Pei Lin Hired To Rebuild Cal’s Diving Program

The Cal diving program has found its next head coach in Chinese national champion and three-time NCAA runner-up Pei Lin.

Lin will be tasked with reviving a diving squad that has struggled despite the Bears’ swimming dynasty in Berkeley. Neither the men’s or women’s teams had a diver score points at the Pac-12 Swimming & Diving Championships. The Cal men still went on to win conference and national titles this spring, but the diving deficit did cost them a national championship in 2021. The Bears outscored Texas’ swimmers at the 2021 NCAA Championships only to see the Longhorns’ divers tally 83 points and steal the crown by a margin of 27 points. In 2022, Texas had fewer diving points, and Cal won the title.

In addition to success in swimming, Texas boasts one of the best diving programs in the country, which has contributed heavily to a dynasty that has captured four of the last six NCAA Championships. A rejuvenated diving program at Cal would help make that rivalry with the Longhorns less of an uphill battle. 

Lin replaces interim coach Murphy Bromberg, a graduate assistant who took over after Oleg Andriyuk resigned last October for health reasons just three months after being hired. 

“I’m honored and grateful to have this opportunity to be part of the Cal men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams,” Lin said. “I am thrilled to be able to work with and learn from the coaches and student-athletes. As a coach, my goal is to help student-athletes build strong character and inspire them to always dream big, to go far and to achieve excellence.”

Lin most recently served as head diving coach at the University of South Dakota last season, which followed two years as a graduate assistant diving coach at Ohio State. The men’s and women’s teams at South Dakota both placed second at the Summit League Championships this past season. Stella Fairbanks was named women’s diver of the championships after winning a one-meter title and finishing second in the three-meter competition. 

Lin has also spent time working as an assistant coach with the California Diving Academy in nearby San Ramon and with the Guangdong Diving Team in her native Guangzhou, China.

Lin competed collegiately at Miami (Ohio) from 2015-18, where she was a four-time MAC Diver of the Year. She captured seven MAC championships – four on the 3-meter springboard and three on the 1-meter board – and won six NCAA zone titles. At the NCAA Championships, she placed second on 3-meter three years in a row, took third on 1-meter as a sophomore in 2016 and totaled seven top-10 finishes.

Lin, who set Miami records on both boards, scored a MAC meet record 338.90 points on 1-meter in 2016, while she set the MAC record on 3-meter with a score of 409.70 at the 2015 NCAA Championships.

“Pei brings a passion for diving and the coaching profession,” said Teri McKeever, veteran head coach of the women’s swim team. “She had a stellar career as a student-athlete with international experience and training. I believe she is the perfect person to build our diving program.”