University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Swimming & Diving
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- sean.clark@umass.edu
- Phone:
- 545-0093
Sean Clark enters his sixth season as the University of Massachusetts Head Men’s Swimming and Diving Coach after being named to the position in the summer of 2020.
The 1993 UMass graduate brings over 23 years of coaching experience and eight years of head coaching experience to the UMass program. Clark returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach before the 2017-18 season following eight years as the head coach at Binghamton University.
Throughout his time at Massachusetts, he has coached six individual Atlantic 10 Champions and had two members of the Minutemen diving team be named the A-10 Most Outstanding Diver three times. He has also seen both the men's and women's teams receive CSCAA Scholar All-America honors since his time as a head coach, including the 2024-25 season.
During the 2024-25 season, the men’s program finished sixth at the Atlantic 10 Championships with 332 points. Clark saw swimmer Chase Keeler break two freshman records in the 200 individual medley (1:48.79) and the 400 individual medley (3:55.55), while the Minutemen collected 13 top-10 times and a meet record in the one meet record in the three-meter dive from Andrew Bell (428.15) at the A-10 Championships.
Two divers competed at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, while Bell advanced to the NCAA Swim and Dive Championships for the second straight year (2023-24; 2024-25). Bell became the only Minuteman diver in school history to represent Massachusetts at the NCAA Swim and Dive Championships in back-to-back seasons, with it being the third time a Minuteman diver will attend the event. At the NCAAs, Bell was the one-meter champion, finishing with a combined 12-dive total of 747.25, marking a new school record. Securing the gold in the three-meter, Bell completed the event with a score of 773.90, marking a new school record of 12-dives.
Four Minutemen landed on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-Distrtict Team with Bell becoming a CSC Academic All-American for the second straight year. Bell was also tabbed to the 2025 A-10 All-Academic Team. The men’s team earned CSCAA Scholar All-American honors in the fall. Bell became a two-time CSC Academic All-American (2024; 2025).
In his first season as the head coach in Amherst, Clark coached the Minutemen to 14 lifetime bests across 42 events at the Atlantic 10 Championships highlighted by a one-two finish in the mile as Tyler Pidde and Wilson Dubois took the gold and silver medals, respectively. The Minutemen posted six top-10 program times and 12 top-25 program marks at the conference meet on their way to a fourth-place finish.
Clark also spent eight years on the UMass staff in three separate stints and was part of coaching staffs that won five Atlantic 10 Conference championships. In his most recent run as an assistant coach for the Minutemen, Clark helped 20 swimmers to top-10 program-best times across 46 events and coached members of the squad to 113 lifetime bests at the league meet over the last three seasons.
A three-time America East Coach of the Year at Binghamton, Clark helped coach 53 athletes to America East gold medals to go along with 51 all-conference selections from 2006-14. With the men’s team, Clark led the Bearcats to a pair of America East runner-up finishes while guiding the women’s team to three top-five finishes in the league. Clark’s teams also experienced success academically during his tenure as 26 individuals earned All-Academic honors and five were named the top Scholar-Athlete in the America East. As a collective, Clark’s squads were also recognized from 2006-11 by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) for their academic success, earning Scholar All-America team honors in the process.
“We are pleased to have an alumnus with Sean’s level of coaching and leadership experience ensure continuity in our men’s swimming and diving program,” said UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford. “Sean’s commitment to UMass and his passion for the program means we will maintain a powerful connection to our strong competitive history in the pool while pursuing opportunities for success in the future.”
As a collegiate swimmer at UMass from 1990-94, Clark was a three-year letterwinner while helping lead both the 200 Free and 200 Medley relay teams to New England Championships in 1994.
Clark gradated from UMass in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry.
