McConnell enters her third season with the Nittany Lions in 2026-27 and owns 10 years of coaching experience.
In 2025-26, the Penn State men’s team earned four meet wins, while the women’s team earned three meet wins.
On the men’s side, Mariano Lazzerini was tabbed a CSCAA second-team All-American. He was also selected second-team All-Big Ten and was a two-time Big Ten Swimmer of the Week. Vicente Villanueva earned a Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Lazzerini broke Penn State records in the 100 Breaststroke (50.88) and 200 Breaststroke (1:50.76). Matthew Bittner set a PSU record in the 200 IM (1:43.17).
At the NCAA Championships, Lazzerini placed 12th in the 100 Breaststroke (51.41), the highest place in the event in Penn State history. He also finished 19th in the 200 Breaststroke (1:52.48), the best finish in the event in program history since at least 1990.
Lazzerini combined with Cooper Morley, Matthew Bittner and Tylor Kim for a 19th place finish in the 200 Medley Relay (1:23.28), the best PSU finish in the event since 2014. The team also placed 24th in the 400 Medley Relay (3:05.71).
At the Big Ten Championships, Lazzerini claimed second in the 100 Breaststroke and fifth in the 200 Breaststroke.
Bittner earned a spot in the A Final of the 100 Backstroke, finishing seventh. Morley claimed a spot in the A Final of the 200 Backstroke, placing eighth.
Bittner also finished ninth in the 100 Butterfly and 10th in the 200 IM.
Kim, Lazzerini, Rylan Anselm and Toni Slavica placed eighth in the 400 Freestyle Relay, while Anselm, Eduardo Cisternas, Kim and Slavica finished ninth in the 800 Freestyle Relay.
At the Ohio State Invitational, Lazzerini won the 100 Breaststroke and 200 Breaststroke.
On the women’s side, Margaret Markvardt placed 15th in the 100 Backstroke and 100 Butterfly, while finishing 17th in the 200 IM at the Big Ten Championships.
Aubrey Cohen (100 Breaststroke) and Morgan Moore (500 Freestyle) also qualified for finals at the Big Ten Championships.
Markvardt, Cohen, Cyrah Robinson and Katie Ketter placed 10th in the 200 Medley Relay.
Markvardt led the squad with 10 individual event wins this season, followed by Moore with eight.
In 2024-25, the Penn State men’s team collected five meet wins, while the women’s team captured four meet wins.
On the men’s side, junior Matthew Bittner set a school record in the 200 IM (1:43.78) and sophomore Alex Karahalis set a PSU record in the 200 Butterfly (1:43.47) and the Nittany Lions posted school records in the 200 Freestyle Relay (1:17.77) and 800 Freestyle Relay (6:22.37).
Junior Eduardo Cisternas captured a team-high nine individual event titles, while posting an NCAA B time in the 1650 Freestyle (15:15.08).
Sophomore Tylor Kim, junior Mariano Lazzerini and junior Cooper Morley each collected seven individual event wins. Kim earned NCAA B times in the 50 Freestyle (19.64), 100 Freestyle (43.24) and 200 Freestyle (1:35.07), while Lazzerini had NCAA B times in the 100 Breaststroke (52.49) and 200 Breaststroke (1:56.33). Morley posted NCAA B times in the 100 Butterfly (46.14), 100 Backstroke (45.61) and 200 Backstroke (1:41.70).
Karahalis secured six individual event titles and NCAA B times in the 200 Butterly (1:44.58), 200 IM (1:44.60) and 400 IM (3:46.68).
Bittner claimed NCAA B times in the 100 Backstroke (45.48), 100 Butterfly (45.76) and 200 IM (1:45.26), while placing seventh at the Big Ten Championships in the 100 Backstroke (45.68).
Penn State earned four event titles in the 200 Medley Relay, three in the 400 Freestyle Relay and one each in the 200 Freestyle Relay and 400 Medley Relay.
On the women’s side, fifth-year Margaret Markvardt set a school record in the 200 IM (1:57.03).
Markvardt collected nine individual event titles and posted NCAA B times in the 100 Butterfly (51.96) and 200 IM (1:57.03). She finished eighth at the Big Ten Championships in the 100 Butterfly (52.55).
Junior Catherine Meisner captured seven individual event titles and earned an NCAA B time in the 200 Freestyle (1:45.74).
Junior Morgan Moore tallied six individual event titles and posted NCAA B times in the 500 Freestyle (4:46.16) and 1650 Freestyle (16:27.26).
The Nittany Lions captured two event titles in the 400 Freestyle Relay and one in the 200 Medley Relay.
Multiple Nittany Lions competed in international competitions. Bittner, Karahalis, Kim and Moore all qualified for World Championship Trials in June. Lazzerini claimed a Chilean National Record in the 50 Breaststroke. Cisternas and Lazzerini both competed in the Pan American Games.
McConnell came to Happy Valley after four years of coaching at Texas A&M University, starting as a volunteer assistant coach then getting elevated to assistant coach in July of 2023. In her role with the Aggies, she assisted coaches in practices and meets developing training and improvement strategies. McConnell’s coaching led A&M to a third-place SEC and 14-place NCAA placements and helped nine athletes quality for the 2024 Olympic Trials. She also helped guide three top-25 finishers at NCAA Championship.
Beginning her coaching career in 2016, McConnell spent two years with the Longview Swim Club based out of Texas where she developed swimmers to quality for Sectionals and Futures meets. She later went on to serve as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Evansville for two seasons, working with both men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams. McConnell assisted coaches with player development and administrative duties, stepping up as interim head coach twice and managing all coaching responsibilities.
McConnell earned her degrees in interdisciplinary studies from LeTourneau University in 2018 and a master’s degree in leadership from the University of Evansville.