Jake Shrum will join the South Carolina staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season as an associate head coach, the school announced on Friday. Shrum most recently spent time at Virginia and left the program back in April.
“We are absolutely thrilled that Jake will be joining us at the University of South Carolina” said South Carolina head coach Jeff Poppell. “Jake’s student-athletes at the University of Virginia enjoyed success at the highest levels of our sport, collegiately as well as internationally. I am confident that he will have the same incredible impact here and play a heavy role in our team’s future success both within the SEC and at the NCAA Championships.”
Shrum most recently had been with Virginia since 2022 when he joined the program as an assistant coach. He was promoted to being an associate head coach in 2024. The Virginia women captured the NCAA team title the last six seasons, four of which Shrum was a member of the team’s staff.
In addition to coaching the Virginia women, Shrum also served as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2024 SCM World Championships. He also was an assistant coach for the US at the 2025 World University Games.
Prior to his arrival at Virginia, Shrum served as head coach at Towson from 2015-2022. He joined Towson in fall 2015 as an assistant. Just a few months into the 2015-2016 season, Shrum was named acting head coach following the suspension and eventual firing of former head coach Pat Mead and his wife, diving coach Maureen Mead, after a cell phone was found recording inside the women’s locker room.
Shrum spent his collegiate career at Virginia and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2008. He started his coaching career at the club and high school level before joining Virginia as a volunteer assistant in 2013.
The South Carolina women finished 6th out of 13 teams while the men were 11th out of 11 teams at the 2026 SEC Championships. The women went on to finish 21st at the 2026 NCAA Championships.
