VT Assistant Payton Brooks Takes Over Tennessee’s Top High School Program

The Baylor School and affiliated Baylor Swim Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee has announced that Payton Brooks will become the program’s new head coach. Brooks comes to Baylor from Virginia Tech, where he has served as an assistant since 2019.

Brooks takes over the role from Laura Pitman, who served as the interim head coach since June, when the school parted ways with long-time head coach Dan Flack after a four week “medical leave.” Pitman will return to her roll as an assistant coach and director of operations.

Virginia Tech head coach Sergio Lopez says he will meet with administration next week to come up with a plan for when to hire Brooks’ replacement – now or in the offseason. The Hokies become one of several Power 5 programs who enter the competitive year without a full complement of coaches.

“Payton is everything that we were looking for in a head swim coach. He has been an integral part of successful programs at a variety of levels and reputably builds a strong rapport with his athletes,” said Baylor School Athletic Director Mark Price. “I am eager for our student-athletes to have the opportunity to develop under his leadership, and I am confident that he will continue to build upon the success of this tradition-rich program.”

Brooks joined the Hokie staff as the assistant in 2019; he played a role in leading the Tech men to 11th-place finishes at the NCAA Championships the past two seasons – the highest finishes in school history. The Tech women finished 21st and 23rd respectively, earning the lady Hokies the second and third-highest finishes for the program. Through these performances, the Hokies earned 42 All-American honors.

“I’d like to thank Head of School Chris Angel, Athletic Director Mark Price, and the Baylor community for the opportunity to lead this program,” said Brooks. “I am humbled and honored to be part of such a prestigious institution with rich traditions of excellence both in the classroom and in the pool. Together, we will continue to build upon that success but most importantly – we will be dedicated to the development of strong character and values for our athletes.”

Brooks also assisted with Pinnacle Racing at Virginia Tech (PRVT). This group hosted professional athletes from around the world preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Six athletes from this group went to compete at the games, with a notable performance from Santo Condorelli winning a silver medal in the 400 Free Relay.

Prior to joining the Hokies, Brooks took to the head coaching ranks at Alderson Broaddus University, a private university in Philippi, West Virginia, for the 2014-15 season. During his time with the Battlers, both the men’s and women’s teams scored the most points in school history as well as their best overall finishes at the conference championship meet. They broke 12 school records on the men’s side and six for the women. At Alderson Broaddus, his duties also included Aquatics Director.

Brooks served as an assistant coach at The Bolles School from 2012-2014 for the Senior High School, Age-Group and Professional Group. His coaching accomplishments at Bolles include:

• 2-Time Boys High School National Championships
• 1-Time Girls High School National Champion Runner-Up
• 9 National Records (5 Relays & 4 Individual)
• 34 High School All-Americans
• 2-Time Boys & Combined Winter Junior National Champions
• 1-Time Girls Junior National Champion Runner-Up
• 3-Time Florida State Champions

He also acted as the Assistant Director of the Bolles Sharks Swim Camp and was a Residential Staff member for the Bolles School Boarding Program. He and his wife served as Dorm Parents/Residential Staff to the students residing on campus.

Brooks was a member of the West Virginia University swim team under Sergio Lopez Miro. During his four-year college swimming career, he helped WVU win their first (2007) Big East Championship title in the school’s history. That season also marked the first team in school history to go undefeated (13-0) and finish the year ranked 20th in the country. He specialized in sprint freestyle events and was a five-time All-Big East performer. Also, while at WVU, he was on the all-time top 10 performance list in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, 200 and 400 medley relay, and the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays.

In his 5th year of athletic eligibility, he joined the WVU football team as a wide receiver. He was named the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year and was part of the Gator Bowl team in 2010. Brooks graduated from West Virginia University with a B.A. in Physical Education and Sport Sciences with a focus in Athletic Coaching.

The Baylor School and Baylor Swim Club is one of the country’s historic high school swimming programs. Notable alumni coached by Flack include Trey Freeman, who raced at this summer’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In total, 15 swimmers qualified for Olympic Trials during Flack’s tenure.

In 1984, Baylor alum Geoff Gaberino swam on the American 800 free relay at the Olympics.

The Baylor School boys and girls swept the team titles at last year’s Tennessee High School State Championship meet. That marked the third straight season in which they have swept the state titles.