Braden Keith
by Braden Keith 51
August 09th, 2024 Coaching Changes, College, NCAA Division I Mid-Major, News
Cal Poly has informed team members thatTraci Granger andKim Foster Carlson have been hired as co-head swimming coaches of the school’s co-ed swimming & diving program. They will join returning head diving coachLaurel Abernathy, who will fill a lot of the administrative duties, as part of an all-female NCAA Division I swimming coaching staff.
The pair take over fromPhil Yoshida, who was placed on a leave of absence last season and ultimately did not return to the program after 24 years as part of the coaching staff.Tom Milich, Yoshida’s former boss and the former head coach of the program, served as the interim head coach after Yoshida was placed on a leave of absence.
Both coaches have previous ties to the program. Granger was recently announced as an inductee to the school’s athletics hall of fame. She swam for Cal Poly from 1978-1980, is a Masters Swimming World Champion and American Record holder, and served as the school’s head coach during the 1984-1985 season.
She also served as an assistant coach for the swimming & diving program at El Camino College in nearby Torrance, California for 20 years while teaching in the school’s Kinesiology department.
She re-joined the staff as an assistant in December 2022.
Carlson, meanwhile, served as the team’s announcer during dual meets last season. Carlson is the mother of former USC All-American breaststroker Kasey Carlson.
A graduate of Cal Poly, she earned six CSCAA/NCAA All-America honors as a swimmer at Florida State and Cal Poly.
While her coaching experience is limited, she has built a career as a radio news anchor, including over 16 years at KGO Radio in San Francisco until late 2021.
The Cal Poly men finished 4th out of 7 teams at last year’s MPSF Championship meet and the women finished 6th out of 10 teams at the same meet.
Swimmers were also informed that the start of practice for the season has been pushed back to Tuesday, September 17, which is just four days before the team’s traditional season kick-off in the Queen and King of the Pool meets against Cal. Fall classes begin on September 23rd.
One Cal Poly swimming parent said that many connected to the team were disappointed with the hires and felt that this could be a sign that the school is planning to eventually cut the program.
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YGBSM
8 days ago
These hires read like:
Granger – great swimmer, probably great prof, microscopic experience level
Carlson – the lifeguards didn’t apply
AD – couldn’t care less
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MustangSupporter
Reply to YGBSM
7 days ago
What’s most infuriating is that nearly 25, yes 25 very GOOD & QUALIFIED people applied and ZERO got interviews or even a call back to say no thanks. As for the pay, the alumni & parents are ready and willing to pay to make up the gap and the AD has known this!
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Lying on resume
9 days ago
What will be the repercussion for lying on a resume about having coaching experience? Coaching your kids when they swim for another team doesn’t count.
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Dad bod
Reply to Lying on resume
9 days ago
To my research there is no proof she was NCS coach of the year.
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Concerned for the swimmers
10 days ago
I am surprised for a state job that there isn’t a process in place to interview and vet applicants for state funded positions. Who is ensuring that the swimmers will not be harmed by a coach that has no relevant experience to manage and oversee the high level training necessary to compete and excel in a D1 program?
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CP Swammer
11 days ago
Its a tough situation for the kids. If the team succeeds thus year, it will look like a great hire from the slimy AD, but if they dont, well thats on them right? This feels like a big middle finger to the swimmers for getting phil out of there.
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MPSF
Reply to CP Swammer
10 days ago
Agreed. Very difficult to understand the thought process of Admin. In the end, it’s only the swimmers that will be hurt. Did they even host interviews? Pretty much had an entire year to get ahead of being in this exact situation. And yet…here we are
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Flipper
Reply to CP Swammer
10 days ago
Promoting a qualified assistant coach makes complete sense. Hiring the “announcer” who has virtually zero coaching experience is simply lazy. The University leadership should be embarrassed by this decision.
There were several HIGHLY qualified applicants that would have easily elevated the program who were never contacted. The compensation range didn’t deter top candidates from applying. That confirms what many in the swim community have known for a long time. The Cal Poly program is an attractive option for any qualified candidate looking for their first head coach role.
If I were a parent of an incoming freshman I would be very concerned. The future of the program is very questionable.
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CP Alum
11 days ago
As an alumni, I sincerely want to thank Traci and Kim for stepping up to help when the program needs it. I wish others on here would show them, as people, more respect. They both have each spent their whole lives around a pool deck. They have both been successful in and out of the pool. I don’t think this was either of their top choice, but they are answering the call to help the program.
I hope that any alumni reading this shows up to this year’s alumni meet. I hope they donate what they can. This program has meant so much to so many people, and I hope we can keep it going.
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SCCOACH
Reply to CP Alum
11 days ago
What will donating money accomplish? Sincere question.
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Dad bod
Reply to SCCOACH
11 days ago
Likely nothing until the AD or someone says how much it will take to keep the program alive or build it better. Not having a clear goal will suppress donations, and the lack of a goal is telling about the future of the program.
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CP Alum
Reply to SCCOACH
10 days ago
Money makes the world go around, and it also funds college athletic programs. I don’t know how much would need to be raised to save the team, but I am going to reach out to the AD on Monday to find out. I think it will take a huge effort to save the team.
My intel on the situation is that the AD is reluctant to move in a coach from out of the area due to uncertainty of the future of the team. The athletic department’s budget is turned on its head due to the potential settlement from the Grant House lawsuit. Pretty much the whole NCAA community will be impacted, and there are several dozen schools considering…Read more »
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Dad bod
Reply to CP Alum
9 days ago
Let us know if you hear anything back from the AD or his office. From what we can tell it is unlikely he will acknowledge any questions.
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Swim fan
Reply to Dad bod
9 days ago
He , the AD, wont respond to anyone so good luck with that.
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joannietheswimmer
Reply to Dad bod
9 days ago
Won’t happen. After he announced this, he left for Ireland for 2 weeks.
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LJ Swim
Reply to CP Alum
4 days ago
What’s your intel source?
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Why be normal
Reply to CP Alum
9 days ago
Borderline crazy. You can thank the individuals for stepping up, but the AD didn’t do his job by interviewing and bringing in the most qualified candidates. The posted pay for D1 head coach is clearly below market, but guaranteed there are younger assistant coaches @ top D1 programs who could re-energize this program. The named co-coaches are likely great people, but the last thing this program needs is 2 mid-60 year old coaches who don’t relate well to the current student-athletes.
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joannietheswimmer
Reply to Why be normal
9 days ago
Absurd and stupid conclusion…that they can’t relate. You have no idea who these people are and how they may relate. But, yes, the AD was too lazy or disinterested to interview ANY of the 25 applicants.
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GLENN ROBERT PERRY
Reply to CP Alum
8 days ago
Totally agree!! Well written.
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Cold Water
11 days ago
Wild…
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Cynic
11 days ago
I believe this is the AD’s way of getting back at the program/athletes/parents for forcing him to deal with the previous coach’s situation. Make no mistake, this means that the Cal Poly Swim Team’s days are numbered.
So sad. Can Poly is a top tier school in a great location with a great facility. If they just brought in a legitimate coach, this program would thrive!
There needs to be a movement to get rid of the AD.
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Exactly
Reply to Cynic
10 days ago
Exactly the people to thank are those that raised hell to get Phil out. They try to help because Phil was not a great coach but that’s not a guarantee that it will get better. Similar to Grant House he thought this was a good idea to sue the NCAA but it could end destroying college swimming.
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MustangSupporter
Reply to Exactly
9 days ago
There were MANY issues with Phil besides just his coaching. 42 swimmers quit or forced out of a program in 3 years is staggering- leaving many with mental health issues and never wanting to swim again after their experiences. There were many layers to the issues.
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Swim girl
Reply to Cynic
10 days ago
If you have any suggestions on how to start a process to get the AD out please share. He seems to be tied into the old boys network & untouchable
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Cal Poly Athletics Donor
11 days ago
Im interested to hear if the athletic director interviewed any real swim coach or simply saw impressive resumes and threw them in the garbage.
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Swim girl
Reply to Cal Poly Athletics Donor
10 days ago
Candidates saying that none got an interview
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joannietheswimmer
Reply to Cal Poly Athletics Donor
10 days ago
I believe they did not reply to any of the 25 applicants.
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Qqq
Reply to Cal Poly Athletics Donor
10 days ago
Snoop Dogg had already committed to NBC Olympics coverage
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About Braden Keith
Braden Keith
Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com.He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming.Aside from his life on the InterWet, …
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