Sitting in an office at the WVU Coliseum surrounded by shoe boxes, heavy winter coats, Nike bags and a 2007 Big East Championship trophy, Brent MacDonald sits at his computer planning his day, his week, his year.

It's just after 11 a.m. and the second-year head swimming and diving coach is sipping on his drink of choice, Dr. Pepper Zero. For MacDonald, the first year in his new role at West Virginia was one of learning and growing.  Throughout last summer, MacDonald focused on connecting with the returning student-athletes and constructing a coaching staff. He emphasized the importance of building relationships with a roster that was filled with a mix of veterans and young swimmers.

"At this point in my career, the first season was the largest learning curve I've had in a while," MacDonald said. "It was good and motivating and really positive in a lot of different ways. [I took time] to learn about how a program that I didn't build operated and how we could mold it into what we wanted it to be.

"Along with that, we had the opportunity to coach a lot of swimmers who were finishing out their careers, who did not start with us. That presented its own challenges, but I think we all enjoyed that piece of it, too."

MacDonald's arrival on campus did not occur until June, and he entered his office without a staff in place. That became his first priority while also developing a "recruiting board" and connecting with the team already in place for the 2024-25 season.

"Where you're at in the recruiting cycle at that point (June), you should be looking ahead to two years or whatever class is going to open up [for recruitment] on June 15," MacDonald said. "To start, essentially two weeks before that timeframe, knowing that we didn't have a class for 2025 was interesting. It was definitely a challenge.

"To do that without all the staff here yet, or weeks away from the staff being here, was a major challenge. You're trying to set certain standards in place. You're trying to figure out all these different processes that you haven't done before. Nothing comes easy."

Like any season, MacDonald's first in Morgantown had its highs and lows. The men's and women's swimming and diving teams faced stiff competition in a road dual meet against Kentucky while also hosting a litany of strong teams at the WVU Invitational. Following winter break, the Mountaineers returned to the pool in January, facing Penn State and Pitt on the road.

A trip to Federal Way, Washington, placed the Mountaineers in a pool competing against powerhouse swim programs such as Arizona State and Arizona at the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships. A ninth-place finish by the women's team and a seventh-place finish by the men's team put an end to MacDonald's first season on the pool deck.

Two weeks later, sophomore Owen Recker became the first male Mountaineer diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2022. He was the only student-athlete on either team to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Fast forward to September 2025, and MacDonald and the staff are poised with a rebuilt roster to make significant jumps from 2024.

"I don't think until we got to the spring we realized how crazy it really was," MacDonald said about last season. "We felt good about where our 2026 class was; we felt really good about planning for the 2027 class. I think it was almost comical to think back about where we were last year and how far behind we were."
 
Despite all the adjustments he made throughout his first season, MacDonald personally feels good about how he handled things with the returning student-athletes and setting up the program for the future.

"I think I was doing a better job than I realized at cultivating leadership and taking certain individuals from their freshman year to their senior year to really be great leaders and keep our team going in the right direction," MacDonald said. "You realize how much work you really have to put in during a four-year career to get them to that place of being the right human being you want them to be."

MacDonald made the move to Morgantown after 16 years as head coach at Xavier in Cincinnati. His wife, Krista, a Cincinnati native, and his three kids, Carys, Teague and Everly, have embraced their new home in the hills.

"Whenever you're moving kids, it's always hard," MacDonald said. "My wife left the place she grew up in and lived most of her life. We were probably two or three miles from her childhood home. It was a change everyone was ready for, whether they knew it or not."

Despite becoming Mountaineers, MacDonald said his oldest daughter does occasionally wear Xavier gear.

"It's so funny because I've always been that 'all in' person," MacDonald said. "Xavier will always keep a special place in our hearts because we were there for so long. I rolled in a big suitcase on my last day and gave it to our assistants to dive into all the gear I had collected because I was ready to turn over a new leaf.

"I want to always give 100% to wherever I am going; that must become my identity. I would say my son was really good at that. He switched over very quickly. He has all the West Virginia gear he can find, and that's all he's going to wear right now."

Heading into his second season, MacDonald expects growth and commitment from his team, so they can represent the program and university at the highest level.

"My general expectation is growth and just the overall commitment to being the type of athlete that West Virginia University deserves," MacDonald said. "We have been invested at a high level, and that comes with a level of responsibility. That's our expectation. We have a huge group of newcomers who have heard this messaging over and over again. Our returners have heard it for the last year.

"It takes a lot to get better in this sport. Unfortunately, it's just like most things; it's not glorious. It's just hard work."