Shea Skarda will join Pitt for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. The Washington native spent one season at TCU.
Skarda confirmed to SwimSwam that he is still planning to head to Pitt this fall despite the uncertainty of who will be head coach for Pitt this upcoming season. Head coach Chase Kreitler resigned last week, effective immediately.
Skarda arrived at TCU this past fall and had a strong showing at midseason, swimming to lifetime bests in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. He swam a 54.17 in the 100 and a 1:56.81 in the 200.
He concluded his season at the 2026 Big 12 Championships and finaled in the 100 breast as he was 21st in a 54.64. His lifetime best from midseason would have finished 20th. He also was 26th in the 200 breast (1:59.68) and 41st in the 200 IM in a season best 1:54.58.
Skarda’s Best SCY Times Are:
- 100 breast: 54.17
- 200 breast: 1:56.81
The Pitt men finished 11th out of 15 teams at the 2026 ACC Championships and went on to finish 20th at 2026 NCAAs, their highest finish in 73 years. Sprinter Julian Koch led the way but has since announced he will transfer to Tennessee.
Based on his best times, Skarda is just off what it took to make it back in the 200 breast at ACCs as it took a 1:56.17 to earn a second swim. It took a 52.95 100 breast to make it back. Rising sophomore Joseph Gardner was Pitt’s highest finisher in the 200 breast with a 1:57.97 for 32nd. Rising junior Eli Hobson led the team in the 100 breast with a 52.40 for 14th. Skarda will have the chance to train alongside the two for at least two seasons.
Get More SwimSwam with SwimSwam Magazine
SwimSwam Magazines are big, coming in at nearly a pound per issue. We provide you four massive print issues designed to sit on your coffee table like a piece of artwork. With your yearly subscription, you receive over 600 of pages of swimming’s highest quality print content, and another 5,330+ pages of digital issues, going back to the first issue produced.
Welcome to Pittsburgh Shea!
isn’t eli hobson in the portal
Welcome to the family Shea and best of luck! H2P!!!
Who recruited him?
H2P.
Welcome to Pittsburgh.
Be curious to see if he goes back into the portal
“Skarda confirmed to SwimSwam that he is still planning to head to Pitt this fall despite the uncertainty of who will be head coach for Pitt this upcoming season.”
Anya, reading the articles is not something the Swimswam commenters typically do. headline or bust out here