Former Auburn Coach Jeana Kempe To Round Out New South Carolina Staff

Jeana Kempe will join the new coaching staff at South Carolina, making the jump after Auburn cleared out its coaching staff this offseason.

Kempe was an assistant coach with Auburn University for the past three seasons, working primarily with middle-distance swimmers. She had previously coached at LSU, but made the jump within the SEC to join Auburn in 2018 under then-new head coach Gary Taylor.

Taylor and Auburn parted ways this offseason. Kempe and Duncan Sherrard will reunite in South Carolina – they were both assistants under Taylor for three seasons at Auburn. Sherrard was announced as a South Carolina hire earlier this week.

There’s been a lot of coaching movement within the SEC this season. South Carolina’s new head coach is Jeff Poppellthe former women’s head coach at Florida. Poppell made the jump to South Carolina, where he’s heading up the men’s and women’s programs. Here’s a look at Poppell’s staff moving forward:

Patnode comes from a position with Ohio State in the Big Ten. Pinter has previously coached in the Big Ten, but was most recently working with the Gator Swim Club out of Florida.

South Carolina is one of four SEC teams revamping their coaching staff this offseason. Coley Stickels resigned at Alabama midway through the season, with Ozzie Quevedo finishing out the season and Margo Geer taking over next season. South Carolina moved on from McGee Moody in a mutual agreement, hiring Poppell away from Florida to fill the spot. That caused Florida to re-combine its men’s and women’s programs under men’s head coach Anthony Nesty. Meanwhile Auburn replaced Taylor with Ryan Wochomurka as head coach.

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CarlyC
2 years ago

Incredible coach, even better person! Congrats to USC on a great hire!!!

Sec in trouble?
2 years ago

Not the last change. ARKANSAS needs to get rid of head coach after the 14 swimmers leaving program and the inside accusations of mental abuse.

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Sec in trouble?
2 years ago

This anonymous accusations crap is really pathetic. Some HS swimmers just aren’t cut out for college swimming. And telling them they’ve not cutting it isn’t mental abuse, it’s the truth. This isn’t kids soccer with participation trophies, ffs.

swimapologist
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
2 years ago

Ok but if ~60% of your swimming roster leaves the program in the same season…either you’ve done a really bad job of recruiting, or you’re the problem.

Time to move along...
Reply to  swimapologist
2 years ago

I don’t think it’s fair to assume that EVERY swimmer who enters the transfer portal wants to leave a program for the same reason (sounds like you’re inferring presumed differences with their coaches?)… how many of the 60% left for academic, health, etc. reasons? I have no skin in the game, but there’s always more to the story…

swimapologist
Reply to  Time to move along...
2 years ago

The first 12 all wrote a letter together saying they left because of the coach. I saw their parents pushing it on social media…

And again, you ever seen (now 14) athletes transfer out of the same program in the same year? Ok 2 or 3 or 4 or 5, explain away however you want. 14? Something’s broken there.

And regardless – if a coach is recruiting THAT many swimmers who are a bad academic fit, have health problems, etc. then they are bad at their job. An SEC head coach’s job is to build a successful swim program that also offsets the football team’s low GPA, in essence. If athletes are leaving at that high of a level because… Read more »

Beth Nelson
Reply to  swimapologist
2 years ago

It is the head coach…btw, how is south carolinas diving program? Hmmmm

Beth Nelson
Reply to  swimapologist
2 years ago

Believe the portal now has at least 1 AK Diver

Bh Nelson
Reply to  Beth Nelson
2 years ago

Now 14 including 2 divers. Dive coach gone per swimswam

Guy
2 years ago

Is Kevin Swander not on the staff?

Curious
Reply to  Guy
2 years ago

No.

Admin
Reply to  Guy
2 years ago

They have announced the maximum 4 assistant swim coaches, so unless he’s going to be a volunteer…

wahoo
2 years ago

went to an auburn training camp with my team, she was awesome!!!! cant wait to see what she brings to SC!!

War Damn
2 years ago

Alarming that Poppell would pick 2 coaches from a staff that had so many team culture issues. Hopefully Jeana and Duncan don’t bring the Gary Taylor regime with them.

Sarcastic
Reply to  War Damn
2 years ago

Yeah, my thoughts as well. I think they’re both good coaches in their own right, but strange to bring two from the same staff when so many things came to light about how negative the culture was.

Time to move along...
Reply to  Sarcastic
2 years ago

or perhaps people will finally realize that “so many things coming to light” based off of anonymous posts behind a computer screen is not the true and entire story of what transpired at Auburn…

Concerned Parent
Reply to  Time to move along...
2 years ago

Interesting comment from someone who is hiding behind a computer screen him or herself 😳

Miami Vice
Reply to  War Damn
2 years ago

Culture starts with the head coach. He obviously feels good about both of them as people. Have never heard anything negative referenced about Jeana.

Time to move along...
Reply to  War Damn
2 years ago

Time to move along & focus your energy toward your new school/program…the obsessive posting about your former head coach is showing us all that you were a large part of the alleged “culture.”

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  War Damn
2 years ago

Maybe the coaches weren’t the problem with the culture. I heard “culture” crap during the Brett Hawke era, too.

Christian Sztolcman
2 years ago

❤️❤️❤️

Aryan Makhija
Reply to  Christian Sztolcman
2 years ago

❤️❤️❤️

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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