Powerhouse Baylor School Names Payton Brooks Head Coach
Payton Brooks, a former assistant coach at Virginia Tech, has been named the head coach of Baylor School and Baylor Swim Club Wednesday.
Brooks is the 10th coach in the history of one of the nation’s top high school programs.
“I’d like to thank Head of School Chris Angel, Athletic Director Mark Price, and the Baylor community for the opportunity to lead this program,” Brooks said in a Baylor School statement. “I am humbled and honored to be part of such a prestigious institution with rich traditions of excellence both in the classroom and in the pool. Together, we will continue to build upon that success but most importantly – we will be dedicated to the development of strong character and values for our athletes.”
Brooks comes to Chattanooga via a pipeline that includes swimming at West Virginia University, then coaching at the Bolles School and Virginia Tech.
Welcome to Baylor, Coach Payton Brooks! He will take over as @BaylorSwimming ‘s Head Coach / Director of Competitive Swimming ?♀️ ?♂️. Coach Brooks becomes the 1️⃣0️⃣th Head Coach in program history. @baylorschool @RaiderReCap @ChrisBAngel #WeAreBaylor #GBR pic.twitter.com/DQOZ0gIpcT
— Baylor Swimming (@BaylorSwimming) October 12, 2022
The connection is Sergio Lopez Miro, under whom the Hurricane, W.Va., native swam for the Mountaineers. He helped West Virginia win its first Big East title in 2007, was a five-time All-Big East performance and left with his name on the top-10 performance lists in three individual events and five relays. (He would add a fifth year of eligibility as a wide receiver on the football team in Morgantown.)
He started his coaching school at Bolles’ powerhouse from 2012-14, working with age-group, senior high school and professional swimmers. He also was an assistant director of the Bolles Sharks Swim Camp and a residential staff member at the school’s boarding program.
He took his first head coaching job at Division II Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia for the 2014-15 season. He was hired by Virginia Tech in 2019, where he also coached for their attached club, Pinnacle Racing at Virginia Tech (PRVT), run by Lopez Miro. He helped Va Tech’s men finish 11th place at NCAA Championship each of the last two seasons, the two best finishes in program history. The women have finished 21st and 23rd the last two years, the second- and third-best in program history.
“Payton is everything that we were looking for in a head swim coach. He has been an integral part of successful programs at a variety of levels and reputably builds a strong rapport with his athletes,” Baylor School Athletic Director Mark Price said. “I am eager for our student-athletes to have the opportunity to develop under his leadership, and I am confident that he will continue to build upon the success of this tradition-rich program.”
Baylor has one of the top programs in the state of Tennessee and one of the best in the nation. Their girls team last decade was named the Swimming World National High School champion three times in four seasons. They’ve set several national high school relay records, for both boys and girls.
Great hire by Baylor!!! Can’t wait to see what this program does under Brooks leadership / experience.