John Morrison is entering his 21st year as the head coach of the Navy women’s swimming program, as well as his 25th year of being associated with the team, in the fall of 2024.
Morrison has guided the Mids to an overall record of 173-48 in his 20 years. He has compiled an overall collegiate coaching record of 204-75.
His Navy teams have totaled 14 Patriot League titles, including the last 12 in a row. He has been tabbed as the Patriot League Coach of the Year 11 times.
The Mids also have won eight ECAC Championship crowns and have placed either first or second at each of the last 10 meets. He has earned eight ECAC Coach-of-the-Year awards.
Navy has posted winning records in each of Morrison’s last 18 seasons and in 19 seasons overall. The Mids have posted a 79-2 record against Patriot League opponents under Morrison.
The team’s 2023-24 campaign ended with the team posting a 6-3 record during the regular season, with those losses coming to Penn State, Notre Dame and Princeton. The year was capped with Navy winning the Patriot League and ECAC Championship titles.
Navy has posted an 80-23 record over the last decade. The losses during this span have been to teams such as Georgia Tech, LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Princeton, Virginia and Yale.
The first decade under Morrison included a 14-0 regular season in 2008-09 and a 25-meet winning streak from 2007-08 to 2009-10.
The program has made strides at national events during Morrison’s tenure. The 2008 season saw Thuy-Mi Dinh become the first women’s swimmer in league history to attain an ‘A’ cut qualifying time for the NCAA Championship, then she and Tara Chapmon advanced to the national championship in both 2009 and ‘10. Laura Gorinski competed in a trio of individual events at the NCAA Championship when she did so in the 2012 edition of the meet.
Lauren Barber would compete in events at the 2016, ‘18 and ‘19 NCAA Championship meets. It was at her final championship when she became the first Navy and Patriot League Division I swimmer to earn Honorable Mention All-America accolades. After Sydney Harrington qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championship in three events, she earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades at the 2021 championship and qualified again for the 2022 national meet.
Navy also has been well represented at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials during the Morrison era as a total of 14 of his Mids have competed at the event.
In addition to the team’s success in the water, the program under Morrison has been regularly recognized as an Academic All-America Team by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. Individually, swimmers Kelly Zahalka, Laura Gorinski and Ellen Bradford have not only been selected as the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for their sport, but also have earned Academic All-America accolades.
Morrison’s hiring in 2004 returned him to The Yard where he served as an assistant coach to Dick Purdy for four seasons beginning in the fall of 1993. The Purdy-Morrison duo coached the Mids to a 33-14 record and to league titles during each of its four years.
After leaving Navy following the 1996-97 school year, Morrison served as a volunteer assistant men’s coach at Tennessee during the 1997-98 season in which the Volunteers placed fourth at the NCAA Championship, followed by one year as an assistant at Rutgers. After he served as the head coach and aquatics director at the Ocean County YMCA in his hometown of Toms River, N.J., for two years starting in 1999, he was named as the head swimming coach at Lehigh in 2001. Morrison coached the program to a combined 31-27 record, a span highlighted by the men’s team winning the 2002 Patriot League title.
A successful athlete in his own right, Morrison earned four letters in swimming and in golf at Toms River High School and was selected as a member of the school’s inaugural Hall of Fame class in the spring of 2004. He would go on to earn four letters in swimming at North Carolina, helping the Tar Heels win a pair of ACC titles in the process.
Morrison would enter the coaching ranks in 1991 as an assistant swimming coach at Washington & Lee where he helped coach four NCAA Division III All-Americans. He also assisted with the school’s 1992 water polo team that won the Division III Eastern Championship and served as the interim golf coach.
The Mids also have been well represented at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials
during the Morrison era. Most recently, four swimmers qualified for
the 2020/21 meet, five qualified for the 2016 selection meet and a trio
of Mids took to the pool at the 2012 event.
During his years in coaching, John has at University of Tennessee (4 Place at NCAA’s, three Olympians), Rutgers University, Lehigh University (1st place at Patriot League Championships), and Washington & Lee University. He has also directed several club programs including Ocean County YMCA and Rockbridge County Aquatic Club. John is passionate about the sport of swimming and all the incredible teaching moments and lessons that sport swimming provides.