Trent Richardson Named New Assistant Coach At Cleveland State

Courtesy: Cleveland State Athletics

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Trent Richardson has been named an Assistant Coach at Cleveland State University, as announced by men’s and women’s swimming head coach Hannah Burandt.

“I want to thank everyone that I had the opportunity to meet throughout the interview and hiring process,” said Richardson. “I want to thank Hannah for the opportunity to be part of the CSU swimming and diving family. The program has a long and rich history of success, and I look forward to working under Hannah and alongside Chalmers as we lead the program into the future.”

Richardson brings 18 years of coaching experience with him to Cleveland State, most recently working as the head coach of the Loveland Swim Club in Colorado for four years.

In 2022, Loveland earned a silver medal in the USA Swimming Club Excellence Program, ranking among the top 100 clubs in the country. The year prior, the club earned its first-ever bronze medal. At the 2022 US Winter Junior National Championship, Richardson guided his club to a 15th-place finish, the highest finish in over 20 years. He also coached the men’s 200-yard breaststroke junior national champion, Jake Eccleston.

“We are entering a new era as a program with Trent Richardson joining our staff along with 20 newcomers this fall,” said coach Burandt. Trent’s philosophy on coaching, experiences, accomplishments, unique skillset, and perspectives set him apart from a very competitive candidate pool. Trent will help us in our mission and pursuit of excellence while providing a transformational student experience. To quote Ted Lasso, “I feel like we fell out of the lucky tree and hit every branch on the way down, ended up in a pool of cash and Sour Patch Kids.”

Richardson spent seven years as the pre-senior coach and assistant senior coach at DART Swimming in Northern California. In his time with the club, DART claimed six Silver Medals and one Gold Medal. In addition, 34 long course records were broken under his leadership. He also worked with USA Swimming Junior National Team member Chenoa Devine and USA Swimming National Team member and National Age Group Record holder Luca Urlando.

Richardson started his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant at UC Davis, where the men’s team went undefeated and won their first Big West Conference Championship in 2010.

Richardson began his collegiate career at Diablo Valley College before attending UC Davis from 2007-09. Richardson served as a captain for the 2009 men’s team and was a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay that won a Big West Conference Championship while setting a conference record time.

Richardson graduated from UC Davis with a bachelor’s in sociology.