Kredich Announces Hiring of Rob Collins to Staff

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee director of swimming and diving Matt Kredich announced Thursday the staff addition of Rob Collins as assistant coach ahead of the 2021-22 season.

"We're thrilled to add Rob to our Tennessee coaching staff," Kredich said. "Rob has been one of the most successful club coaches in the U.S. for the past several years, and I mean successful by the standards that we hold at Tennessee. He's helped create personal, athletic and academic development in the athletes he coached, and his teams exemplified high-level performance and great team culture. Rob's ability to connect with people along with his deck presence and energy make him one of the brightest coaches in the country today."

Collins, who will work with both the Vols and Lady Vols swimming teams, spent the last four years as the CEO and head coach for the highly-regarded Sierra Marlins Swim Team in Folsom, California. The club has produced multiple Olympians throughout the years and received its second-straight gold medal recognition from USA Swimming's National Club Excellence Program following the 2021 campaign.

A rising star in the profession, Collins was one of three coaches to earn 2020 SwimSwam U.S. Club Coach of the Year honorable mention and was named the 2019 Sierra Nevada Swimming Senior Coach of the Year. He coached the men's team to a championship at the 2019 Winter Junior Nationals West. Current Vol Jack Gillespie and Lady Vol signee Amber Myers were members of the Marlins squad under Collins' direction.

"I'm so excited to join the swimming staff with the legendary Tennessee Vols and Lady Vols," said Collins. "I want to say thank you to Matt Kredich for trusting me with this opportunity of a lifetime. I'm so blessed to work with such a phenomenal staff. I can't wait to get started on Rocky Top."

No stranger to Knoxville, Collins acted as a senior coach for Tennessee Aquatics for two years from 2015-17, helping the club to a third-place finish at the 2017 USA Swimming Futures Championships. While with the program, he coached a pair of active swimmers in the UT swimming program: Thomas Horne and Annie Rimmer. Collins also served stints as the head senior coach at the Otter Swim Club (2012-15), program director for the Walla Walla Swim Club (2010-12) and head age group coach with the South San Francisco Aquatic Club (2006-10).

The Pendleton, Oregon, native swam in college, competing at Central Washington for two years until the program was cut. Collins finished out his swimming career at San Francisco State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology in 2009. He later earned a master's degree in sport business management from the University of San Francisco in 2015.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jack Gillespie

Thomas Horne

Annie Rimmer

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