Duncan Sherrard

Duncan Sherrard was officially named to head coach Jeff Poppell’s new staff at South Carolina on Wednesday, May 5, 2021.

Sherrard most recently spent three years at Auburn as an assistant coach responsible for the sprinters. During his time on the plains, he developed several of the top sprint athletes in the nation including one individual SEC Champion, three SEC Champion relay teams which all broke SEC Championship meet records, a Pan American Games Silver Medalist and Pan American Games Record Holder. In addition to helping 12 Auburn student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships, he guided his swimmers to 43 All-America honors and nine program records.

Prior to arriving at Auburn, Sherrard was an assistant coach at North Carolina from 2015-2018 where he was responsible for leading the men’s and women’s sprinters. He also served as the recruiting coordinator for the men’s team. His accolades while with the Tar Heels include developing two All-Americans, 30 Honorable Mention All-Americans, one ACC Champion and ACC record holder, and helping UNC field its first NCAA finalist in the women’s 50 Free in 19 years. Overall, Sherrard’s athletes broke 27 program records (13 individual, 14 relay).

In 2017, while at UNC, Sherrard served on the women’s staff for Team USA at the World University Games held in Taipei, Taiwan. His athletes earned two Gold, three Silver and three Bronze Medals at the games.

“Duncan has clearly established himself as one of the top sprint coaches in the country evidenced by his outstanding accomplishments at both UNC and Auburn,” said Poppell. “Over the years, I have had the opportunity to witness first-hand the positive impact he has made on the teams he has been a part of as well as with the athletes he has coached. I am truly excited to see what he will bring to our program at South Carolina as we seek to climb the SEC ladder and establish a strong presence nationally.”

Prior to his time in Chapel Hill, Sherrard served as the head coach for NCAA Division II Florida Southern College from 2009-2015 where his teams won three consecutive men’s Sunshine State Conference Titles. He was named the Sunshine State Conference Men’s Coach of the Year four times and his men’s teams were the national runner-up in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014.

Sherrard earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Florida where he swam for four years. He was a 14-time All-American, three-time SEC Champion and two-time SEC record holder for the Gators. He later completed his Master of Education in educational leadership and higher education administration from Florida Atlantic University.

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