Brad Thornton was named the head coach of the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s and women’s swimming programs in June of 2012. He is currently in his fifth season.
Thornton came to Stevens for the 2008-09 season and has been a key part in turning both teams into national powers, serving as the top assistant coach, associate head coach and interim head coach before being promoted to head coach.
“Brad has proven to be an outstanding swimming coach during his time at Stevens,” Director of Athletics Russell Rogers said. “His technical knowledge of the sport, recruitment style and strategy and vision for where he wants to take our programs leave us very excited about the future of Stevens swimming. The special rapport he has built with our student-athletes is quite apparent and I very much look forward to the future under Brad’s leadership.”
During his time in Hoboken, Thornton has brought in countless impact student-athletes as the Ducks have combined for more than 180 All-America and honorable mention All-America finishes over the last five seasons with each team becoming one of the top programs in the country. Stevens has achieved numerous academic honors as well, with over 30 swimmers earning Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) honors and the team placing amongst the country’s elite. Since become a member of the coaching staff, Thornton has helped Duck swimmers break every single school-record, truly taking the program to new heights.
Thornton and his two assistants were named Empire 8 Men's Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year after leading the team to a fourth straight Empire 8 Conference Championship. On the women's side, the team nabbed second place for the second consectutive campaign.
Nine swimmers qualified for the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, with Ravi Sun and Connor Harrigan claiming All-American honors. Sarah Jurczyk and Josh Lefeber garnered Honorable Mention selections.
The Ducks also swept the individual E8 awards, as Sun and Vinny Tavoletti were named E8 Swimmer of the Year and Rookie of the Year respectively. Jurczyk was tabbed Swimmer of the Year on the women's side while Courtney Jones was named Rookie of the Year.
The 2014-15 campaign saw the women's program notch a second place finish at the Empire 8 Championships and a 17th place mark at the NCAA Championships in March. The 17th place finish saw Brittany Geyer take home two National Championships in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke, with Geyer also taking home Swimmer of the Meet honors at the E8 Championships.
For his efforts, Thornton and his staff were named E8 Coaching Staff of the Year with freshman Sarah Jurczyk being named Rookie of the Year in the E8 while James Betz took home Rookie of the Year honors on the men's side.
In his first season leading the Ducks, both programs attained superb results, placing in the top-seven at the national meet.
The Stevens women finished seventh in the nation and won the first Empire 8 Championship in the history of the program. The Ducks recorded 27 All-America and honorable mention All-America swims, and had the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year in Elizabeth Heinbach. Stevens practically re-wrote the record book, breaking five program-bests at the NCAA’s alone.
The Duck men were sixth in the nation and took the second E8 title in program history. Stevens won another ECAC title and had 29 All-America or honorable mention All-America performances. Simas Jarasunas became the first individual National Champion in men’s swimming history, winning the 100-yard breaststroke. Senior John Hu was named the conference’s Swimmer of the Year and was honored as the top NCAA Division III student-athlete in New Jersey by the Collegiate Athletic Administrators of New Jersey.
Each squad was honored by the CSCAA as top academic teams and both teams remained heavily involved in the community.
In his second season leading the programs, the Ducks continued to be one of the top teams in the nation, earning national ranks throughout the entire season. The Stevens men won the second Empire 8 title in program history and sent nine swimmers to the NCAA's, and the women placed second in the E8, sending three to the national meet. The Ducks were once again CSCAA Academic squads and numerous individuals earned Scholar All-America honors.
Both programs finished in the top-30 at the NCAA Championships in 2014, and Mark Lippert was named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. The Duck men topped in-state rival and national power TCNJ in Hoboken, and also won their fourth-straight ECAC title. On the women's side, the Brittany Geyer was named the Empire 8 swimmer of the Year and the Ducks were second at the ECAC's in December.
Thornton-coached teams have steadily raised the bar each year prior to him taking over the reigns as well. In 2011-12 he assisted the Ducks to team-best finishes on both sides, with the men placing 11th at the national meet and the women taking fifth. Both squads earned Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) titles and academic honors from the CSCAA, and a school-record 17 swimmers went to the NCAA Division III Championships. Stevens combined for 45 All-America finishes and the women’s program had its second NCAA Champion in freshman Brittany Geyer (Brunswick, Ohio). The men swept the Empire 8 end-of-year awards and Geyer swept the E8 women’s honors herself as the Ducks were the top conference finisher on the national level on both sides – men and women – for a third-straight year.
In 2010-11, the program continued its steady rise to national prominence as the women were sixth in Division III and the men were 14th – both program bests at the time. In total, the two teams combined for 48 All-America or honorable mention All-America finishes and both groups had the Empire 8 Swimmer of the Year. The men won the ECAC title, each team was second at the E8 Championship meet, and both squads earned Scholar All-America team honors with cumulative GPA’s eclipsing 3.25.
Thornton helped push 2011 grad Laura Barito (Arkadelphia, Ark.) to a national title in the 50-yard freestyle and his work with the Stevens sprint teams has elevated those student-athletes to new levels. He is a tireless worker, a strong recruiter and one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the nation, earning Honorable Mention Assistant Coach of the Year by CollegeSwimming.com for the 2010-11 campaign.
His second season, 2009-10, saw the Ducks continue to raise its standards. Thornton helped the women place second in the conference and 12th in the nation, while the men won the Empire 8 and took 17th at the NCAA’s.
In his first year on staff (2008-09), Thornton helped the Stevens squads to strong seasons as both programs re-wrote the record books, had best-ever finishes at the ECAC Championships and Empire 8 Championships, and made their mark on the national level. He helped guide the women to an 11th-place finish at the NCAA’s, with the men taking 40th overall.
As a student-athlete at NYU, Thornton was a six-time NCAA Division III All-American and nine-time honorable mention All-American. In addition to reaching All-America status 15 different times at NYU, Thornton won six Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships and six University Athletic Association championships. The UAA Rookie Swimmer of the Year in 2004-05, Thornton broke NYU records in 11 different events and held nine school-best times when he graduated.
Thornton excelled academically as well for the Violets. In 2007 and 2008, he was a first-team CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection. Prior to coaching, Thornton worked as an account coordinator for Acronym Media, LLC in New York. He currently is the volunteer director for the New York City Triathlon.
Thornton graduated from NYU in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management. He has been involved in all facets of the Ducks’ swimming program (practice planning, recruitment, development, etc.) the last five-plus years and currently lives in New York, N.Y. Thornton received his Master’s degree from Stevens in Management and is also the Founder/Owner of Hoboken Masters, LLC, which is a United States Masters Swimming (USMS) registered swim team.
