The third shoe has dropped in Oakland, because the Pitt Panthers have named Josh Larcom as head diving coach. Larcom has spent the final 4 years at Florida Worldwide College, the place his divers dominated on the convention stage and earned All-America honors on the nationwide stage.
The transfer is new territory for school swimming and diving after the shakeup on the high of this system because the NCAA Championships. Chase Kreitler, who as head swimming & diving coach led the group to its most profitable season in a long time (together with 73 years for the lads), resigned on the finish of the season, saying that he was knowledgeable that his contract wouldn’t be renewed on the finish of subsequent season.
This system then promoted its diving coach Katie Kasprzak to Director of Swimming & Diving. Whereas not the primary program to place a diving coach in cost (notably, Georgia Tech did it a 12 months earlier amid a program scaleback), it’s unusual.
Ian Walsh was introduced in as head swimming coach earlier in June, coming from main this system at Marshall that has an unclear future after being reduce and reinstated earlier this 12 months.
However then the brand new territory was damaged on Monday when the Panthers employed Larcom as their new Head Diving Coach. Larcom’s resume would warrant a Energy 5 head diving coach position in its personal proper, which means the Panthers now have two coaches on employees who’re Energy 5 caliber diving coaches.
SwimSwam has reached out to Pitt to get a greater concept of how Kasprzak will spend her time as Director of Swimming & Diving, however has not heard again.
Pitt doesn’t make teaching salaries public.
Final 12 months’s Pitt swimming & diving roster listed 12 divers and 42 swimmers. 5 members of the teaching employees have been swim coaches, whereas two have been dive coaches. That included diving assistant coach Ford McLiney.
The Larcom File
Courtesy: Pitt Athletics
Larcom constructed Florida Worldwide’s diving program into one of many American Athletic Convention’s best. He was named AAC Co-Diving Coach of the 12 months in 2023-24 after guiding FIU to the convention title and training Paige Burrell to a meet-record 1-meter gold on the AAC Championships. Burrell went on to qualify for the NCAA Championships and have become the primary FIU diver in program historical past to compete on the U.S. Olympic Diving Trials. Larcom additionally coached Maha Gouda to a 14th-place end on platform on the NCAA Championships, incomes Second Workforce All-American honors, and led FIU to its best-ever diving end on the AAC Championships in 2024-25, amassing 4 medals throughout three occasions.
“I’m extremely honored to be named head diving coach at Pitt,” Larcom stated. “I’d prefer to thank Katie for giving me the chance to hold on what she has constructed as she strikes to her new position throughout the Swimming & Diving program. I’d additionally prefer to thank Randy Horner, Brien Moffitt, the FIU Swimming & Diving program and the remainder of the college for serving to me develop as an individual and coach to assist me get right here. The Pitt Swimming & Diving program and the College of Pittsburgh are particular and I felt that the minute I stepped on campus. I’m excited to construct on the success of this program by upholding the robust tradition that has been established and persevering with to develop our student-athletes each out and in of the water to their highest potential. I can’t wait to get began and be a part of the Pitt neighborhood.”
Previous to FIU, Larcom served as a diving graduate assistant at West Virginia, the place he helped qualify seven athletes for NCAA Zones and guided one to the NCAA Championships. He additionally served as head diving coach at Niagara College from 2018-20 and hung out as a volunteer assistant at Buffalo, serving to that program declare its first MAC Championship in 2020-21. On the membership stage, Larcom coached a program-record 5 divers to USA Junior Nationals at Wings Diving Membership in Buffalo, N.Y.
A local of Deer Park, N.Y., Larcom competed collegiately at Canisius, incomes NCAA Zones qualification as a senior. He holds a bachelor’s diploma in well being and wellness and a bachelor’s diploma in psychology from Canisius, in addition to a grasp’s diploma in increased training administration from West Virginia. He’s a USA Diving-certified competitors coach.
