Devin Murphy has been named the new Malone University men’s and women’s swimming & diving head coach, the University’s athletic director Charlie Grimes announced today. Murphy takes over for Brian Peresie, who recently resigned to take the head coach position at the University of Akron.
Murphy has served as an assistant men’s and women’s swimming coach at Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Florida for the past two years. A total of 26 NCAA Division II “B” standards and 30 new school records were registered by Lion swimmers during Murphy’s tenure on the Saint Leo coaching staff. The Lions also experienced plenty of success at the NCAA Division II Swimming Championships during the last two seasons, earning All-America honors in the 200 Freestyle Relay, the 400 Individual Medley and the 100 Backstroke while clocking Honorable Mention All-American performances in 10 other events.
Prior to becoming the assistant coach at Saint Leo, Murphy worked as an assistant women’s swimming coach at Upper Arlington High School in Upper Arlington, Ohio. He helped guide the Golden Bears to a pair of Ohio Division I State Championships during his two years on the coaching staff in addition to working with several National Grand-Prix qualifiers and one U.S. Olympic Time Trial qualifier.
Murphy’s coaching resume also includes previous appointments as an assistant at the Liberty Township/Powell YMCA in Powell, Ohio and as the head coach at Westside Swim and Racquet Club in Lima, Ohio.
Following a stellar four-year collegiate swimming career, Murphy graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Theology. He was a four-time all-conference selection and two-time Team Academic All-American for the Cardinals, serving as a team captain and Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative in both 2005 and 2006.
"I'm extremely excited to be named the head men's and women's swim and dive coach at Malone University,” said Murphy. “It's a blessing to be able to work with such a talented team and an energized athletic department. I thank Athletic Director Grimes for this opportunity and I can't wait to get the season started."
“We are excited to have Coach Murphy join our staff,” commented Grimes. “He will bring a strong technical and strategic coaching style to our program. His experience as a high achieving student-athlete and successful NCAA Division II college assistant coach will be extremely valuable to our program moving into full Division II membership. He comes to us from one of the most competitive Division II swim conferences in the nation. He is also a person of strong Christian faith and will be an excellent mentor and role model for our student-athletes.”
Malone, on track to complete its transition to NCAA Division II membership this July, will open its 2013-14 swimming and diving season on October 25 by hosting a dual meet against the University of Mount Union.
