Kevin Tyrrell will begin his 13th season as The Ulen-Brooks Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Swimming & Diving in 2025-26 after serving as assistant coach from July 15, 2009, until August 2013.
At the helm of Harvard’s men’s swimming and diving program, Tyrrell has strived for excellence both in the pool and in classroom. In the 12 competitive seasons under his leadership (2020-21 was canceled due to the pandemic), he has amassed an 89-11 overall record, including a 71-4 mark against Ivy League opponents, while continuously bringing in strong recruiting classes, which have been ranked among the top-20 in the nation for swimming and diving.
Tyrrell has guided the Crimson to eight Ivy League Championships, including seven straight titles from the 2016-17 season to the 2023-24 campaign, becoming the first Ivy school to capture seven consecutive outright conference crowns. At the 2016-17 Ivy League Championships, Harvard dominated, winning by 370 points, the widest margin of victory since the Crimson’s 409-point win in 1999, which earned him the distinction as the Ivy League Coach of the Year. Tyrrell has gone on to claim Ivy Coach-of-the-Year honors four additional times (2018-19, 2019-20, 2022-23, 2023-24).
Under Tyrrell’s leadership, Harvard has continued to grow on the national stage, climbing into the national rankings and making its mark by placing at the NCAA Championships. In 2018-19, the Crimson recorded program and Ivy League history with an eighth-place finish (132 points) – the league’s best finish in 50 years. Individually, Dean Farris ’22 became the first Crimson swimmer to win at least two events at the national meet since 1954. Additionally, Farris set an American and NCAA record in the 200-yard freestyle, opening the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:29.15. Distance swimmers Brennan Novak ’19 and Logan Houck ’20 also earned All-America honorable mention accolades under Coach Tyrrell’s guidance. In 2021-22, the Crimson placed 13th at the NCAA Championships as Farris concluded his career with 23 All-America accolades, including nine first-team awards.
During his at the helm, Tyrrell has recruited, coached, and developed three individual First-Team All-America selections (Farris, Novak, Umitcan Gures ’23), along with two First-Team All-America relays (2019: 200 free, 800 free). He has also produced six individual All-America honorable mention performers (Farris, Logan Houck '19, Mike Mosca '15, Novak, Gures, and Adam Wesson ’25) and 12 honorable mention relays. Tyrrell additionally has coached a total of 158 All-Ivy selections, including 93 first-team picks, and at one point three straight Phil Moriarty High Point Swimmers of the Meet (Farris in 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19, and Novak in 2017-18 and 2018-19).
Outside of Blodgett Pool, Harvard has excelled in the classroom boasting the top GPA in the nation for several years as well as six Academic All-America recipients (Farris, Will Grant '24, Marcus Holmquist '24, Mosca, Anthony Rincon '25, Jared Simpson '23). Additionally, his swimmers and divers consistently earn CSCAA Scholar All-America recognition and Academic All-Ivy selections.
In addition to his coaching duties, Tyrrell is member of the Harvard Freshmen Board of Advisors, working with and advising non-swimmers each year. He was also named to the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving committee in the fall of 2017, and was named Harvard's James Herscot '58 Coach of Excellence in 2019-20.
Before his elevation, Tyrrell led the Crimson's recruiting efforts and helped welcome recruiting classes ranked within the top-20 nationally as an assistant coach in 2010-11 and 2011-12. In his first four seasons, Tyrrell helped Harvard to a 31-4 dual meet record while celebrating 12 school records, eight Ivy League championships, nine All-Americans and 69 All-Ivy League selections. Tyrrell also spent four years as a volunteer assistant coach for the Crimson from 2000-04 and helped Harvard to two Ivy League titles in 2001 and 2002.
Tyrrell also has extensive international coaching experience. Previously, he was head coach of the U.S. Virgin Islands National Team from 2005-09 and led the team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In July 2009, he served as a head coach at the FINA World Championships in Rome and worked in a similar capacity at the 2007 World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. At the Pan American Games in Brazil in 2007, Tyrrell coached seven swimmers to the semifinal round of the championships.
A 1992 graduate of Lafayette College, Tyrrell was a two-time captain for the Leopards, leading the team to second place at the 1992 ECAC Championship. He earned a master’s degree in education from Boston University in 2002, a Master of Education degree in special studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2015, and a Doctorate in Education from Northeastern University in 2021.
