Nathan Townsend was announced as the new head coach for Little Rock’s swimming and diving team on Wednesday afternoon.
Little Rock has officially announced the swimming and diving program's sixth head coach in program history.
— Little Rock Swim & Dive (@LittleRockSwim) July 26, 2023
Welcome, Coach Townsend!#LittleRocksTeamhttps://t.co/kByJo1c6Kk
Townsend is the sixth head coach in the program’s history. He joins the Trojans after a four-year stretch with the McKendree Bearcats, where he helped produce 48 NCAA DII Qualifiers and 194 All-American performances, eight NCAA DII individual National Champions and four NCAA DII relay National Champions.
"I am happy to have Nathan join the Little Rock Athletics team,” Athletic Director George Lee said in a news release on Wednesday. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be perfect to help create the next champions in the pool and classroom."
Before joining the Bearcats for four seasons, Townsend spent 2018-19 at Oklahoma Christian University. There, he worked under OCU Head Coach Josh Davis, garnering the school’s first conference champion and conference newcomer of the year accolades.
UALR came off a season where it set two new individual program records as well as earning 11 top-five swimming times in program history.
"I'm excited to bring Nathan on board and bring his energy onto the pool deck. From everything I've seen that he's accomplished at McKendree,” Diving Coach Chris Pape said. “He's going to do big things here and continue to move the program in a competitive direction. I know that the team is excited to meet him and get to work."