Leah Stancil Season 2023-24
Leah Stancil enters her second season as an associate head coach for the LSU swimming and diving program.
Stancil, the former Tulane swimming and diving head coach for the last previous seasons, accepted an associate head coach position at LSU to return to the SEC, head swimming coach Rick Bishop announced Aug. 23, 2022.
Stancil, a first-time head coach for the women’s-only program, brought the Green Wave to new heights under her guidance. During her stint in New Orleans, her swimmers collected 19 school records, while qualifying two athletes for the NCAA Championships. She oversaw the program during a stretch that included 11 AAC Champions and coached the 2019 AAC Freshman of the Year (Lilly Byrne) plus the 2022 AAC Most Outstanding Swimmer (Lilly Byrne).
While elevating the Tulane swimming and diving program, Stancil had the opportunity to coach the Barbados National Team in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 World Championships. Alongside her experience coaching the national squad, the Bridgetown, Barbados native competed on the 1996 and 2000 Olympic teams.
Before taking over the Green Wave program, she spent a decade at her alma mater, the University of Florida. In her longest tenure on the coaching side of swimming, Stancil worked directly with athletes in speed events. While in Gainesville, she helped coach the women’s team to the 2010 National Championship and 2009 SEC Team Championship.
The men’s swimming and diving team collected six SEC titles and three women’s swimmers won SEC championships under Stancil.
Prior to her return to Gainesville, Stancil spent two seasons at SEC foe South Carolina (2006-08), one year as an assistant coach at the Savannah College of Art and Design (2005-06), and one as a graduate assistant at UF (2004-05) which began her coaching career. While she was a grad assistant, Stancil served as an instructor at Swim America in Gainesville.
In the pool during her career, Stancil was a 12-time NCAA All-American and a four-time national record holder for the Barbados National Team. She was a member of the 2002 Florida Gators SEC Championship team.
Internationally, Stancil is the Barbados national record holder in the 50 free, 100 free, 50 butterfly and 100 fly in both long and short course events. Stancil recorded her record-setting times in the 50 and 100 free events at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, while she clocked her marks in the butterfly races at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In addition, Stancil was named Barbados’ Female Sportsperson of the Year three times (1995-97).
Stancil graduated from Florida in 2002 with a B.S. in Psychology and she earned her M.S. in Sport & Exercise Psychology from UF in 2006. Stancil (formerly Martindale) and her husband, Michael, have three children, Noah, Emma and Grace.