the associate head coach and interim head coach at TCU for a year.
“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to work at such a great University with such a strong tradition of success,” Dawley said. “I have always felt connected to SMU throughout my time in the swimming world and can’t wait to help get the program back to a conference champion level and work every day in the beautiful Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center.”
At TCU, Dawley was responsible for leading distance group practices, while also assisting with sprint groups and helped nearly 85 percent of the team set personal best times.
During his time at TCU, the Horned Frogs saw a 100-point improvement in the overall standings at the Big 12 Championships from 2017 to 2018. They also were runners-up in the 200-yard medley relay, set ten school records, had 31 All-Big 12 performers and 15 NCAA “B” cuts.
During the 2016-17 season, Dawley was an assistant coach at Miami University (OH). In his time there, the team excelled as Dawley played a pivotal role helping the RedHawks to two MAC individual event championships, nine school records, ten All-MAC performances, had the MAC Freshman of the year and produced 11 NCAA “B” cuts.
Prior to his time at Miami, Dawley spent 2015-16 at Virginia where he helped the Cavaliers to the fist No. 1 ranking by the CSCAA in school history and ninth consecutive ACC Championship. His student-athletes produced two NCAA records, six ACC Championship records and eight UVA school records. Virginia also had four Rio 2016 Olympic Qualifiers, ten ACC Champions, eight individual NCAA “A” cuts and 91 individual NCAA “B” cuts.
Dawley coached two seasons at AAC-member Houston, serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from October 2013 through December 2014 and interim head coach until June 2015. He coached the team to a 112 point improvement from 2014 to the 2015 AAC Championships, and also coached a student-athlete to her first spot on the Mexican National Team.
From 2009-13, he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at East Carolina. While at ECU, he helped account for 20 school records, 96 all-time top-ten swims and three AAC Championships over three recruiting classes. He also helped directly mentor student-athletes that broke 15 school records and had nine NCAA “B” cuts.
Dawley swam collegiately for both Indiana and the South Carolina and is originally from Allen, Texas. He received his bachelor’s degree in sport and entertainment management from South Carolina in 2009.
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with SMU. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.
What happened to the old assistant?
Went to Notre Dame
Keith is an amazing coach and mentor. SMU is very lucky!
Great hire! ??