The University of Pennsylvania has announced the hiring of Megan Shaffer as an assistant coach for its women’s and men’s swimming and diving program. Shaffer fills the vacant role left by Emma Durham, who departed the Quakers’ staff in May to take an assistant coaching role at Pepperdine.
“I am thrilled to add Megan to our coaching staff,” said head coach Mike Schnur in the university’s press release. “Her experiences at West Point over the past two years coincided with the incredible success both of their teams enjoyed, I am looking forward to her contributing the same energy, excitement, and knowledge to the Quakers!”
Shaffer comes to Penn from Army, where she spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach. The program reached new heights over her tenure: in March, three female swimmers qualified for the NCAA Championships, marking the first three women to qualify for the meet since Army began competing in Division I in 1991. The team also finished as the runners-up at the Patriot League Championships for the fourth straight season.
On the men’s side, Johnny Crush placed fifth in the 100 backstroke at the 2026 NCAA Championships, setting a new program record of 43.84 and tying him for eighth all-time among Americans. In 2025, the Army men won their first Patriot League title since 2001, and the Black Knights also earned their first sweep over Navy since 1988.
Shaffer jumpstarted her coaching career as an assistant at Franklin and Marshall for the 2021-22 season, before moving on to coach the next two seasons at Colgate University.
“I’m so honored and excited to join Penn swim and dive! A huge shoutout to Mike for giving me this amazing opportunity, and to all the teams and coaches that I’ve worked with thus far in my career,” said Shaffer. “I’m ready to get to work and have a great season. Let’s go!”
Shaffer graduated from Susquehanna University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and publishing and editing. A four-year member of the swimming and diving program, she served as a team captain during her senior year and was a 15-time ‘A’ finalist at the Landmark Conference Championships.
Shaffer joins a coaching staff, that besides herself and Schnur, includes diving coach Rob Cragg and fellow assistant coach Andrew Abeysinghe.
