Brian McLaughlin begins his 33rd season at the helm of the Montclair State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams in the 2023-24 season. One of the most successful coaches in the history of the program, he has built a program that year-in and year-out has been one of the top teams on the regional level.
Three years ago, McLaughlin, the second-longest tenured coach at Montclair State, led the Red Hawks to another outstanding dual meet season as the teams combined on a 15-5 mark. Among those wins was a victory for the women against perennial powerhouse The College of New Jersey, their first against the Lions in three decades.
McLaughlin and Montclair's success over that time isn’t just limited to dual competitions. The Red Hawks also distinguished themselves at championship meets. MSU claimed three individual titles at the Metropolitan Conference Championships in 2018 including Grace Nielsen, who was named the women’s Diver of the Year. Nielsen would also qualify for the NCAA Division III Regional meet, the first Montclair diver to compete in an NCAA event since Kim Roy in 1998. Nielsen would repeat as Metro champion in 2019 and also made her second straight appearance in the NCAA Diving Regional
In the last six seasons, Montclair has re-written its record book with 57 new school standards.
Five seasons ago, McLaughlin reached a milestone with his 300th combined win as MSU topped FDU-Florham in early January. He became the fourth coach in athletic history to achieve that mark joining current head softball coach Anita Kubicka, former baseball coach Norm Schoenig and legendary basketball coach Ollie Gelston. McLaughlin has captured 178 wins on the men’s side and 183 with the women for a total of 361.
The milestone win was among the many highlights for Montclair during the 2014-15 campaign. McLaughlin was named the NJAC Women’s Coach of the Year for the second straight season after leading the Red Hawks to a fourth-place finish overall at the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Championships. Montclair State placed second among Division III teams for the second consecutive year and it set six new school records continuing a trend of late as MSU has re-written the record book of late with 32 new records the past four years. The Red Hawks had 11 competitors selected to the All-NJAC Team.
In 2014, McLaughlin, who also serves as an Assistant Athletic Director, guided Montclair State to one its best dual meet seasons in several years. The men’s team finished the year at 8-6, the eight dual meet wins the most by Montclair since the 2006-07 campaign when it posted the same record. Meanwhile the women's squad registered a 7-4 mark, the seven wins the most by Montclair State since 2005-06 when recorded an 8-4 season. The 15 combined wins were also the most by the Red Hawks in eight years. The outstanding season was punctuated in the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Championships where the MSU women placed fifth overall and second among Division III institutions. MSU also claimed a total of 19 spots on the All-NJAC Team and McLaughlin was named the NJAC Women’s Coach of the Year, an honor he also captured on the men’s side in 2011.
McLaughlin arrived in 1989 and was handed the responsibility of trying to turn around a once proud swimming and diving program that had fallen on some hard times. The year prior to his arrival, Montclair’s women’s team was winless and the men’s squad was slightly better at 3-7.
However, McLaughlin quickly began turning things around and in his first four years, he led Montclair State to 44 combined victories. During that time five swimmers qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships and three of them were named All-Americans. In 1993, McLaughlin was rewarded for his efforts by being named the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference Coach of the Year.
Over the next few seasons, the Red Hawks remained a solid contender year-in and year out in the Metropolitan Conference. In 1995, McLaughlin guided the women’s team to its first-ever Metropolitan Conference Swimming championship. The women’s team would duplicate the success the following season while the men’s team moved above the .500 mark with a 5-4 campaign. Six members of the MSU squad were named to the All-Conference Team.
Each year, McLaughlin’s team faces a grueling schedule which includes not only the highly-regarded teams in Division III, but Division I and II teams as well. The veteran coach knows that to be the best you have to compete against the best.
Also, McLaughlin’s swimmers have shown their ability to perform at a high level in the classroom as the rogram records one of the highest team GPA’s each year. The women’s team has held the highest GPA of the Athletic Department’s 17 teams for three times while the men have also claimed five honors in the past decade, including the 2013-14 academic year.
A graduate of Central Connecticut in 1981, McLaughlin spent four years as a member of the Blue Devils swim team, earning captain honors in both his junior and senior seasons. Following graduation, McLaughlin moved on to Springfield College where he earned his master’s degree and later became assistant swim coach at Lafayette College and then the U.S. Naval Academy.
During his tenure at Montclair State, McLaughlin also succeeded in turning the women’s tennis program into one of the more competitive teams in the East region. Inheriting an 0-8 team that had not had a winning season in 10 years, McLaughlin posted a 106-65-1 record, picking up his 100th career victory in the fall of 2002. A multiple Coach of the Year honoree in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, McLaughlin also guided MSU to its only NJAC title, a co-championship in 1996.
McLaughlin resides in Caldwell with his wife Andrea and their children Brianna and Andrew.
