Former Penn State swimmer Kaitlyn Ferguson is in her third year on the swimming and diving staff as an assistant coach, joining the program in the fall of 2014. Ferguson swam for the Nittany Lions from 2006-09.
Last season, 10 Lions qualified for the NCAA Women’s Swimming Championships and led Penn State to its third consecutive top-25 finish. Six swimmers earned a combined 10 All-America honorable mention honors.
In her first season, Nate Savoy concluded his Nittany Lion with a pair of honorable mention All-America honors, while Shane Ryan claimed first-team All-America honors and a Big Ten Championship. On the women’s side, the 800 freestyle relay team garnered first-team All-America honors, and Alyson Ackman and Carolyn Fittin garnered a combined three honorable mention All-American honors to lead the women to their second-straight top-20 finish.
Ferguson left her mark on Penn State as a swimmer. The Mamaroneck, New York, native was an NCAA Championships qualifier and helped the 2008 400-yard medley relay team earn honorable mention All-America honors with a 16th place finish. A member of the program's 2006 Big Ten Championship team, she is fifth on the school's top times list in the 100 backstroke, posting a time of 53:75 in 2009.
Prior to returnin, Ferguson has served as an assistant coach for the Mamaroneck High School (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) varsity girls swim team since fall 2009, as well as an assistant for the Badger Swim Club since March 2010. With Mamaroneck, Ferguson coached district champions and state qualifiers, while overseeing the strength and conditioning program. She also created meet lineups, maintained the results database, coordinated team activities and ordered team equipment.
With the Badger Swim Club, she coached different levels of swimmers ranging from sectional qualifiers to Olympic trial qualifiers. There, she oversaw seasonal training plans for the senior team and developed stroke technique and instruction for elite USA Swimming athletes. Ferguson got the opportunity to serve as head coach for the Badger Swim Club at USA Junior Nationals.
Along with her coaching positions, Ferguson was a Therapy Aide at the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital from 2009-2011.
During her time as a Nittany Lion, Ferguson assisted at the Penn State Swimming Camp, helping more than 400 swimmers. She also held a volunteer assistantship in 2008, helping out the swimming and diving program in a variety of ways.
Ferguson earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Penn State in May 2009. She also received a bachelor's degree in dietetics, food and nutrition from Lehman College, CUNY in May 2014.