University of Wyoming head swimming and diving coach Tom Johnson announced the addition of Chelsea Popplewell to the coaching staff Wednesday morning. Popplewell will take over the head diving coach position after former coach Yahya Radman accepted a position at North Carolina State.
"We are very happy to have Chelsea in our program," Johnson said. "It is great to have someone step into a position where she knows the student-athletes strengths’ and weakness."
Popplewell was a volunteer diving coach for Wyoming last season. She helped mentor Western Athletic Conference 3-meter springboard champion Derek Campbell. She also mentored the Cowgirls’ Amanda Fay, who earned All-Mountain West honors in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards and the platform dive. She helped UW send five divers to the NCAA Zone “E” Diving Championships, the most for Wyoming since 2010.
Popplewell came to UW from the University of Idaho where she was the diving coach for the Vandals from 2011-13. While at Idaho, Popplewell coached student-athletes to three school records and sent numerous athletes to NCAA Zone Diving Championships.
"She has great diving experience as a coach and as an athlete and she will be a great asset to this program," Johnson said.
Popplewell is a graduate of Oakland University, majoring in psychology. She earned her master’s degree in organizational learning and leadership from the University of Idaho in 2013. Popplewell was an accomplished diver during her time as student-athlete at Oakland. She was a three-time Summit League conference champion and Diver of the Year. She also excelled in the classroom as a two-time Honorable Mention Academic All-American.
“I extremely excited to work with this group of kids and I’m just thrilled to be here and see what the future holds for Wyoming diving,” Popplewell said.
