Omar Ojeda joined the Penn State Swimming and Diving Coaching Staff as assistant diving coach in August 2026.
Ojeda recently served on the diving staff at Liberty University in 2025-26, first as a volunteer diving coach in 2025 and as a graduate assistant diving coach in 2026. He helped three divers to compete at NCAA Zone Championships and coached the school’s first diver to compete at NCAA Championships.
He served as the head diving coach and program manager for COM Aquatics from 2018-24, directing a program of more than 100 athletes. During his tenure, he developed multiple junior and senior national champions and worked with national team members from the United States and several other countries.
Ojeda was the head diving coach at Arizona from 2011-17, earning three Pac-12 Diving Coach of the Year honors (2011, 2015, 2016). He mentored three NCAA national champions, three NCAA runner-up finishes and one NCAA third-place finish. He also coached three individual conference champions.
Ojeda’s international coaching experience includes coaching Rafael Quintero of Puerto Rico to an eighth-place finish at the 2016 Olympic Games and coaching Jonathan Ruvalcaba, who finished ninth at the 2024 Olympic Games.
From 2008-11, Ojeda served with the Mexican National Team as an assistant national team coach, national team administrator and team leader, while also serving as Director of Talent Development. In those roles, he worked with athletes who achieved success at the Olympic Games, World Championships and other major international competitions.
In addition to his work with athletes, Ojeda has expanded his role internationally as a coach educator, clinician and author. He has presented diving education and technical-development clinics for organizations including Pan-Am Aquatics, World Aquatics and the Brazilian Diving Federation. He was also selected to participate in the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee National Team Coach Leadership Program and has served as a member of USA Diving's Coaches Advisory Committee since 2024.
Ojeda is the author of Diving Science: A Technical Handbook for Coaches and Athletes, a book focused on the technical, biomechanical and training principles of competitive diving. He is also a co-author of the research article, "Comparative Analysis of Dual Career Perceptions among Mexican Divers: A Cross-National Study of University Support Systems in the USA and Mexico," published in the Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy in July 2026. His work as an educator and researcher focuses on connecting sport science, athlete development and coaching methodology with the overall development and well-being of athletes.
Before joining the coaching ranks, Ojeda was a member of the Mexican National Team and won 17 Mexican National Championships. As a student-athlete at Arizona, Ojeda was a six-time Pac-10 champion and earned NCAA runner-up and third-place finishes. He was later inducted into the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.
Ojeda earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Arizona in 2002 and a master’s degree in finance-administration from the Universidad YMCA de Mexico in 2010. His additional postgraduate education includes specialized study in strength training, physical preparation and applied exercise science. He has completed doctoral coursework in Educational Leadership at Liberty University and plans to continue his doctoral studies.