Texas Hires Brandt Nigro from Army as Women’s Associate Head Coach
The University of Texas on Monday hired Brandt Nigro away from Army as the associate head coach for the Longhorns women’s team.
Nigro has 13 years of college coaching experience, the last seven as the head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs at West Point.
“Brandt is an exceptional fit for Texas,” Texas head coach Carol Capitani said in a press release. “His most recent experience as Head Coach at Army West Point and at NC State brings immediate depth and credibility to our staff. Brandt’s energy, investment in his athletes, and his clear understanding of what it means to compete and succeed at this level made him a standout throughout this process. I’m looking forward to working together and continuing the sustained excellence that is Texas Swimming and Diving.”
Nigro replaces Mitch Dalton, who left in April to take over the program at Brown.
Nigro was hired in 2019 to lead the Black Knights, starting as head coach and transitioning in 2024 to the title of director of swimming and diving. Nigro powered Army to its first NCAA Championships qualifier in more than 30 years, a first dual-meet victory over Navy in more than 30 years and a first dual-meet sweep of Navy in 2025 since 1988.
With Nigro in charge, Army went 72-36-1 in dual meets between men’s and women’s competition, with a 34-12 mark in the Patriot League. Nigro was voted Patriot League men’s coach of the year in 2023 and 2025.
Nigro helped guide Kohen Rankin to be the first Army NCAA qualifier since 1987 when he made it in 2024. The Black Knights won their first Patriot League title in 24 years in 2025. Johnny Crush was named the Patriot League swimmer of the year that year and became the first back-to-back All-American in program history since the 1950s. In 2026, three Army swimmers made women’s NCAAs, the first female NCAA qualifiers since the program joined Division I in 1991.
Nigro was an assistant coach at NCA State in 2017-19, leading the Wolfpack to a sweep of both ACC titles in 2018-19. Nigro spent the 2016-17 season as the head assistant coach at Marshall, which finished third in Conference USA and produced its first NCAA qualifier since 2005. Nigro was on staff at UMBC from 2014-16, as well as coaching at Retriever Aquatic Club. He was a volunteer assistant at Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 2013-14.
The native of Bristol, Conn., swam at the University of Connecticut for a year before transferring to the College of Charleston, where he won a pair of conference relay titles and received his bachelor’s degree in political science in 2005.
