University of Richmond Athletics
Women's Swimming & Diving
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- mbarany@richmond.edu
- Phone:
- 289-8750
Atlantic 10 Champions: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2026
Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2025, 2026
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The University of Richmond women’s swimming and diving program has sustained excellence in both the pool and the classroom under the leadership of head coach Matt Barany. Since 2020, the program has maintained a team GPA of 3.65 or higher, earning University of Richmond Scholar Team of the Year honors in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Nationally, Richmond has been recognized as a College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America Team for 12 consecutive years.
Individually, 11 Spiders have earned Academic All-America honors. In 2012, Mali Kobelja became the first Spider — and the first swimmer in Atlantic 10 history — to be named Atlantic 10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
In the pool, the Spiders have captured 13 Atlantic 10 Swimming and Diving championships under Barany’s direction, including the program’s 17th conference title in 2026. Following that championship season, Barany earned his 11th Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year award (2025-26).
Richmond’s success extends beyond the conference level. Barany has coached six NCAA qualifiers — Melissa Nwakalor, Hannah Gouger, Jessica Witt, Lauren Beaudreau, Katie Sieben and Lauren Hines — and two All-Americans (Witt in 2006 and 2007; Hines in 2012). Spider swimmers have qualified for Olympic Team Trials, with seven Olympic Trials qualifiers since 2008.
Barany attributes the program’s sustained performance to its commitment to optimal health, recovery and data-driven training. Team members have increased average nightly sleep by 85 minutes, while the team GPA has risen by 0.66 during that same period. Barany regularly shares his expertise in human performance, analytics and applied leadership with universities, graduate schools, athletic departments, professional teams, coaches organizations, medical groups and multinational corporations.
Nationally, Barany has served in several NCAA leadership roles. In September 2022, he began a four-year term on the association-wide Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Committee. He previously served on the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Committee and the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Rules Committee. He also serves as treasurer of the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America.
Barany earned his MBA from the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond and was named the 2014 Outstanding Graduate of the Year by the MBA Alumni Society. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from James Madison University (1995) and was named head coach of the JMU men’s swim team in 2001 before returning to Richmond in 2005.
Barany served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1996 to 1998.
A graduate of Clover Hill High School in Midlothian, Virginia, Barany resides in Richmond with his wife, Samantha, and their two children, Maribel and Maverick.
