University of Portland Athletics

Gregg Swenson, who came to The Bluff with 25 years of coaching experience, was hired to his current position in July of 2015. Swenson is the Pilots’ Pitching Coach, as well as the Academic Coordinator and Community Outreach Coordinator.
 
Swenson spent the previous 10 seasons as an assistant coach/pitching coach at Washington State, where he helped mentor 11 hurlers who went on to pitch at the professional level. He was on the Cougar staff which helped lead Washington State to back-to-back NCAA postseason appearances in 2009 and 2010. The 2009 postseason appearance was the Cougars’ first since 1990.
 
 “Coach Swenson has a wealth of experience to draw from and he’s respected for getting the most out of his pitching staffs,” said Portland head coach Geoff Loomis. “Our program will benefit from his many years recruiting in the Northwest and I think we’ll see an immediate impact in that area. These are exciting times as we enter a new era of Pilots baseball.”
 
“Being a native of the Pacific Northwest I’ve always admired the University of Portland,” said Swenson, who originally hails from Olympia, Wash. “To have the opportunity to join coach Loomis is exciting and I’m honored to be a part of the vision that he has for the program. We think we can build a consistent winner and we’re confident that we can put together a product that the university can be proud of, both on and off the field.”
 
Swenson’s primary responsibilities at Washington State include the development and growth of the Cougar pitching staff, as well as recruiting and practice organization. Swenson’s pitching staffs twice set the school record for strikeouts in a season, which includes 453 K’s recorded in 2009. The individual single-season saves record was also notched under Swenson, and the Cougars claimed a staff ERA of 4.14 in 2013, which was the program’s lowest since 1988. 15 Cougars were named to the All-Pac-12 First Team during his time in Pullman, while four players were named Freshman All-Americans.
 
Swenson was also involved with every aspect of a program during his career, including academics. Under his watch, Washington State produced four Pac-12 Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year, 42 league all-academic selections, and a Rhodes Scholar nominee. Additionally, the highest team GPA’s in program history were recorded during the past 10 seasons.
 
Previously Swenson spent four years (2001-05) as an assistant coach at Washington. With the Huskies, Swenson helped produce 11 All-Pac-10 players and he saw several of his players drafted by MLB teams. The Huskies also reached three-straight NCAA Playoffs (2002-04) for the first time in school history.
 
Before joining the Huskies, Swenson served as the head coach at Tacoma Community College, where he also played two seasons (1990-91). He spent five seasons as the Titans’ head coach after joining the staff as the pitching coach in 1996. He led the Titans to the NWAACC Tournament during three (1997, 2000, 2001) of his five seasons at Tacoma and he was named the NWAACC Western Division Coach of the Year in both 1997 and 2000. Prior to Swenson’s arrival, TCC had not been to the tournament since 1988 and he was the first coach to guide the Titans to three tournament appearances.
 
Swenson earned a degree in physical education/exercise science and physiology/sports psychology from Western Washington University in 1994. In 1997, he completed his master’s degree in teaching from City University. He began his coaching career as the pitching coach at Sehome High School in Bellingham, Wash., in 1992.
 
Swenson and his wife Diane have a daughter, Megan, and a son, Jacob.