2026 NCAA qualifier Kimmy Shannon has announced she will transfer to Tennessee for the upcoming season. Shannon just finished her sophomore season at Pitt.
“I’m beyond grateful to announce my commitment to continue my academic and athletic careers at the University of Tennessee! First, I’d like to thank coach Matt and the rest of the Tennessee staff and family for this wonderful opportunity! Second, I’d like to thank my family for their unwavering support throughout this entire process. This past month has been everything but easy and I truly could not be more thankful for them. Lastly, I want to thank my coaches and teammates at Pitt. To Chase, thank you for showing me what it means to dream bigger. I’ve achieved things I never thought possible while repping Pitt and I owe a lot of that to your mentorship and constant faith. To Kaersten, Michael, Matt, Marian… you all have changed me for the better in more ways than visible in the pool. I can’t thank you all enough for the most incredible past 2 years! To my teammates and Pitt family, you have seen me at my worst and my best and I won’t take any of our time together for granted! You made me a better teammate and friend and you all taught me what it means to be SELFLESS and #grateful ❤️. With that being said, I cannot wait to start my next journey on Rocky Top! I’m so excited for the next couple of years as a Lady Vol!”
Shannon entered the transfer portal after it was announced that head coach Chase Kreitler was resigning from his position, effective immediately.
The rising junior had a strong showing at the 2026 ACC Championships where she swam to four lifetime bests. She scored a total of 33 individual points and was 9th in the 400 IM (4:04.82), 18th in the 200 IM (1:57.25), and 19th in the 200 back (1:53.43). She also time trialed the 200 breast and swam a lifetime best 2:13.73.
Shannon went on to finish 24th in the 400 IM (4:09.38), 25th in the 200 IM (1:57.77), and 34th in the 200 back (1:54.24) at the 2026 NCAA Championships. Her 400 time from ACCs would have been 12th. She was one of three individual NCAA qualifiers for Pitt, but none will return this fall.
Shannon’s Best SCY Times Are:
- 400 IM: 4:04.82
- 200 IM: 1:57.25
- 200 back: 1:53.43
- 200 breast: 2:13.73
The Tennessee women finished 5th at the 2026 NCAA Championships with 301.5 points, only 1.5 points behind 4th place Cal. Sprinter Camille Spink led the way with 43 individual points.
Shannon is a strong addition to the Lady Vols’ IM group as the team scored 24 points in the 400 IM at 2026 NCAAs. Ella Jansen led the way with a 4th place finish in a 3:59.59 while Emily Brown was 9th in a 4:04.09. The team did not score any points in the 200 IM at NCAAs.
Shannon is not the only swimmer from Pitt to be transferring to Tennessee as she joins Julian Koch on the men’s side. Koch entered the portal and announced his transfer before the coaching change.
The new director’s task, find a mediocre coach to take over, so when Pitt is bottom of the barrel at the end of the season, they can blame lack of improvement for cutting the program.
Exactly. You missed one thing – the little happy dance he does afterward. “Sweet. Now back to hoops … “
Transferring was the only choice she had to train and compete with the best.
The AD and new Director of Swimming have some explaining to do. Obviously they couldn’t convince the athletes to stay and that Pitt was going to completely support the program!
As a Pitt alum, it is very disappointing!
To my new found friends at UT. From one Jansen to another , you are getting a quality individual, a fantastic swimmer, and a family that will be all in. I’m sure Mr. S already bought the hat and kilt!!! Go Kimmy!!!
Hi, “Norwegian” side of the family! She looks like a perfect addition! And we welcome everyone with kilts ;-). Go Vols.
“She scored a total of X individual points”
Were they using roman numerals?
No, it turns out very, very few writers for swimswam proofread.
Oh yea the Lady Vol Big Orange Machine is motoring!
Congratulations Kimmy – No telling how fast you can go wearing the coonskin cap.
VFE.
Swimmer Number 483 to transfer from Pitt.
Good. Their AD can answer for that.
It’s kind of crazy how quick Pitt went from being one of the hottest programs in the country (by improvement curve) to absolutely decimated.
Women’s Individual Swim NCAA Qualifiers: 3 (0 return= 1 graduate, 2 transfers)
Relay Legs: 16 (only 7 return as of now)
It seems that the AD doesn’t care at all.
It’s is disappointing and sad to see a program that Chase and staff worked so hard to build just go… poof.
Bingo. He does not care. Not even a little.
I can’t believe I went from telling Chase Kreitler how excited I was to come see the meets next year to having almost no faith in even having an exciting ACC’s.
It’s very upsetting 🙁
Get used to it more programs will go by the wayside over the next 2 years…and athletes will continue jumping ship until there are no mo ships!
Good luck Kimmy. Keep on swimming fast!