LYNCHBURG, Va. --- Randolph College is pleased to announce the addition of women's and men's swimming programs, which will begin competition in the 2017-2018 academic year. Along with announcement of the new programs, Director of Athletics Tina Hill announced the hiring of Taylor Steele as the new head coach of both programs.
"This is exciting news for Randolph College," said Bradley W. Bateman, Randolph's president. "The addition of women's and men's swimming is an important step for our athletic program and will increase opportunities for our outstanding scholar-athletes. We are thrilled to welcome Taylor Steele as our new head swimming coach. Taylor brings high standards and expert leadership as we build these new programs here at Randolph."
Randolph College's long history of success in the pool dates back to its days as Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Three different WildCat coaches were named Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Coach of the Year, and three swimmers earned multiple major awards from the conference. One of those swimmers, Amy Winder '86, was a two-time All-American. Additionally, over 30 student-athletes were named to the All-ODAC First-Team. The program was put on hiatus in 2009.
The new women's and men's programs will join the ODAC at the start of competition in the fall of 2017. The ODAC has sponsored women's swimming as a sport since 1984. Men's swimming was added to the docket in 2014.
Steele comes to Randolph with excellent experience in and around the pool. His most recent role was with ODAC rival Washington and Lee University, where he served as the assistant coach for three seasons. The Generals had great success during Steele's time with the program. In his first season, the women's program won its seventh consecutive ODAC title, finishing with a 9-3 overall record.
The women continued that success over the next two years, winning ODAC titles in both years. During that time, the men's program won its first twoODAC Championships. During his time at W&L, Steele coached two All-Americans and two winners of the ODAC Swimmers of the Year. Steele also served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Washington and Lee during his tenure.
Prior to Washington and Lee, Steele served as a graduate assistant at Angelo State University for two years in the Strength and Conditioning Department. During his time assisting the Division II school, Steele was an assistant coach with the West Houston Aquatics Team.
"We're excited to have Coach Steele join the WildCat family," said Hill. "He will have the opportunity to build a new swimming program for our women and men that I know we can all be proud of. Coach Steele brings to us a wealth of experience in both swimming and strength and conditioning that will benefit our future swimmers. He has the ability to attract talented student-athletes to Randolph and his familiarity with the top program in the ODAC will serve us well."
Steele graduated from Southwestern University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology. He served as a captain of the program as a senior and earned Scholar All-American Honors that year.
"I am very excited for the opportunity to start a new women's and men's swimming program at Randolph College," said Steele. "I would like to thank President Bateman, Director of Athletics Tina Hill and the rest of the Randolph College staff for all the support shown and this fantastic opportunity to compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in the coming year."
Steele also earned a Master of Education from Angelo State in 2013. He is an ASCA Level 1 Certified Coach who is also certified in CPR/AED and First Aid. Additionally, he is a Certified Lifeguard Instructor and a Certified Water Safety Instructor.
--- This release is courtesy of the Randolph College sports information department. ---
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