University of Southern California Men's Swimming & Diving

Hongping Li, an NCAA champion and two-time Olympian who has been one of the most successful NCAA coaches for over two decades, enters his 27th season as USC's head diving coach. He was named to the position on July 1, 1999, and is currently USC’s longest running head coach. In September of 2019, Li was inducted into the World Acrobatic Society Hall of Fame which honors disciplines in gymnastics, diving, professional acrobatics, extreme sports, trampoline and tumbling. Li is a two-time NCAA Coach of the Year (2002, 2006), a 12-time Pac-12 Women’s (2001-02-03-05-06-09-10-11-12-13-14-21) and six-time Pac-12 Men’s (2009, 2016-17-18-20-23) Diving Coach of the Year. The winner of the 1998 and 1999 United States Olympic Committee’s “Diving Developmental Coach of the Year” award, he came to USC after serving as the head coach of the Mission Viejo (Calif.) Nadadores Diving Team since 1993. Li has had sustained and broad success since joining the USC staff. He has directed 20 men’s and women’s divers to a combined 61 CSCAA First Team All-America honors, eight NCAA titles and 44 conference titles. His USC divers have earned a combined 14 conference diver of the year honors and 10 conference newcomer of the year awards. The 2024-25 diving squad took Li to new heights as a record number of Trojans earned spots at the NCAA Championships (four men, one woman). First-year Trojan Moritz Wesemann won USC’s first Big Ten diving title (3-meter) and earned First Team All-Conference honors. Both W

Brooks Fail enters his third season as an assistant coach for USC swimming. He joined the Trojans on August 25, 2022. Fail has played an integral role in the Trojans recruiting efforts, helping USC bring in talent from around the world. At Arizona, Fail was an 11-time All-American, most recently finishing fifth in the 500y free (4:10.05), sixth in the 400y IM (3:38.55) and seventh in the 1650y free (14:35.33) at the 2022 NCAA Championships. The endurance specialist also captured a Pac-12 title in the mile (14:41.22) as a 2022 senior. A powerhouse for the Wildcats, Fail holds the Arizona school record in the 1650y free (14:31.38) and 400y IM (3:38.55). The CSCAA Scholar All-American earned a Bachelor's degree in Education with a minor in recreation and sports at Arizona.

Olympic diving bronze medalist Doerte Lindner, who helped USC to an NCAA team title in 1997 was been named the USC men's and women's diving assistant coach, ...

Gia Larez has been the Associate Director of Sports Brands and Communications at USC since 2021. Larez was named the primary media contact for women's basketball on October 1, 2025 after previously serving as the interim men's basketball sports information director. In addition to working with women's basketball, she also serves as the primary contact for both men's and women's tennis. Gia also serves as the producer for USC Football Radio (including Trojans Live and the Trojan Tailgate Show). Previously, Larez worked with football and men's basketball. She began her career as a graduate assistant SID at USC from 2019-2020. She came to USC from Syracuse, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 2019 in communication and rhetorical studies. She also earned a minor in marketing. At Syracuse, she was on the club swimming team and served as an intern in the Athletic Communications department where she worked primarily with football. Larez earned her master's degree in strategic public relations from USC in 2020.

Keith Dawley, a veteran swim coach with more than ten years of experience, was hired as assistant coach for USC swimming on Monday, July 8, 2024. Dawley is entering his second year with the Trojans. During the 2024-25 season, nine Trojans earned First Team CSCAA All-America honors, the most in a single season since 2020. USC set 11 school records, won three conference swimming titles (two individual, 1 relay) and saw five Trojans earn First Team All-Conference swimming honors during the Trojans inaugural season in the Big Ten. USC’s men’s swimming and diving program finished fourth at the conference championships and 15th at NCAA’s, while the Women of Troy finished fifth at Big Ten’s and 11th at the National Championship meet. Dawley served six years at Southern Methodist University, where he assisted the Mustang's to four-straight conference championships (three American Athletic, one Atlantic Sun). Under head coach Greg Rhodenbaugh, he and his SMU associates were awarded Conference Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. With Dawley on staff, Southern Methodist captured 48 individual and 18 relay titles at the conference championships. In 2024, SMU had its best performance at the NCAA Championship, finishing 18th, its highest finish since 2008. The Mustangs also captured the Atlantic Sun Championship in 2024, its fourth straight title. Shortly after Dawley's arrival in 2018, SMU returned to the top of the conference for the first time since 2013, win

Kevin Rapien, a veteran collegiate coach with almost a decade of Division I experience, is entering his sixth season on staff and first as an associate head coach. Rapien was elevated to the position of associate head coach on July 29, 2025 after five seasons as an assistant coach. Rapien arrived at USC in 2020 after a year serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the California men’s swimming team – the Bears won the 2020 Pac-12 title – which followed seven years as an assistant coach for Cleveland State’s men’s and women’s teams. During the 2024-25 season, nine Trojans earned First Team CSCAA All-America honors, the most in a single season since 2020. USC set 11 school records, won three conference swimming titles (two individual, 1 relay) and saw five Trojans earn First Team All-Conference swimming honors during the Trojans inaugural season in the Big Ten. USC’s men’s swimming and diving program finished fourth at the conference championships and 15th at NCAA’s, while the Women of Troy finished fifth at Big Ten’s and 11th at the National Championship meet. The Women of Troy made history during the 2023-24 season as Maurer led the squad to its first-ever 9-0 undefeated season, securing the most regular season wins in program history. During the run, the Trojans took down both No. 5 California and No. 4 Stanford, with the then-No.7 USC upset both conference foes in one season for the first time since 1996. At the Pac-12 Championships, USC wrapped up their performance with

Lauren Preston was named Deputy Director of Athletic Compliance in February 2024. Preston joined the Athletic Compliance staff in November 2020. She served a...

Lea Maurer, an Olympic gold medalist and former Stanford women’s head coach who guided the Cardinal for seven years, is in her third year as head coach of the USC men’s and women’s swim team. She was named head coach on April 1, 2022, and is entering her fourth season at the helm. Under Maurer during the 2024-25 season, nine Trojans earned First Team CSCAA All-America honors, the most in a single season since 2020. USC set 11 school records, won three conference swimming titles (two individual, 1 relay) and saw five Trojans earn First Team All-Conference swimming honors during the Trojans inaugural season in the Big Ten. USC’s men’s swimming and diving program finished fourth at the conference championships and 15th at NCAA’s, while the Women of Troy finished fifth at Big Ten’s and 11th at the National Championship meet. 29 Trojans earned Big Ten Winter Academic honors, while 18 picked up First Team CSCAA Scholar All-America honors. Maurer made history with the Trojans in the 2023-24 season as she led them to their first-ever 9-0 undefeated season, securing the most regular season wins in program history. During the run, the Trojans took down both No. 5 California and No. 4 Stanford, with the then-No.7 USC upset both conference foes in one season for the first time since 1996. At the Pac-12 Championships, USC wrapped up their performance with 1291 points, enough for a second place finish after taking home their most event wins since 2003 (9). To cap off the season, the Trojan

Lindsay Jaffe is the Senior Associate Athletic Director – Sport Administration at USC Athletics, where she provides leadership and oversight for 11 teams, including men's basketball baseball, lacrosse, soccer, cross country, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's track & field, and men's water polo. Jaffe plays a key role in goal setting, scheduling, performance management, and budget planning to drive competitive excellence. In her time as a sport administrator, USC has won three national championships, including Women's Track & Field (2021), Women's Water Polo (2021), and Men's Indoor Track & Field (2025), as well as USC's first Big Ten title (Women's Soccer, 2024). Since her arrival at USC, Jaffe has helped lead national searches for head coaches in multiple sports, including baseball, women's cross country, men's and women's track & field, men's and women's swimming & diving, and women's soccer, while assisting the Director of Athletics in contract negotiations. She helped develop USC's sport administrator manual and implemented the annual Competitive Excellence analysis to evaluate recruiting, student-athlete development, and program performance. A member of USC Athletics' Senior Leadership and Executive Leadership teams, Jaffe has served on the Big Ten Transition Team, Performance Science Institute Team, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Team, and Culture Champions Team. Before USC, Jaffe spent eight years at Cincinnati in various leadership roles, including

Meghan Hawthorne, a USC All-American medley swimmer who spent five seasons as an assistant coach for Troy, was elevated to associate head coach on July 29, 2025. Hawthorne enters her sixth season at her alma mater. She previously spent five seasons at Boise State (2016-18) and Northwestern (2019-20). During the 2024-25 season, nine Trojans earned First Team CSCAA All-America honors, the most in a single season since 2020. USC set 11 school records, won three conference swimming titles (two individual, 1 relay) and saw five Trojans earn First Team All-Conference swimming honors during the Trojans inaugural season in the Big Ten. USC’s men’s swimming and diving program finished fourth at the conference championships and 15th at NCAA’s, while the Women of Troy finished fifth at Big Ten’s and 11th at the National Championship meet. The Women of Troy made history during the 2023-24 season as Maurer led the squad to its first-ever 9-0 undefeated season, securing the most regular season wins in program history. During the run, the Trojans took down both No. 5 California and No. 4 Stanford, with the then-No.7 USC upset both conference foes in one season for the first time since 1996. At the Pac-12 Championships, USC wrapped up their performance with 1291 points, enough for a second place finish after taking home their most event wins since 2003 (9). To cap off the season, the Trojans finished eighth at the NCAAs, marking the Women of Troy's best finish since 2016, with 200 points eve

Vanessa Rideau is in her 18th year working in the USC Athletic Department and her third year as director of operations for USC's aquatics programs. Rideau's USC career began in 2005 as administrative assistant for men's basketball, where she spent five years and served in an operational role handling team travel, events and parent and donor and alumni relations. Rideau joined the USC aquatics support staff in 2010 as administrative assistant and office manager for the water polo, swimming and diving teams. She handles administrative duties, day-to-day aquatics operations and team travel, as well as assisting coaching staffs with events and as a liaison to alumni, parents and donors. Rideau earned a degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount and is the mother of two — Chad and Camille, who is a 2013 USC graduate.