Aaron Mahaney was named the first head coach for the University of Montevallo men's and women's swimming programs in July 2018 and is entering his 6th year at Montevallo.
In his first year as Head Coach of the Falcons, Mahaney was able to recruit 32 swimmers to the new program while setting up the pool for competitions. During the first season as a team, they not only set the first team and pool records for Montevallo but also got out in the community volunteering at Tinglewood and other events laying the ground work for the future of program. At Montevallo’s first New South Conference Championships, the Women finished 5th out of 6 teams by one point, coming down to the last relay.
In year two Mahaney grew the team to 38 during the Covid pandemic. Everyone had their struggles over the year but the team continued to grow in and out of the pool. Both the men’s and women’s team earned CSCAA Scholar All-American Teams. In the water the team broke 90% of the records from the first season. Individually, Connor Daigle and Ray Asmakis earned 1st All-NSISC team while Mary Lane, Amanda Ware and Josh Sauer earn 2nd team honors.
In 2023, Mahaney and the Falcons saw their first NCAA “B” Cut times achieved by the men’s team. The four swimmers who made five qualifying times were; Nic Ioannides (1000 Free), Connor Daigle (200 IM), Will Mahone (200 Back), Jacob Rubin (100 & 200 Free). Connor once again made the 1st All-Conference team while Nic Ioannides, Jacob Rubin, Will Mahone, Thom Naccarato, Molly Hansen and Amanda Ware earned 2nd All-Conference Team. Also, Will and Jacob were the first ever to earn Scholastic All-American 2nd team honors. After a successful fundraising campaign this year, Mahaney was able to help put the finishing touches on the pool adding, record boards and new lockers. Mahaney was named the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference Men's Head Coach of the Year which was voted on by the league's coaches. He helped guide the men's swim team to numerous record-breaking performances, several B-Cut times, and the program's first NCAA qualifier.
In 2024, Aaron Mahaney led the men's and women's swimming teams to their best records in program history as the men went 6-1 and women 5-3. Montevallo had a historic season as they set three swimmers to the NCAA Nationals (Janek Barczyk, Aleksei Kolesnikov and Will Mahone). The Falcons also set their first relay team in program history as the team of Juan Celis, Janek Barczyk, Aleksei Kolesnikov and Will Mahone competed in the 200 and 400 medley relays. Mahaney would coach two conference champions in 2024 as Will Mahone earned the conference champion title in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke and Janek Barczyk who was the conference champion in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Before Montevallo, Mahaney served as the Associate Head Coach at the State University of New York at Buffalo, a NCAA Division I institution in the Mid-American Conference.Mahaney was elevated to associate head coach after three years as an assistant coach for the University at Buffalo swimming and diving team. Mahaney came to Buffalo after five years as an assistant coach at Penn State University, coaching both the men's and women's teams.
During his tenure as an assistant coach at Buffalo, Mahaney has worked hard to improve the reputation and excellence of the Bulls swim teams and more specifically, the long distance swimmers. In the 2013-2014 season, Mahaney helped lead the group to five individual MAC titles as well as six school records. In the 2014-2015 season, he coached the women's team to five individual MAC titles as well one school record in the 800 freestyle. In his 2015-2016 season, Mahaney focused his efforts again on the distance program which yielded him two MAC individual titles and a school record in the 800 free relay.
While at Penn State, Mahaney was able to help the Nittany Lions advance to the NCAA Championships each year and saw the women's team finish among the top-40 three times and the men's squad grab top-30 finishes twice at the national meet. On an individual level, 21 of his student-athletes have garnered All-America honors on 54 occasions.
Prior to his time at Penn State, Mahaney served as the assistant coach at the University of Hawaii during the 2005-08 seasons. While at Hawaii, he coached distance freestyle, butterfly and individual medley events. Mahaney started his coaching career at Lafayette College in his hometown of Easton, Pennsylvania.
Mahaney spent the summer of 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 as a coach at the United States Swimming National Open Water Camp held in California and Florida. At both of these camps, he was the assistant coach for the top 24 distance swimmers in the country.
A graduate of Michigan State University, Mahaney was a four-year letter winner for the Spartans and was named the program's Freshman of the Year in 1999 and was the team's Most Valuable Performer in 2002. He has competed at the 2000 and 2004 US Swimming Olympic Trials, placing 18th in the 200 butterfly in 2004 while swimming for Atlantis Aquatic Club.
Mahaney resides in the City of Montevallo with his two cats Ozzie (Ozzie Smith) and Solo (Han Solo). He has been on both the City of Montevallo Boy’s and Girl’s Club Advisory Board and the City of Montevallo Parks and Rec Board since 2018.
