Matt Barany - Women's Swimming & Diving Coach - University of Richmond Athletics

Matt Barany

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
Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021

The University of Richmond Swimming and Diving program has seen continued success in the water and in the classroom under Coach Barany. The Spiders posted a Fall 2022 team GPA of 3.82 which ranked second in Division I women swimming and diving. In February 2023, the team was awarded the University of Richmond Team Academic Award and senior Claire O’Shaughnessy was named the University of Richmond Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Before the 2022-2023 academic year, the women posted 3.69 (Spring 22), 3.65 (Fall 21), 3.71 (Spring 2021) 3.66 (Fall 2020). The Spiders have earned Scholar All-America Team by the College Swimming Coaches Association (CSCAA) for 11 consecutive years. Individually, eleven Spiders have earned Academic All-America distinction – Caitlin Geary (2007), Katie Sieben (2008 and 2010), Lauren Beaudreau (2009), Nicole LePere (2010 and 2011), Lauren Hines (2012), Mali Kobelja (2014), Kelley Yang (2016), Erin Barry (2018), Hannah Gouger (2020), Sara Greene (2021), and Maggie Purcell (2021). In 2012, Kobelja was the first Spider (and first swimmer in Atlantic 10 history) to be named an Atlantic 10 Scholar of the Year.

In the water, the Spiders have captured twelve A-10 championships under Coach Barany. The Spiders won their 16th Atlantic 10 Championship in 2021. Barany received his 9th Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year award for the 2020-21 season. Alexa Connors earned Richmond's 14th Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer award. Amazingly, the Spiders posted 37 (73%) personal best times at the 2021 Atlantic 10 championship meet - the second-best improvement rate in the country behind Kentucky. The 2020-21 team earned 13 individual Richmond All-Time Top 10 times and broke three school records. The 2021 Atlantic 10 experience was capped by a cameo pep talk from Coach Lasso (Barany).

The Spiders swimming success stretches beyond the Atlantic 10 with representation at NCAA Championship meets and U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Hannah Gouger raced the 100 and 200 Back at the 2019 NCAA Championship in Austin, TX. With Gougers’ qualification for NCAAs, Barany has coached five NCAA qualifiers (Hannah Gouger, Jessica Witt, Beaudreau, Sieben, and Hines) and had a pair of All-Americans (Witt in 2006 and 2007 and Hines in 2012) during his tenure at Richmond. Spider swimmers have qualified for the last four Olympic Trials. In total, the program has seen seven Olympic Trials qualifiers since 2008.

Barany credits recent team accomplishments to the program’s focus on optimal health and recovery. The Spiders have increased sleep duration by 85 minutes per person per night since 2016; coincidently, the Spiders’ team GPA has also increased (.66) during this same period. Barany has shared his expertise in human performance, data collection, analysis, and application with universities, graduate schools, high schools, athletic departments, professional teams, coaches’ organizations, medical groups, and multi-national corporations.

Barany recently received appointments to several crucial NCAA committees. In September 2022, Barany began his 4-year term on the association-wide Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Committee. He serves on the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Committee until August of 2025, and he recently closed his service on the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Rules Committee. He also dedicates his time to the non-profit CSCAA executive board as Treasurer. Barany is well-respected in the national swimming community and beyond.

Barany graduated with an MBA from the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond. He was selected as the 2014 Outstanding Graduate of the Year by the MBA Alumni Society. He earned a Bachelor of Arts – English from James Madison University in 1995. While at JMU, he swam freestyle for the Dukes' on four-straight (1992-95) CAA Championships teams and three (1993-1995) ECAC championship teams. Barany was a two-time recipient of the Steve Miller Award - an annual team honor that recognizes athletes who best exemplify enthusiasm, energy, dedication and love for the sport. Barany was named the Head Coach of the JMU Men’s Swim Team in 2001; he stayed at JMU until arriving back in Richmond in 2005.

Barany was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1996 - 1998.

A graduate of Clover Hill High School in Midlothian, Va., Barany currently resides in the city of Richmond. He is married to the former Samantha Smith and they have two children – Maribel and Maverick.