Bio

The Bryant University men's and women's swimming and diving teams have enjoyed incredible success under the leadership and guidance of head coach Katie Cameron since the program’s inception 19 years ago.  Now entering her 20th season as the head coach, Cameron has brought the swimming and diving program to prominence in the Northeast region and a contender in the America East.

In the 2023-24 season, Bryant continued to compete with the men's team finishing second and the women's team finshing third at the America East Championships in a tighltly contested title race. The teams took 11 gold medals, 30 podium finishes overall, and set 12 of the season's 15 program records at the conference meet. The Black and Gold had standout perfromances with diver Christopher Buonocore earning Male Diver of the Meet honors for his performances and backstroke swimmer Regan Lord becoming an America East record holder with her time of 53.95. 

The Bulldogs made the switch to the America East in the 2022-23 season. Under Cameron's gudiance, the Black and Gold immeadiately became contenders for the conference title as the women's team placed second and the men's team third in their first year in the America East. The squad also had two individual awards at the meet with Kyri Chambo taking home Female Diver of the Meet honors and Erin Doruska being named to the Elite 18 Award for her athletic and academic excellence.

Cameron has guided the Bulldogs to five consecutive NEC Championships and is a three-time NEC Coach of the Year. She has coached four NEC Swimmers of the Year, two MAAC Swimmers of the Year and seven NEC/MAAC Rookies of the Year. 

2021-22 saw the Bulldogs claim their sixth and seventh NEC Championships, as the women won for the fifth straight time and the men the second. The two teams won 35 medals at the Championships, including 18 golds. In addition to the team awards, Cameron saw the Bulldogs win individual men's Swimmer of the Meet (FuKang Wong), both men's and women's Divers of the Meet (Ben Prouty and Kyri Chambo), and both men's and women's Rookies of the Meet (Conner Lofstrom).

In the summer of 2021, Natalia Kuipers became the second Olympian during Cameron's tenure, representing the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 400 free in Tokyo.

2020-21 marked a milestone in program history, as Cameron saw the men's team win their first NEC title. They scored 670.5 points and were led by Swimmer of the Meet Matt Mays and Co-Divers of the Meet Drew Arnold and Evan Clark. The women also won their fourth NEC championship in a row, scoring 739.5 points and featuring Rookie of the Meet Julia Stenhard and Diver of the Meet Kyri Chambo. Cameron also oversaw academic success, as the team earned CSCAA Scholar All-American honors.

2019-2020 saw the women's team win their third straight NEC title, while the men claimed third at the MAAC Championships. The women won 22 medals on their way to the title, including eleven gold. Sammi Grenon (Rookie of the Meet) and Kyri Chambo (Diver of the Meet) headlined the individual awards, as the coaches were also named Coaching Staff of the Meet. The men's team won eight medals, including five golds.

In 2018-19, Cameron oversaw a program that dominated on both the women's and men's side. The women won their second-straight NEC title in dominating fashion, while the men posted their highest point total in program history as they finished second at the MAAC Championships. Bryant featured both the NEC and MAAC Swimmer of the Meet, Jillian Rice and Micah Ornelas, for the first time in program history. Cameron was named NEC Coach of the Year for the third time in her career. 

The Bulldogs made a program breakthrough in 2017-18, winning their first NEC Championship on the women's side. Cameron was tabbed NEC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career as the Black and Gold became the first team in 10 years to win gold in every relay event at the championship meet. Cameron also saw Ben Schulte finish one of the most magical careers in school history by winning three more gold medals at the MAAC Championships. 

Cameron led the Bulldogs to another successful season in 2016-17. Under her watch, the Bryant women swam to a second-place finish at the NEC Championships, while the men tied their best finish in program history by placing third at the MAAC Championships. The performance by the women was one of the best overall team performances in program history as the Bulldogs didn't win a single individual event but were still able to finish second. On the men's side, Ben Schulte highlighted the meet with three more gold medals. In all, the men and women combined to win nine dual meets on the year.  

In 2015-16, Cameron once again oversaw two programs that put together outstanding seasons. Led by an a strong senior class, an infusion of youth and a talented diving team, the women's team finished third at the NEC Championships. The highlight was Kelci Abernethy, who became the first-ever NEC Diver of the Year from Bryant. On the men's side, the Bulldogs enjoyed a historic performance at the MAAC Championships, finishing a program-best third with a program-record 511 points. In addition, Bryant broke 12 school records and took home 11 medals over the course of the weekend. 

Cameron also had the pleasure of coaching an Olympian in Ben Schulte. The native of Guam qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics, swimming the 100 breast. It was his second appearance in the Olympics, having swam the open water swim in London.

Cameron's 10th season at the helm of the Bulldogs was a successful one in 2014-15. She led both the men's and women's teams to outstanding performances at the Northeast Conference Championships and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships. The biggest highlight of the season was the emergence of freshman Ben Schulte. The native of Guam immediately became one of the best swimmers in program history, capping his rookie season by earning MAAC Swimmer of the Meet honors, a first for Bryant swimming and diving. In addition, the Bulldogs sent three swimmers to the AT&T U.S. Winter Nationals.

In 2013-14, the Bulldogs once again made great strides. On the women's side, the Black and Gold made history with a second place finish at the NEC Championships, the highest in program history. The women earned 10 medals over the course of the meet. The men also excelled, finishing fourth at the MAAC Championships. Graham Beck was the highlight of the meet, setting three school records and becoming the second Bulldog to win a gold medal at the championships. He led the Black and Gold to five medals on the weekend. 

Bryant's first official season as a full DI team was another outstanding one for Cameron's Bulldogs. In addition to an outstanding year in the pool, the Bulldogs also added a diving program for the first time in school history. The women's team had a great showing at the NEC championships as they scored a record 669.5 points, finishing third. The meet was highlighted Casey Ostrander's fourth-straight NEC Swimmer of the Year honor. The senior won the 200 back and then helped the 400 free relay team set another conference record in the final event of the championships. In all, Cameron saw 11 swimmers earn All-NEC honors, including senior Molly Smith in the 200 breast and Taylor DeBever in the 200 free. Freshman Lauren Doerrman and Elisabeth Schauer both earned second team honors. Bryant's 200 free relay team of Ostrander, DeBever, Kaitlin Buckley and Dana Yu also earned a gold medal with a conference record time of 1:34.22. The Bulldogs went 8-4 in dual meet competition on the year, including the program's first-ever victory over Maine. 

On the men's side, Cameron guided her program into their first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Bulldogs passed with flying colors, finishing fifth out of ten teams. In what has become a trend for the program, the Bulldogs obliterated the record books, setting 13 new top times. Graduate student Alex Kosenski wrapped up his career with an outstanding meet, winning a gold medal in the 200 free. He went on to finish second in the 100 and fifth in the 50. Bryant's 400 free relay team of Josh Bjornberg, Nicholas Karadimas, John Lawson and Kosenski capped the meet with a school-record time of 3:04.90 and a second-place finish. Over the course of the meet, the Bulldogs broke every single relay record for the second-straight year. Freshman Brendan Miller-Radest also broke a four-year old school record, finishing the 1000 with a school-record time of 9:51.73. On the year, the Bulldogs went 5-3 in dual meet competition, including a victory over Maine.

In 2007-08, Bryant’s final DII season, Cameron coached her men's team to a 10-1 record, going 3-0 in conference, while leading her women's side to an undefeated 12-0 record. She also saw two swimmers, Tom Ferrigno and Jessica Looney, named Swimmer of the Meet at the 2008 New England Championships. Both teams finished fourth at the NE-10 Conference championships.

The 2009-10 season saw the men and women set an impressive 39 school and pool records and sent a strong contingent of both men and women to the ECAC Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Bulldogs returned from the ECACs with 10 top-10 finishes on the weekend, setting 11 new school records in the process. The women scored 119 points to finish 12th at the 2010 ECACs, up nine positions and 101 points from their 2009 place. The men moved up the ladder as well, also placing 12th after a 15th-place finish last season. The year also saw the women earn six NEC All-Conference selections and saw freshman Casey Ostrander earn both Co-Swimmer of the Year and Co-Rookie of the Year honors. The Bryant women finished fourth at the 2010 NEC Championships.

That success carried over to the next season, where Coach Cameron continued to build the foundation of a program that will be as competitive as any other in the area once the Bulldogs become a full-time Division I team in 2012-13.  During the 2011-12 campaign, both the men's and women's teams captured six dual meet victories, and saw impressive efforts at the URI Invitational. 

Cameron came to Smithfield, R.I., from current NEC-member Wagner College, where she served as head women's swim coach from 1997-2004.

In her eight seasons at Wagner, Cameron saw eight individual conference champions and coached a league-winning relay team. She led her squad to a second-place conference finish in 2002 and 2003 and a third-place finish in 2005. But it was her 2003 Coach of the Year accolade that was the real testament to her accomplishments.

Cameron was the first coach in the history of Wagner’s Division I swimming program to handle all coaching and administrative duties, as well as fundraising and budgeting. In addition to her duties with the women's swim team, she also served as the Wagner College Aquatics Director, overseeing all scheduling and staffing, and coached the women's water polo team from 2001-03, serving as water polo administrator during the 2003-04 season.

In 2004, Bryant University announced the addition of women's intercollegiate swimming and the reinstatement of men's intercollegiate swimming as varsity programs, effective in the fall of 2005. The addition of the programs brought the total number of Bulldog varsity sports offered to 22.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Cameron is a 1996 graduate of Syracuse University's School of Management, earning her Master’s in Education from Wagner in 2001.