Taylor Steele was named head coach of the Randolph College women's and men's swimming programs in July of 2016. He becomes the first head coach of the men's program and the first head coach of the rejuvenated women's program.
After recruiting for the 2016-2017 academic year, Steele will embark on his first year of coaching student-athletes in 2017-2018.
Steele comes to Randolph with excellent experience in and around the pool. His most recent role was with ODAC rival Washington and Lee University, where he served as the assistant coach for three seasons. The Generals had great success during Steele’s time with the program. In his first season, the women’s program won its seventh consecutive ODAC title, finishing with a 9-3 overall record.
The women continued that success over the next two years, winning ODAC titles in both years. During that time, the men’s program won its first two ODAC Championships. During his time at W&L, Steele coached two All-Americans and two winners of the ODAC Swimmers of the Year. Steele also served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Washington and Lee during his tenure.
Prior to Washington and Lee, Steele served as a graduate assistant at Angelo State University for two years in the Strength and Conditioning Department. During his time assisting the Division II school, Steele was an assistant coach with the West Houston Aquatics Team.
“We’re excited to have Coach Steele join the WildCat family,” said Hill. “He will have the opportunity to build a new swimming program for our women and men that I know we can all be proud of. Coach Steele brings to us a wealth of experience in both swimming and strength and conditioning that will benefit our future swimmers. He has the ability to attract talented student-athletes to Randolph and his familiarity with the top program in the ODAC will serve us well.”
Steele graduated from Southwestern University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology. He served as a captain of the program as a senior and earned Scholar All-American Honors that year.
Steele also earned a Master of Education from Angelo State in 2013. He is an ASCA Level 1 Certified Coach who is also certified in CPR/AED and First Aid. Additionally, he is a Certified Lifeguard Instructor and a Certified Water Safety Instructor. He holds two more certifications in terms of strength and conditioning. He is a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a USA Weightlifting (USAW) Level 1 Sports Performance Coach.
