UT Permian Basin Athletics announced the hiring of alum Brian Schroeder as the Interim Head Coach of the men's and women's swimming & diving programs in August 2024, and the interim tag was removed on January 13, 2025.
The UTPB men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams competed at the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships from February 10th to the 14th, completing Coach Schroeder’s second season leading the Falcons. The UTPB men’s team finished in fifth place while the women were eighth. Through all five days at the RMAC Championship, UTPB combined to break 10 school records (4 men's relays, 2 women's relay, 4 men's individuals). The UTPB men broke a relay record in each of the first four days of the meet, doing so in the 800 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay, respectively, while the women broke records in the 200 medley relay and the 400 medley relay. Freshman Nico Turner played a part in all four relay records set by men's team to go along with one individual record (men's 100 backstroke – relay leadoff split). Junior Colin Doyle was a part of three relay records (200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay) and one individual record (men's 100 butterfly). The final individual records were the men's 200 backstroke, reset twice by freshman Cooper Workman, and the men's 200 butterfly, set by senior Owen Putnam. On the women's side, the same foursome of freshman Ava McCormack, freshman Avery Momotiuk, sophomore Rowan McWhorter and freshman Mackenzie Gingerich broke both relay records. The Falcons also earned two Second-Team All-Conference honors in the 200 freestyle relay team and in the 200 backstroke by Workman, and set one NCAA "B" standard by Putnam with a school record in the 200 butterfly. Lastly, diver Camilla Aguilar led the Falcons with 49 points scored during the meet on the women’s side, while freshman Sean Greene led with 28 points on the men’s side, ranking 38th overall in the men’s competition. In the classroom, the Falcons delivered one of their stronger semesters yet, posting a 3.30 team GPA in the Fall. Doyle, Tommy Betancour, Niklas Heelein and Chase Alderman of the UTPB men's team and McWhorter and Alondra Ortiz of the women's team were all voted First Team Academic All-RMAC. In addition, Doyle, Heelein, Putnam and Alderman of the UTPB men's swimming & diving team and McWhorter of the Falcons' women's swimming & diving team were each picked for the 2025-26 Academic All-District® Team, selected by College Sports Communicators.
In Coach Schroeder's first season as the Head Swimming Coach during the 2024-25 season, the UTPB men's swimming & diving team was 6-1 in dual meets to go along with wins at the Hendrix Relays and the Hendrix Classic. The Falcons' women's team, meanwhile, was 3-4 in dual meets while finishing second at the Hendrix Classic. Following a double dual meet against McMurry University and Austin College in the final action of the Fall season, sophomore Colin Doyle was named the RMAC Men's Swimmer of the Week while senior Kathe Hepfer earned the RMAC Women's Diver of the Week award. This was the first time in program history that a swimmer from the UTPB men's or women's swimming & diving programs had been recognized by the RMAC with a weekly award. It was also the first time UTPB earned two RMAC awards in the same week in program history. Throughout five days of competition at the 2024-25 RMAC Championship in Grand Junction, Colorado, the UTPB men's team finished fifth out of six teams while the UTPB women finished eighth out of nine teams. The Falcons earned four All-RMAC honors. Leading the way was freshman Brendan Twomey of the men's diving team, who earned two second-team all-conference honors on the diving boards. The men's 200 freestyle relay team – Colin Doyle, Leo Eleftherakis, Daniel Bednarski and Nathan Powell - was also second-team all-conference. In addition, junior Emma Gerhart from the women's swimming & diving team was named First Team Academic All-RMAC. The Falcons had success this year not just in the pool, but also in the classroom, as they had five athletes earn Academic All-District honors. Evan Siegrist, Owen Putnam, Chase Alderman, Nathan Powell and Emma Gerhart were each picked for the 2024-25 Academic All-District® Team, selected by College Sports Communicators. In addition, both the UTPB men and women's swimming & diving teams earned College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team honors during each semester.
The water has always been good to Schroeder. As a child, he grew up near a neighborhood pool and started competitive swimming at five years old. He would become a lifeguard and coach of the Meadows Marlins swim team for three years. When it was time to go to college, Schroeder took a chance and left his hometown of Sugar Land to join the men’s swim team at The University of Texas Permian Basin, where he would meet his future wife, Kelly. Schroeder swam for the Falcons from 2006-2010 and served as team captain during his final two years (2008-2010). His primary events were the sprint Freestyle and Backstroke.
Schroeder’s recent career has been as a controller for Reverence Operating LLC (Oct. 2020-current) and Sewell Family of Companies (June 2015-Oct. 2020). Brian and Kelly have always made time for the UTPB swim team by supporting the team since graduating.
Schroeder graduated from UTPB with his Master’s degree in Professional Accountancy in August 2012. He would go on to become an Odessa Under 40 honoree, being recognized as one of the top young professionals in Odessa in 2018. His passion for coaching has extended to coaching his kids’ sports teams.
Schroeder met his wife, Kelly, during their time as swimmers at UTPB. Brian and Kelly have been married for 16 years and have three kids together: Kyle, Peyton, and Riley.
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Schroeder at UTPB
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| Year |
Season at UTPB |
Men's Conference Finish/Accolades |
Women's Conference Finish/Accolades |
| 2024-25 |
1st |
5th of 6 RMAC |
8th of 9 RMAC |
| 2025-26 |
2nd |
5th of 6 RMAC |
8th of 9 RMAC |
