Following five seasons coaching at the NCAA Division I level, Leah Neiheisel was named the University of Mary head swimming & diving coach in August 2019. Neiheisel joins the Marauders after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Toledo.
Neiheisel coached the last two years at Toledo after assisting at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania for three years. A former NCAA Division II swimmer who helped the University of Nebraska-Omaha win a pair of conference championships, the USA Swimming-certified coach also spent several years at the club level.
“Coach Neiheisel has coached and competed at a championship level and she understands what is needed to build a successful program,” said Universal of Mary Director of Athletics Dale Lennon. “Leah’s 11 years of coaching experience and her strong ties with the NSIC conference has prepared her well to be our next head coach of swimming and diving. Our program is on the rise and I’m excited to watch Leah take our program into the upper echelon of the NSIC while continuing the excellence our scholar-athletes have had in the classroom. The future of UMary swimming and diving is bright.”
“I would like to thank University President Monsignor James Shea, executive vice president Greg Vetter, vice president Jerome Richter, athletic director Dale Lennon and the search committee for this opportunity to become a member of the University of Mary community as the Marauders next swimming and diving head coach,” said Neiheisel. “I was immediately impressed with their sincerity and commitment to their student-athletes. I'm excited to get going and continue the upward trajectory of this young program.”
Neiheisel joined the University of Toledo coaching staff in October 2017. She served as the program’s recruiting coordinator, held primary responsibility for the middle-distance swimmers, organized and coordinated daily training, monitored academic progress and ran the program’s social media accounts. In her first season with the Rockets in 2017-18, the program placed sixth in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships – its best finish in five seasons – and scored 14 more team points than the previous year. Seven Rockets earned MAC All-Academic honors as the team earned Academic All-American honors. Eight swimmers posted NCAA B-Cut performances during the season. Last season Toledo had 12 swimmers on the 2019 MAC All-Academic team as the program again earned CSSAA Academic All-American honors.
Prior to her efforts at Toledo, Neiheisel began her collegiate coaching career at the University of Saint Francis in Loretto, PA, in 2014. During her three-year tenure at Saint Francis, the Red Flash posted three straight winning seasons, including a program-record 11 dual-meet wins in 2016-17. In all three seasons, Saint Francis placed in the top four of the Northeast Conference (NEC) championships.
A native of Cincinnati, Neiheisel was an assistant coach with the Mercy Healthplex Sea Wolves (Ohio) club team for six years (2008-14). During her run with the program, the club witnessed a dramatic increase in size to over 200 swimmers. Under Neiheisel's guidance, over 60 swimmers have qualified for the Ohio Junior Olympic meet while also overseeing a Junior Olympic State Champion. The team has consistently placed in the top 10 at the Junior Olympics.
As a member of the University of Nebraska-Omaha swim team, Neiheisel helped the Mavericks to two North Central Conference (NCC) championships in 2005 and 2008. Her UNO teams also placed second in the NCC twice while racing in championship meets at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.
Neiheisel graduated from UNO in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration and earned her MBA in 2017 from Saint Francis.
