Adam Braun - Head Swimming Coach - Women's Swimming & Diving Coaches

Adam Braun

Title:
Head Swimming Coach
Email:
awb55@drexel.edu
Phone:
215-895-0292

Adam Braun enters his sixth year at the helm of the Dragons in 2019-20 after being named the head coach for men’s and women’s swimming and diving in June 2014. Prior to his appointment as head coach, Braun served as an assistant coach in University City for two seasons.

The men’s and women’s programs logged successful seasons yet again in 2018-19 with 17 different student-athletes collecting 40 All-CAA nods. As a team, the men posted a 4-1 record, won the Thomas Murphy Invitational and took second place at the CAA Championships for the fourth-consecutive year. At the same time, the women’s team went 5-1 and placed fourth at the conference championships, one spot higher than the year prior.

Three men – Jason Arthur in the 200 back, Patrick Cobb in the 500 free and Anthony Musciano in the 1-meter dive – claimed gold medals at the 2019 CAA Championships, and Paris Raptis was recognized as the conference’s rookie swimmer of the year. The women’s team captured two relays, the 200 medley and 400 medley, and Alexa Kutch won gold in both the 100 back and 200 back. Kutch, a junior, has swept the back events at the CAA Championships for three-straight years and hit a 2020 Olympic Trial cut time in the 100-meter back at the AT&T Winter National Championships.

Drexel returned to the NCAA Diving Zone A Championships for the first time since 2013, sending both Anthony Musciano and Katie Caputo to the event.

The Dragons received academic honors as well in 2018-19, with both men’s and women’s teams receiving CSCAA Scholar All-America distinctions. Individually, Kutch, Arthur and Cobb were all selected to Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area teams.

In addition, the men’s team received the NCAA APR public recognition award in 2019 for posting a multiyear APR in the top-10 percent of their respective sport.

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving had yet another successful season in 2017-18 under Braun’s direction. In the regular season, the men posted a perfect 6-0 mark, won the Patriot Invitational and the Thomas Murphy Invitational and were runners-up at the CAA Championships for the third-straight season. The women went 5-1 in the regular season, were runners-up at the Patriot Invitational and earned a fifth-place finish at the conference championships.

The Dragons finished with 13 gold medals and set 12 team records at the 2018 CAA Championships. In total, 59 Dragons earned top-five finishes and 76 Dragons finished in the top-10 in their events. Sophomore Anthony Musciano swept the diving events at the meet and was honored with CAA Most Outstanding Diver of the Meet and CAA Diver of the Year for the second-consecutive season. Braun was honored as the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, after earning Women’s Swimming Co-Coach of the Year the previous season. On the women’s side, Alexa Kutch reached the NCAA Swimming Championships, where she established a new program and CAA record in the 100-back. Under Braun’s guidance, Kutch was also named a Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area selection. Both the men’s and women’s programs received CSCAA Scholar All-American Team recognition while Kutch, Patrick Cobb, Stathias Malamas and Alicia Diaz all received CSCAA Scholar Athlete All-America accolades.

In Braun’s third season, the men and women continued to reach new program heights, including the men’s second-straight year finishing second at the CAA Championships and senior Rachel Bernhardt becoming the first Drexel swimmer to earn Division I Honorable Mention All-American status after swimming in her second-consecutive NCAA Championship. Braun was named the CAA Women’s Co-Coach of the Year after guiding the women to a fourth-place finish at the conference championships. In addition, Bernhardt was also named the CAA Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet and Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Year while freshman Alexa Kutch earned the women’s rookie swimming honors and freshman diver Anthony Musciano swept all three CAA Men’s Diving Awards.

Drexel accomplished much under Braun’s watch during his second season as head coach. The program earned the NCAA Academic Performance Program public recognition award for posting multiyear APRs in the top-10 percent of their sport as well as being honored as CSCAA Scholar All-American Teams for reaching a cumulative team GPA over 3.0. In the pool, the men finished in second place at the CAA Swimming Championships, the program’s best-ever finish since moving to the CAA in 2001-02. Braun helped produce Drexel’s first ever CAA Men’s Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet and CAA Men’s Swimmer of the Year, won by Joel Berryman in his senior season. He helped guide fellow senior David Sanchez to his third CAA Diver of the Meet and CAA Diver of the Year awards. Men’s diving also produced the Rookie Diver of the Year in Michael Binkauskas. On the women’s side, Rachel Bernhardt became the first Dragon to win a gold medal at the CAA Swimming Championships, producing first-place finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. In addition, the women put 31 new times in the all-time top-five at the conference championships while breaking nine school records and four freshman benchmarks. Bernhardt was the first Drexel women’s swimmer to be named the CAA Swimmer of the Year. Bernhardt also became the first Dragon swimmer to qualify and compete at the NCAA Swimming Championships under Braun’s direction. Bernhardt also qualified for the same two events at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

In his first season as head coach, Braun's Dragons earned four titles at the CAA Championship and finished fourth as a team at the conference meet to mark their highest finish in the last decade. Under Braun's direction, Joel Berryman earned conference titles in the 50 free and 100 free, the latter of which marked the fastest winning time in the history of the CAA for that event. Braun also helped guide 2015 CAA Diver of the Year David Sanchez to his second-career gold medal in the 3-meter dive. On the whole, swimming and diving had eight individuals and three relay teams earn All-CAA honors during Braun's first full year as head coach.

Braun made an immediate impact both in the pool and on the recruiting trail as an assistant coach. The men's and women's team combined to re-write the record books with 25 record breaking swims in the process of breaking 19 school records in his first season alone. On top of the broken records, the Dragons posted an astonishing 31 new times in the All-Time Top 5. Braun helped coach seven swimmers in achieving their first U.S. Senior National qualifying times. Within a shortened recruiting period Braun was able to sign nine women and six men, including two swimmers who have already achieved U.S. Senior National marks.
Braun joined the Dragon after serving as the Director of Competitive Aquatics for the Western YMCA Wahoos in Newark, Delaware for five years. During his tenure with the Wahoos, Braun doubled the number of swimmers on the team to 200 participants, led his swimmers to over 450 recording breaking swims and nearly quadrupled the number of points scored at their District Championship meet, guiding the women to a first place finish and the team to a second place overall finish in 2012.

Braun attended Ohio State University from 2002-06 where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in coaching and management and a minor in business. While at Ohio State, Braun was a valuable member of the Buckeye swim team specializing in the 100 and 200 freestyle events contributing all four years at Big Ten Championships in individual and relay events. As a student-athlete, Braun was a four-time OSU scholar athlete and three-time academic All-Big Ten Athlete.

A native of Michigan, Braun began his swimming career for the South Oakland YMCA where he represented his team at multiple National meets.