Auburn Hires Duncan Sherrard as First Assistant on New Swimming Staff

Auburn announced on Monday that they had hired Duncan Sherrard as the first assistant coach of Gary Taylor’s new swimming coaching staff. Sherrard comes to Auburn after 3 years as an assistant at North Carolina.

“I am extremely humbled and excited that Gary reached out to me and has given me the opportunity to join his staff at Auburn,” Sherrard said. “Auburn is a top-tier program and I’m excited to be a part of such a rich tradition and legacy. I can’t wait to get to The Plains to start coaching.”

“Duncan stands out as being very professional, very hard working and he wants to be really successful,” Taylor said. “He brings energy and passion to the sport and he’ll bring a great dynamic to my staff at Auburn.”

Sherrard, prior to his 3 years at UNC, was the head coach at Division II Florida Southern College from 2009-2015, and for the 3 years prior to that was an assistant at top Junior College Indian River State College. He also served as an assistant on the 2017 U.S. World University Games staff, where North Carolina had two athletes competing: Caroline Baldwin and Hellen Moffitt. Baldwin won the 50 free and Moffitt won the 100 fly at that meet for university students around the world.

“Duncan has been a winner at every level he’s ever been on,” Taylor said. “He understands grit, determination and hard work. He knows what it takes to become a winner and that’s what I want to be surrounded by.”

The North Carolina women placed 4th out of 12 teams and the men were 8th out of 12 teams at last year’s ACC Championships. UNC broke school records in all 5 men’s relays, 4 out of 5 women’s relays, and both the 50 and 100 free while Sherrard is there. Caroline Baldwin, who Auburn’s press release credits Sherrard with coaching, also broke the ACC Conference Record in the 50 free and became the school’s first 50 free finalist in back-to-back seasons in 20 years.

UNC’s results during Sherrard’s tenure there:

At Florida Southern, Sherrard produced the school’s first-ever NCAA Championship qualifiers and won 4-straight Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year awards, including winning 3 conference championships. His teams produced 278 All-Americans, 12 NCAA event titles, and broke 5 NCAA Division II records during his tenure.

A 4-year varsity letter winner and 14-time NCAA All-American swimmer at Florida, Sherrard was a team captain during his senior year with the Gators. He also was head swim coach for Bucholz High School in Gainesville from 2004-2006 and an age group coach at the Gator Swim Club from 2002-2005, shortly after his graduation.