UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft announced the hiring of Hollie Bonewit-Cron as next men's and women's swimming and diving head coach. The 24-year coaching veteran brings a plethora of experience to the Nittany Lion swim and dive team as she becomes the sixth coach of Penn State in program history. Bonewit-Cron has 15 years of experience as the head coach of collegiate swim and dive programs, including seven years at Nova Southeastern University and eight seasons spent leading Miami (Ohio), where she was a five-time MAC Coach of the Year recipient.
"We are thrilled to welcome Hollie as our next swimming & diving head coach," said Kraft. "She has a long history of building programs and coaching winners. We look forward to her leadership of our program and the bright future the Nittany Lions have with her at the helm."
"I would like to first thank Dr. Kraft, Rhian Davis, Vinnie James, and the rest of the search committee at Penn State University," said Bonewit-Cron. "Their vision is very exciting and I am thrilled to lead the swimming and diving programs in their academic and athletic pursuits. This program has a history of success and I am looking forward to being part of the Nittany Lion family!"
Bonewit-Cron has enjoyed an increasingly successful stint at the helm of the RedHawks, taking home five conference Coach of the Year titles including the last four. She also led the men's program to five MAC Championships in the last six seasons. Under the direction of Bonewit-Cron, the RedHawks men's squad has claimed four-straight conference titles as she became the first female coach to lead a men's team to a conference championship in MAC history in 2019. At least nine men's swimmers have secured All-MAC honors in each of Bonewit-Cron's seasons at Miami, highlighted by 14 in 2019. The women's team as also achieved significant success under her leadership, producing multiple all-conference selections each year and earning second place at the conference championships this season after consecutive top-three finishes in years prior. Bonewit-Cron also helped guide three-time All-American diver Pei Lin to three honors in 3-meter and one in the 1-meter dive. The RedHawks' most recent female standout swimmer, Nicole Maier, became an All-American (winning the 400 IM consolation final) and was recognized as MAC Co-Swimmer of the Year in 2023 after winning MAC Freshman Swimmer of the Year in 2021. At the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, she was named a second-team All-American.
In her time at Miami (Ohio), she has coached two MAC Swimmers of the Year, three Freshman Divers of the Year, one Senior Diver of the Year, one freshman Swimmer of the Year and one co-senior Swimmer of the Year.
Bonewit-Cron's squad also excelled in the classroom, earning 265 Academic All-MAC honorees, including 47 this season to lead the conference. Miami has also consistently produced College Swimming & Diving Scholar All-America student-athletes and teams under Bonewit-Cron's leadership. Most recently, Nicole Maier (2022 first team) and Madeline Padavic (2022 second team) became the latest RedHawks to be recognized by the CSCAA. In 2022-23 and 2023-24, eight Miami swimmers were named Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators (CSC).
Before arriving in Oxford, Ohio, Bonewit-Cron spent seven seasons as the head coach at Nova Southeastern University. The decorated head coach built the program at Southeastern from the ground up in its first years of existence. Bonewit-Cron's success was easily recognized, with her eventual induction into the Hall of Fame in 2022. Her program quickly exceeded expectations, with the men's team finishing fourth at the 2016 Division II National Championship in just seven short seasons. During her time at NSU, she was named the Head Olympic Swim Coach for Grenada, where she coached NSU standout swimmer Esau Simpson to a Grenadian National record at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Bonewit-Cron picked up two Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year awards, won four SSC Championships and compiled 12 NCAA Championships from six individual NCAA Champions. The experienced head coach led her program to 61 SSC Championship titles, 66 All-American nods and 85 All-America honorable mentions in its six seasons at the NCAA competition level. She also helped garner four SSC Swimmer of the Years and three Freshman of the Year honorees. Bonewit-Cron's squad also performed at high levels on the academic side, producing 41 Scholar All-Americans and seven swimmers collecting CSC (previously CoSIDA) Academic All-District 5 At-Large Team accolades and the Sharks team as a whole garnering Team Scholar All-America accolades nine times.
Before her first head coaching gig at NSU, Bonewit-Cron spent one season as the volunteer assistant coach at the University of Miami. Her responsibilities with the Canes included planning of daily training regimen of the breaststroke.
Bonewit-Cron spent the bulk of her early career as an assistant coach for the men's and women's swimming and diving team at the University of Florida from 2002-08. She helped guide the Gators to a great deal of success throughout her time in Gainesville assisting in coaching 12 NCAA Division I Individual Champions, 50 SEC Champions and a combined 420 All-American honorees between the men and women. Bonewit-Cron also had a hand in coaching five Olympians in two Olympic games who totaled four gold medals four silver medals and three bronze medals.
In her first coaching stint, she launched her career at Georgia Southern University in 2000 while completing her master's degree from the University. Bonewit-Cron first served as an assistant coach for the women's team and was later promoted to interim head coach, overseeing 28 female student-athletes.
A decorated swimmer herself, Bonewit-Cron was a four-year letterwinner at Ohio University. She was a three-time first-team All-MAC selection and earned All-American honors in the 200 breast and won six individual MAC titles. Bonewit-Cron was also a three-time qualifier for the senior national team. She was named Ohio's Female Athlete of the Year in 2000 and was later inducted in the Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Bonewit-Cron earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Ohio University in 2000 and a master's degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport psychology from Georgia Southern University in 2002. She and her husband, Chad, have two daughters, Evalyn and Emersyn, and a son, Easton.
