TopFrog
Lifelong Frog
TCU Announces Winchester as Head Swimming and Diving Coach
TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Jeremiah Donati has announced the hiring of James Winchester as TCU’s head swimming and diving coach.
Winchester comes to the Horned Frogs after serving the last three years as head coach at George Washington University. He led the Colonials’ men’s program to Atlantic-10 championships in 2017 and 2018. The 2017 title marked the first in program history. Both seasons saw him named A-10 Coach of the Year. Additionally, he was the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year at the 2018 CSCAA National Invitational Championship as the George Washington men and women both recorded top-10 finishes.
George Washington made three consecutive NCAA Championship appearances under Winchester. The Colonials set 84 school records during his tenure. Winchester produced a two-time All-American, three A-10 Performers of the Year and a conference Rookie of the Year as well as 20 first team and 12 second-team all-A-10 selections. He also sent swimmers to the Olympics, World Championships, World University Games and Commonwealth Games.
“We’re very excited to welcome James and his family to our Horned Frogs family,” Donati said. “A rewarding part of this process was seeing how attractive our head coach position is in the swimming and diving community. We had a lot of national interest with many high-profile candidates.
“Among the many areas that separated James were his coaching style, moral character and core values aligning with TCU’s. A special thanks to our Executive Team in Athletics, specifically Gretchen Bouton, Kim Johnson, Jack Hesselbrock, Mike Sinquefield and Ike Ukaegbu for their assistance in identifying great candidates and further vetting them to ensure they met the expectations of being a head coach at TCU. James will be a terrific addition and fit in the TCU and Fort Worth communities.”
During his coaching career, Winchester has mentored nine national champions, 40 All-Americans and five top-100 world-ranked student-athletes while also securing numerous top-25 nationally-ranked recruiting classes. He has been part of programs totaling 34 Academic All-America team awards.
Before taking over the head duties at George Washington, Winchester was a two-time honorable-mention NCAA Assistant Coach of the Year at Utah. He also served as the Utes’ head recruiting coordinator and interim head coach. Utah’s men’s and women’s programs posted four NCAA Championship appearances and three top-25 recruiting classes during his time (2012-15) in Salt Lake City.
Winchester’s first head coaching opportunity came during his four years (2007-11) at New Orleans. After arriving as an assistant coach, he was promoted to head coach. He started the men’s program and rebuilt the women’s team post-Hurricane Katrina. He had a top-25 ranked recruiting class in 2008 and the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Swimmer of the Year.
Winchester began his coaching career in 2006 at Drury. He was an assistant coach as Drury’s men’s and women’s teams won the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championship. During his time there, he coached former world record holder, 2007 European champion and 2008 Olympic finalist Roman Sludnov (Russia).
As a student-athlete, Winchester competed for the Louisville swimming and diving team before earning his degree in business administration in 2004. He received his MBA from Drury in 2008.
TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Jeremiah Donati has announced the hiring of James Winchester as TCU’s head swimming and diving coach.
Winchester comes to the Horned Frogs after serving the last three years as head coach at George Washington University. He led the Colonials’ men’s program to Atlantic-10 championships in 2017 and 2018. The 2017 title marked the first in program history. Both seasons saw him named A-10 Coach of the Year. Additionally, he was the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year at the 2018 CSCAA National Invitational Championship as the George Washington men and women both recorded top-10 finishes.
George Washington made three consecutive NCAA Championship appearances under Winchester. The Colonials set 84 school records during his tenure. Winchester produced a two-time All-American, three A-10 Performers of the Year and a conference Rookie of the Year as well as 20 first team and 12 second-team all-A-10 selections. He also sent swimmers to the Olympics, World Championships, World University Games and Commonwealth Games.
“We’re very excited to welcome James and his family to our Horned Frogs family,” Donati said. “A rewarding part of this process was seeing how attractive our head coach position is in the swimming and diving community. We had a lot of national interest with many high-profile candidates.
“Among the many areas that separated James were his coaching style, moral character and core values aligning with TCU’s. A special thanks to our Executive Team in Athletics, specifically Gretchen Bouton, Kim Johnson, Jack Hesselbrock, Mike Sinquefield and Ike Ukaegbu for their assistance in identifying great candidates and further vetting them to ensure they met the expectations of being a head coach at TCU. James will be a terrific addition and fit in the TCU and Fort Worth communities.”
During his coaching career, Winchester has mentored nine national champions, 40 All-Americans and five top-100 world-ranked student-athletes while also securing numerous top-25 nationally-ranked recruiting classes. He has been part of programs totaling 34 Academic All-America team awards.
Before taking over the head duties at George Washington, Winchester was a two-time honorable-mention NCAA Assistant Coach of the Year at Utah. He also served as the Utes’ head recruiting coordinator and interim head coach. Utah’s men’s and women’s programs posted four NCAA Championship appearances and three top-25 recruiting classes during his time (2012-15) in Salt Lake City.
Winchester’s first head coaching opportunity came during his four years (2007-11) at New Orleans. After arriving as an assistant coach, he was promoted to head coach. He started the men’s program and rebuilt the women’s team post-Hurricane Katrina. He had a top-25 ranked recruiting class in 2008 and the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Swimmer of the Year.
Winchester began his coaching career in 2006 at Drury. He was an assistant coach as Drury’s men’s and women’s teams won the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championship. During his time there, he coached former world record holder, 2007 European champion and 2008 Olympic finalist Roman Sludnov (Russia).
As a student-athlete, Winchester competed for the Louisville swimming and diving team before earning his degree in business administration in 2004. He received his MBA from Drury in 2008.
