Jake Shrum Hired by South Carolina as Associate Head Coach
South Carolina on Friday announced the hiring of Jake Shrum as an associate head coach for the men’s and women’s team.
Shrum spent the last four years at University of Virginia as an associate head coach before joining the staff of head coach Jeff Poppell. Shrum led the Cavaliers to four consecutive NCAA women’s titles and the men’s team to a top-10 finish at NCAAs in 2026.
Shrum became an assistant coach in Charlottesville in 2022 and was promoted to associate head coach the next year. He was part of the U.S. staff for the 2024 World Short-Course Championships and was an assistant for Team USA at the World University Games in 2025.
“We are absolutely thrilled that Jake will be joining us at the University of South Carolina” Poppell said in a team statement. “Jake’s student-athletes at the University of Virginia enjoyed success at the highest levels of our sport, collegiately as well as internationally. I am confident that he will have the same incredible impact here and play a heavy role in our team’s future success both within the SEC and at the NCAA Championships.”
Shrum was the head coach at Towson from 2015-22, leading the program to its first men’s CAA title in 2021. He mentored Olympic Trials qualifiers and a national teamer from 2018-21.
Shrum is a 2008 graduate of Virginia who swam for the Cavaliers, a four-time letterwinner and three-time ACC team champion. The Charlottesville native began coaching at Fairview Swim Club and Virginia Gators before becoming the head coach at Albemarle High School. He worked as a volunteer assistant at Virginia before being hired by Towson.
