Tyler Ziegler was named the head swimming coach at Catholic University Friday, returning to the school where he spent two years as an assistant.
Ziegler replaces his former mentor Paul Waas, who resigned in May after 12 seasons in charge. Ziegler most recently spent four season as the head coach of the men’s and women’s teams at Division II Barton College, leading the program from its founding and winning three total Conference Carolinas championships.
“I would like to thank (director of athletics) Sean Sullivan, Dr. Judi Biggs Garbuio and the rest of the search committee for this opportunity,” Ziegler said in a university statement. “I am humbled and beyond excited to be selected as the head coach. I am thrilled to work with a team that is coming off one of its best seasons in history. I can’t wait to get to know the members of the squad. I will be looking forward to leading our roster as we strive to play our part in Catholic University’s mission which is centered in service and faith.”
Ziegler also served as the head coach for the Wilson Barracudas in North Carolina. He was on Waas’s staff from 2014-16, earning the Landmark Conference Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year in 2015. Ziegler is a former assistant coach/aquatics program coordinator at Brandywine YMCA. He competed at York College in Pennsylvania, earning four varsity letters and serving as the team captain as a senior.
“Tyler is the perfect coach to take this program to new heights,” Waas said. “He is smart, driven and his teams compete with character and class. This is the start of something big.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Tyler Ziegler back to Catholic,” Sullivan said. “When setting out to find the new leader for this vibrant program, the hiring committee was immediately impressed with the depth of the candidate pool. However, as a former Catholic assistant, one who has grown into a championship-winning head coach, Tyler embodies many of the qualities we valued. With a strong understanding of the specificity of training often required in swimming, experience on our own campus and years of thoughtfully building impactful relationships with his student-athletes, Tyler is exceedingly well prepared to lead our two teams to continued competitive success and holistically productive experiences. We are greatly excited that a former Cardinal is once again, a current Cardinal.”