Braden Holloway - Head Coach - Staff Directory - NC State University Athletics

Staff Directory

Braden Holloway

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
Phone:
(919) 515-2849

- 10x ACC Men’s Coach of the Year (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- 2017 ACC Women’s Coach of the Year
- 7 NCAA Relay Champions
- 11 NCAA Individual Champions
- 9 Men's Team ACC Championships
- 2 Women's Team ACC Championships
- Over 500 All-America selections
- 94 ACC Individual Champions
- 55 ACC Relay Champions
- Career Dual Record at NC State: 149-54-1 [Men: 76-18-1 | Women: 73-36]
- 2022 World Championships Head Coach for Team USA
- 2023 World Championships Assistant Coach for Team USA
- 2019 World University Games Men's Head Coach for Team USA
- 2017 World University Games Assistant Coach for Team USA
- 2024 Olympic Assistant Coach for Team USA
- Coached 14 Olympians in his career
- Coached 2 Olympic gold medalists
- Completed Seasons at NC State: 13

Braden Holloway, a five-time All-American and 2001 graduate of NC State, was named head coach of the Wolfpack swimming and diving program on June 29, 2011.

Since being named to the position, Holloway’s tenure has been full of success. After capturing the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men's Coach of the Year honor, he has gone on to win that award 10 times (2013, 2015-2020, 2022, 2023, 2024). Holloway was also the 2017 ACC Women's Coach of the Year.

The 2023-24 season was filled with more success for NC State swim and dive under the direction of Holloway. He led the Wolfpack men to their third straight ACC title and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA championships. Holloway now sits second in the ACC all-time for most awards won, only sitting behind Wolfpack assistant coach Mark Bernardino, who won 17 at the University of Virginia.

On their way to the 33rd ACC Championship team title in program history, Holloway saw the men's team put up 1499.5 points, which included eight first-place finishes. In Indianapolis at the NCAA Championships, the men broke two American records, set numerous program records, and personal bests on their way to 10 All-American recipients and 10 Honorable Mention All-Americans. With a fifth-place finish, it was the ninth consecutive year Holloway led the men to a top-10 finish at NCAAs.

On the women's side, the Wolfpack Women finished third at ACC Championships in 2023/24 picking up 1106 points. NC State finished behind only defending national champion Virginia and Louisville. At NCAA Championships despite being the smallest team seeded to score within the top 15 the Wolfpack women went on to finish among the top 10 for the fifth straight year.

NC State had the best combined national finish of any men's and women's programs across the country as the men placed fourth at the NCAA Championships and the women finished fifth in 2023. He directly coached Katharine Berkoff and Kacper Stokowski both to 100-yard backstroke national titles as the Pack swept the event. He also led NC State's men back to the top of the podium at the 2022 ACC Championships kicking off what would be the first of three straight championships for the men.

In 2021, the Wolfpack women earned the best NCAA Championships finish in NC State swimming and diving history as they placed as runner-up at the national meet. Holloway coached his women's swimmers to the first swimming national title in program history (400-yard medley relay that set the US Open and NCAA record), and his team went on to rack up a total of five national titles at the 2021 NCAA Championships. Junior Sophie Hansson swept the breaststroke titles, Katharine Berkoff won the 100-yard backstroke and Holloway's team added a win in the 200-yard medley relay.

Holloway has led the Wolfpack to 361 All-ACC performances, 454 All-America performances, 78 ACC individual titles, and 46 ACC relay gold medals.

His program has also thrived in the classroom, as he has seen over 130 ACC Honor Roll selections and over 150 student-athletes named to the All-ACC Academic Team. He has also coached four CoSIDA Academic All-District Team selections, four ACC Scholar-Athletes of the Year, one National Academic Momentum Award winner and one NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient.

In addition to his accomplishments at the collegiate level of coaching, Holloway has mentored 12 Olympians during his career. That number is highlighted by program alumnus Ryan Held, who claimed a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics as the third leg of Team USA's winning 4x100 meter freestyle relay team. Holloway recently served as the men's head coach for USA Swimming's squad at the 2019 World University Games in Naples, Italy. There, he helped lead Team USA to a total of 40 medals at the meet, marking the most overall podium finishes and most first-place finishes for the United States in World University Games history.

In a 2019-20 season that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holloway's squads still managed to make their mark on the conference and the nation. The Pack men swept the ACC Swimmer and Diver of the Year Awards and Holloway was named Men's Coach of the Year after leading the team to its sixth consecutive and 30th overall conference title. NC State's women finished second at the ACC Championships in 2020, its fifth season in a row placing in the top three at the conference meet. Twenty-seven swimmers and divers were honored as All-Americans for their selections to the canceled NCAA Championships and Zone Championships.

Holloway's teams enjoyed tremendous success during the 2018-19 season as the Wolfpack men and women swept the ACC Championships team titles for the second time in three years, with the Pack men winning their fifth-straight conference crown. The Wolfpack women won a total of 11 event titles at the conference meet, setting the program record for the most single-season conference titles. The men picked up a total of 17 podium finishes, including five gold medals, and Coleman Stewart was honored as ACC Meet Co-MVP after racking up two individual titles and breaking a pair of ACC records at the meet.

Both teams went on to tie program-best finishes at the NCAA Championships as the women placed seventh and the men secured their fourth team trophy and podium finish in a row with their fourth-place finish at the national meet. Senior captain Andreas Vazaios won a national title in the 200 butterfly, making it four seasons in a row under Holloway's leadership that at least one of the men's swimmers have been crowned a national champion.

The 2017-18 season was highlighted by NC State’s first NCAA Individual Swimming Champion since 2006 as Coleman Stewart won the 100 backstroke at the national meet. Anton Ipsen (1,650 freestyle) and Andreas Vazaios (200 butterfly) also captured first-place finishes at the 2018 NCAA Championships, giving the Pack three individual titles for the first time in program history. The Wolfpack’s relay teams set NCAA, U.S. Open, and American records to win both the 800 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay. The five titles and 31 All-America performances led NC State’s men to their third straight fourth-place finish. The finish capped off another successful season during which the Wolfpack men became ACC Champions for the fourth year in a row, led by ACC Most Valuable Swimmer Ryan Held and ACC Men’s Swimmer of the Year Andreas Vazaios. The Wolfpack won four of the five relay events and 10 of 13 individual races.

Holloway also led NC State to one of the most successful combined seasons in program history in 2016-17, as he coached both the men and the women to ACC team titles. The championship win was the third in a row for the men and the women’s first since 1980. The Wolfpack women went on to earn their highest finish in program history at the NCAA Championships, ending the season by placing seventh with 25 All-America honors and a national runner-up finish from Alexia Zevnik in the 200 backstroke. The men won a national title in the 800 freestyle relay and saw 11 swimmers collect 35 All-America honors.

NC State has found unparalleled success throughout Holloway’s career, beginning with his inaugural season in 2011-12. By the 2012-13 campaign, Holloway had earned the first conference Coach of the Year honors of his Wolfpack career and led the men to the highest finish since the 1978-79 season. In 2013-14, both the Wolfpack’s men’s and women’s squads finished in the top 16 at the NCAA Championships for the first time in NC State history.

The 2014-15 campaign saw Holloway and his staff guide the men’s team to an undefeated regular season and its 25th ACC Championship title. Both the men and the women finished in the top 20 of the national rankings, marking the first time in program history that both squads earned back-to-back top 20 finishes. The first national title of Holloway’s career came in 2015-16 with the men winning the 400 freestyle relay at the NCAA Championships. That season, he won ACC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year for the third time in five years.

Prior to returning to his alma mater, Holloway spent seven seasons on the coaching staff at Virginia Tech, serving as associate head coach from 2008 until his arrival at NC State. His tenacity as recruiting coordinator helped revitalize the Hokies program, as his 2009-10 men’s and women’s singing classes were both nationally ranked by CollegeSwimming.com, a first for the program.

Holloway was an assistant coach at The University of the South from 2003-04. During that stint, he coached Matthew Martelli to All-America honors, while seven student-athletes won individual titles.

Holloway enjoyed an illustrious collegiate career at NC State. He lettered with the Wolfpack from 1998 to 2001, winning back-to-back ACC titles in the 100 backstroke in 2000 and 2001. He collected All-ACC honors all four years of his career and set an ACC record. A five-time All-American, he was ranked internationally in backstroke events and was an Olympic Trials qualifier for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Team in 2002 to be honored as one of the conference’s top swimmers.

A two-time Academic All-American, Holloway graduated from NC State in 2001 with a degree in parks, recreation and tourism management, serving as the commencement speaker for the College of Natural Resources. He completed his master’s degree in education at Virginia Tech in the summer of 2007.

A native of Baton Rouge, La., Holloway is married to former NC State swimmer Mary Mittendorf. The Holloways have four children – daughter Blyth Marie, son Ethan Robert, daughter Brynn Elizabeth and son Holden Jon.