Daniel Dozier

ASSISTANT COACH 3RD SEASON AT WEST VIRGINIA

Daniel Dozier enters his third season as an assistant coach with the West Virginia swimming and diving program. During his second season, Dozier helped senior David Dixon earn his fourth consecutive bid to the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, becoming the first Mountaineer from the men’s team to do so. Dixon finished 12th in the 200 butterfly at NCAA’s to earn Honorable Mention AllAmerica Honors.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WVU’s season was shortened to two regular season meets. At the Big 12 Championships, the men finished second and the women finished fourth. The Mountaineers tallied a pair of program records at Big 12s, including the second-place women’s 200 freestyle relay. Additionally, WVU collected 11 medals at Big 12’s, four silver and seven bronze. Nine Mountaineers earned a spot on the AllBig 12 First Team, while 19 were recognized on the All-Big 12 Second Team. DOZIER AT A GLANCE

BORN: May 30 HOMETOWN: Raleigh, N.C. ALMA MATER: UNC Wilmington, 2016 (Bachelor’s)

SWIMMING EXPERIENCE:

2012-16: UNC Wilmington

COACHING EXPERIENCE:

2019-present West Virginia University 2016-19 UNC Asheville 2015-16 Waves of Wilmington 2013-14 Quail Hollow Swim Club

Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Senior Group Coach Head Coach

Dozier not only helped WVU achieve success in the pool, he aided their success academically. The two squads were named CSCAA Scholar All-American teams, during both semesters. Forty Mountaineers were named to the 2021 Academic All-Big 12 Swimming & Diving team; 34 were named to the first team and eight student-athletes earned the honor with a 4.0 GPA, the most among other Big 12 schools. Additionally, Kayla Gagnon and Ryan Van Wyk were named recipients of the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award. In Dozier’s first season with the program in 2019-20, the Mountaineers moved into their new home facility – the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park. WVU hosted nine home meets, including the WVU Invitational and the 2020 Big 12 Championship. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the men’s team had recorded just one loss in dual-meet action, while the women were undefeated in conference meets. At the Big 12 Championship, the men finished second, and the women placed fifth. The Mountaineers collected 11 total medals at the conference meet, including five silver and six bronze. Dozier helped four members of the men’s team qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships, including a pair of swimmers: junior David Dixon and freshman Hunter Armstrong. Although the championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the four qualifiers were honored as CSCAA All-Americans after the CSCAA Board altered the All-America selection criteria.

In addition to their success in the pool, the team saw success in the classroom as well. Thirty-one Mountaineers were named to the 2020 Academic All-Big 12 Team, with seven student-athletes earning the distinction with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages. Additionally, seniors Ryan Kelly and Jack Portmann were named recipients of the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award. Dozier arrived in Morgantown in the summer of 2019 after a three-year stint as an assistant coach at UNC Asheville. Under Dozier’s guidance, the Bulldogs broke 39 school records and improved nearly 300 points at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Championship in that span. Dozier, who worked primarily with the sprint and breaststroke groups at UNCA, was honored with the 2019 College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Jean Freeman Scholarship, given annually to six assistant coaches whose exceptional contributions have brought recognition to their college or university, and whose leadership, integrity, honesty, competitive attitude and personal graciousness epitomize those characteristics reflected by Jean Freeman, longtime women’s swimming coach at the University of Minnesota. Dozier helped the Bulldogs tally a program-record 820 team points in a sixth-place finish at the 2019 CCSA Championship. The team broke seven school records at the meet, along with two additional freshman records. Dozier also led UNCA to three dual-meet victories in each of the past three seasons. In the classroom, UNCA has been featured on the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team for 14 consecutive semesters. Prior to his time in Asheville, Dozier was a senior group coach at Waves of Wilmington in 2015-16. He also served as the head coach at Quail Hollow Swim Club in 201314.

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Dozier earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science at UNC Wilmington, while helping the Seahawks to back-to-back CAA Championships. He was named a team cocaptain as a senior.