Category: Coaches

Head Coach / Director of Competitive Swimming

Payton Brooks was named Head Coach / Director of Competitive Swimming in October of 2022.  Brooks comes to Baylor after a stint as an Assistant Swim Coach for the Virginia Tech Hokies.  Coach Brooks becomes the tenth Head Coach in Baylor Swimming 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,” said Baylor School Athletic Director Mark Price.  “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.”

Brooks joined the Hokie staff as the assistant in 2019; he played a role in leading the Tech men to 11th-place finishes at the NCAA Championships the past two seasons – the highest finishes in school history. The Tech women finished 21^st and 23^rd respectively, earning the lady Hokies the second and third-highest finishes for the program. Through these performances, the Hokies earned 42 All-American honors.

Brooks also assisted with Pinnacle Racing at Virginia Tech (PRVT). This group hosted professional athletes from around the world preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Six athletes from this group went to compete at the games, with a notable performance from Santo Condorelli winning a silver medal in the 400 Free Relay.

Prior to joining the Hokies, Brooks took to the head coaching ranks at Alderson Broaddus University, a private university in Philippi, West Virginia, for the 2014-15 season. During his time with the Battlers, both the men’s and women’s teams scored the most points in school history as well as their best overall finishes at the conference championship meet. They broke 12 school records on the men’s side and six for the women. At Alderson Broaddus, his duties also included Aquatics Director.

Brooks served as an assistant coach at The Bolles School from 2012-2014 for the Senior High School, Age-Group and Professional Group.  His coaching accomplishments at Bolles include:

• 2-Time Boys High School National Championships
• 1-Time Girls High School National Champion Runner-Up
• 9 National Records (5 Relays & 4 Individual)
• 34 High School All-Americans
• 2-Time Boys & Combined Winter Junior National Champions
• 1-Time Girls Junior National Champion Runner-Up
• 3-Time Florida State Champions

He also acted as the Assistant Director of the Bolles Sharks Swim Camp and was a Residential Staff member for the Bolles School Boarding Program. He and his wife served as Dorm Parents/Residential Staff to the students residing on campus.

Brooks was a member of the West Virginia University swim team under Sergio Lopez Miro. During his four-year college swimming career, he helped WVU win their first (2007) Big East Championship title in the school’s history. That season also marked the first team in school history to go undefeated (13-0) and finish the year ranked 20th in the country. He specialized in sprint freestyle events and was a five-time All-Big East performer. Also, while at WVU, he was on the all-time top 10 performance list in the 50, 100 and 200 Freestyle, 200 and 400 Medley Relay, and the 200, 400 and 800 Freestyle Relays.

In his fifth year of athletic eligibility, he joined the WVU football team as a wide receiver. He was named the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year and was part of the Gator Bowl team in 2010. Brooks graduated from West Virginia University with a B.A. in Physical Education and Sport Sciences with a focus in Athletic Coaching.

A native of Hurricane, W.V., Brooks is married to the former Madisen Meadows. The Brooks’ have three children: Stone, Meadow and Bo.

Varsity Assistant Coach / Lead Senior Group Coach

Madison Jacobi has been named an assistant coach for the Baylor School Varsity Team and the Lead Senior Group of the Baylor Swim Club.

Jacobi, while working as a special education teacher, also served as the head coach for Harrison High School Swimming & Diving. In 2021, the Harrison Boys team won the County Championship Title for the first time in over 20 years. In the fall of 2021, Madison became the first female swimmer inducted into the Harrison Sports Hall of Fame.

After completing her undergraduate in psychology, Madison began coaching at Area Tallahassee Aquatic Club while pursuing her Master’s degree. Madison coached swimmers from the novice level to the senior level, including multiple state champions, Junior National qualifiers, and Olympic Trials qualifiers. Madison finished coaching at ATAC in December of 2017 after graduating with her Master’s of Special Education.

As a member of the Florida State University swim team, Madison was a three-time member of the ACC Championship team and a two-time member of the NCAA Championship team, competing in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle,1650 freestyle, and the 800 freestyle relay each year. In 2013, Madison Jacobi was a part of the All-American Honorable Mention 800 Freestyle Relay with a 16^th place finish. In 2014, Madison earned an individual All-American Honorable Mention in the 1650.

While at Florida State, Madison received the Freshman of the Year Award (2013), Most Valuable Swimmer (2014), Hardest Worker Award (2014), and was a Team Captain (2015-2016 season).

In 2014, Madison received the Femina Perfecta Award – an award established to honor the “complete woman” who embodies the Florida State motto of Vires (strength), Artes (knowledge), and Mores (tradition). This award is presented annually to one woman from each of Florida State’s athletic teams and is voted on by their teammates.

Madison set four school records that still stand today in the 500 freestyle (4:37.77), 1000 freestyle (9:40.82), the 1650 freestyle (16:01.09), and as a member of the 800 freestyle relay (7:06.56 – 1:44.63 split). Madison was a two-time Georgia High School state champion and the Cobb County swimmer of the year. She still holds the 500 Freestyle record at Harrison High School with a 4:49.13.

Madison graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology. She recently got married to Colin in April, 2023. She and her husband enjoy riding bikes, drinking local coffee, and going for walks with their two dogs.

Director of Operations / Assistant Coach

Laura Pitman grew up swimming in the Chattanooga area. Pitman swam for Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, PA during her high school years, where she was a member of the National record-setting medley relay and Eastern prep school champions.

At the University of Tennessee, she was an All-American. She has been coaching in the Chattanooga area for the last thirty years with the last 18 being at Baylor Swim Club. Pitman has experience coaching at many levels: summer league, high school, and age group/ senior.

In 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 she coached the Southeastern Middle School Champions as well as the 11-12 girls Southeastern Age Group Champions at Baylor. She has helped many swimmers achieve the Southeastern championship level. Laura currently is the interim head coach with The Baylor school varsity team. Laura is responsible for the daily operations of the club. Laura is a 2013 inductee to the Chattanooga Sports hall of Fame.

Coach Pitman has been an integral part of the program’s prominence which has included 16 straight Combined State Championships.  Laura has also served in various positions with USA Swimming including multiple National Select Camps, National Junior Team camps, and most recently as Manager for the National Junior Team at the 2022 Junior Pan Pac Championships.

Coach Pitman lives in Hixson with her husband Wes. She has two daughters that are Baylor School and University of Tennessee swimming alumni.

Head Age Group Coach / Head Middle School Coach

Rudy Aguilar-Fernandez leads the Middle School / Junior Group and assists with the Varsity / Senior Group. He swam for Oakland University a Division I program where he was a part of the 2020 NIC Championship Team and a four-time conference championship team. Some of his individual accolades include becoming a four-time conference champion in the 200 Free, 400 Free Relay, and was named Conference Freshman of the Year. He was also a part of a 3-time school and conference record-setting relay in the 800 free. In 2016, he qualified for Short Course World Championships to represent Venezuela.  

Upon graduation, he joined the University of Alabama as a volunteer assistant coach. In the 2022-23 season, he supported the efforts that resulted in the Alabama Men’s and Women’s team’s Top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships, and they finished 14th and 19th, respectively. They had 17 swimmers and divers earn CSCAA All-American accolades as well as 13 NCAA Qualifiers. His efforts also resulted in Kensey McMahon becoming a two-time NCAA champion in the 500 and 1650 free, and in SEC champions Charlie Hawke and Rhyan White winning the 200 free and 100 back, respectively.  

Rudy’s success in the water was also seen at the high school level, where he was a 5-time All-American, and part of a two-time Division 1 MHSAA State Championship team in 2014 and 2015 at Brother Rice High School. In 2015, Brother Rice was named NISCA national champions runner-up. Rudy graduated from Notre Dame Preparatory School in 2017.  

Rudy is a Michigan native and graduated from Oakland University in 2021 with an English Degree on the Dean’s List, and in 2022 earned a Graduate Certificate in Business Essentials.  

Head Diving Coach

Samson Miller has coached diving for 13 years. He spent 10 years coaching in Fairfax, VA at Greenbriar Pool Club before taking on the Head Coach position at Fork Union Military Academy in September 2020. Miller quickly noticed how underdeveloped the sport was in the greater Charlottesville/Central VA area. He began offering diving lessons throughout the community in 2021, which quickly grew in popularity. Eventually in September 2023, Wahoo Dive Club was formed and it’s currently home to over 50 year-round divers. Miller simultaneously coached 5 high school teams from 2022-2024, including Albemarle HS, Fork Union Military Academy, Monticello HS, St. Anne’s-Belfield School and Western Albemarle HS. He was named the VISAA Diving Coach of the year in 2023 and recently coached 3 separate divers to VHSL state championship titles in 2024. In just a few short years, Wahoo Dive Club has produced multiple NCAA Division 1 divers and sent athletes to both the AAU and USA Junior National Championships.

Samson Miller grew up in Fairfax, VA, where he belonged to Greenbriar Pool Club all throughout his childhood. He’s always loved the water and joined the Greenbriar Dolphins Swim Team in the Summer of 2005 at the age of 7. From age 7-12 he swam year-round for York Swim Club, until he ultimately realized that diving was his true passion. Miller joined the Greenbriar Dolphins Dive Team at the age of 11, and immediately knew he wanted to pursue the sport full time. He dove for both Greenbriar and Dominion Dive Club from 2009-2016, competing at the USA Diving Junior National Championships on a yearly basis. Miller is a 4-Time NISCA All-American High School diver and attended Fairfax High School where he holds both the 6-dive and 11-dive school records. He placed 3rd in his Virginia Class 6 State High School Diving Competition every year between 2013-2015. Miller achieved his ultimate diving goal in 2016 when he accepted a scholarship to dive for The University of Virginia. He graduated in 2020 with a B.A. in Music.

Miller is honored to be joining the Baylor family and admires the unwavering passion Coach Brooks and his staff have for growing their Swim and Dive program. Miller sees immediate potential to create a rich and successful diving culture at Baylor, one that is nationally recognized and prosperous for many years to come. He can’t wait to get to work in the beautiful city of Chattanooga, GBR!

Varsity Assistant Coach

Assistant / Age Group Coach

Francine Chittum was born and raised in Michigan.  She began swimming at the age of five in her town’s local summer swim team and moved onto the year-round YMCA swim team.  Her love for swimming continued to grow and in middle school, her town developed a USA swim team which she swam for through high school.  Coach Francine was her high school team captain and helped lead the team to be division champs her senior year.  She went on to swim for the University of Toledo Men and Women’s Division I swimming program where she swam all four years while obtaining a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

 She has always enjoyed coaching and began teaching swimming lessons while in high school, then progressed to helping coach her town’s local club team.  She was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Aqua Tigers USA team and CASL summer league in 2018.

 She lives in Cleveland Tennessee where she resides with her husband (Kyle), two daughters (Monroe and Charlie), her son (Hudson), and her Boston terrier dog (Coco).  Her two daughters Monroe and Charlie swim for Baylor Swim Club while her son wrestles for Boom Ranch.  Her days are pleasantly filled with doing engineering consulting work, being her kids’ Uber driver, and coaching.

Assistant / Gray Group Coach

Stephanie Cohen earned her MBA from Southern New Hampshire University and a B.S. in Sports Administration and minor in Business Administration from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She began teaching swimming lessons at Baylor in 2012 and moved into a coaching role shortly after. In addition to coaching at Baylor, Stephanie spent two summers as the Head Coach for the Signal Mountain Green Giants summer league team and currently works full-time in Accounting for the State of Tennessee.

Born in New Hampshire, Stephanie started swimming when she was four years old. After moving with her family to North Carolina, she began competitive swimming at the age of six. She competed in local leagues in Durham, North Carolina, and Knoxville, Tennessee but had to stop competitive swimming due to a shoulder and collar bone injury.

Stephanie is certified in CPR/First Aid/AED. Extracurricular activities include cooking (which she did professionally for nine years), swimming, running, hiking and going to sporting events. She loves coaching and teaching young children to enjoy being in the water and believes all children can be taught to swim well. Stephanie is thrilled to be a member of the Baylor coaching staff.

Assistant / White Group Coach

Elizabeth joins us for her first full year at Baylor Swim Club. She grew up swimming summer league for the Sleepy Hallow Sea Lions, and held the top 50 breaststroke time in the county! She was part of the Sea Lions for seven years and started swimming club at age 10.

As Elizabeth kept growing with the sport, she qualified for Junior Nationals in the 100 breaststroke at age 16. She swam varsity for Carleton College where she placed top eight in the conference in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Going into her junior year, she transferred to UTC and is looking to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2025. She also currently serves as UTC’s club swim team’s vice president.

Elizabeth started teaching swim lessons at age 13 and has taught at Baylor since the summer of 2023. She has coached for the Cumberland Currents summer league team for two seasons and officially joined the Baylor coaching staff in the beginning of the 2024 year. Coaching swim has been the greatest experience of her life and hopes to continue doing so for many years to come.

Assistant / Red Group Coach

Catie Carden was raised in Chattanooga, TN, and began swimming for the Colonial Shores Swim Team at age eight.  She continued to swim for Colonial Shores and Stuart Heights swim team before moving to year-round swimming.  She started swimming competitive year-round swimming for Baylor.  She attended Baylor School and graduated in 2011.  She went on to swim at Florida Southern College, a Division II school in Lakeland, Florida, for four years.  During her time at Florida Southern College, she was the Women’s Co-Team Captain in 2015.  While at Florida Southern College, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.  While pursuing her Master’s degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she taught swim lessons at Baylor and Aquatots swim school.  She enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and pets.