Head men’s swimming coach Jay Holmes has announced the promotion of Jason Calanog to associate head coach ahead of the 2019-20 season. Calanog has been an assistant on the A&M staff since 2015, helping guide the Aggies back to national success.
“We are pleased to be able to elevate Jason to associate head coach,” said Holmes. “His passion for the sport and his vision for our team continue to make him a great fit in representing Texas A&M. The new title is fitting for what he brings into our program.”
In 2019, Calanog’s guidance helped the Aggies set 11 new school records, and for the first time ever A&M had swimmers in the 500 free and 200 IM earn All-America honors. The season also saw junior Benjamin Walker become the first individual swimmer to win a SEC Championship. A&M capped off the year with a 17th-place finish at national championships, tallying 93 points in the four-day event, which is the most by the Aggies since 2012.
Calanog has helped the Aggies earn four straight top-25 team finishes at NCAA Championships, as well as a second-place finish at the 2018 SEC Championships, its highest finish since joining the league. That season concluded with an impressive 14th- place finish at NCAA Championships.
A high-level recruiter, Calanog brought a wealth of coaching knowledge to A&M and has continued to grow since his arrival. He was named a USA National Team coach in 2016 and served as a USA National Junior Team coach the previous three seasons. He was also tabbed as the head coach of the USA Swimming Diversity Camp West team in 2014.
Calanog has a long history of coaching with the Philippines National Team. He was the Philippines’ head coach for the 2010 Pan Pacific Games (Irvine, Calif.) and the 2009 FINA World Championships (Rome, Italy). He was also an assistant coach for the Philippines National Team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, as well as the 2007 and 2009 South East Asian Games.
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Great coach and better individual. Congrats Jason!
Great coach and individual. Congrats Jason!