LA JOLLA, Calif. –  Under Head Coach Marko Djordjevic, two new coaches join the UC San Diego Swimming staff. Matt Martinez joins as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, Molly Spano as an assistant coach.
 
Martinez joins the UC San Diego swimming staff after serving on the coaching staffs at the University of Kentucky, the University of Wisconsin and the University of California, Berkeley.
 
Prior to joining UC San Diego, Martinez spent the 2025-26 season as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky, where he assisted with daily training, technical development, championship meet preparation and recruiting for the Wildcats. During his time in Lexington, Kentucky's men's program posted its highest NCAA Championship finish in more than 15 years while setting 10 school records.
 
Before arriving at Kentucky, Martinez served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Wisconsin from 2022-25. He played a key role in restructuring the Badgers' recruiting strategy, helping secure two top-15 nationally ranked men's recruiting classes that included two USA Swimming Junior National Champions. Martinez worked extensively with Wisconsin's breaststroke group, and in 2025 the Badgers' women's breaststrokers became the highest-scoring breaststroke unit at the Big Ten Championships. During his tenure, the Wisconsin men's team recorded the two best Big Ten Championship finishes in program history. Martinez worked with NCAA finalist and school record holder Jake Newmark and collaborated closely with Olympian and NCAA champion Phoebe Bacon, contributing to her qualification for both the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in the 200-meter backstroke and the 2025 World Championships in the 200 individual medley.
 
Prior to Wisconsin, Martinez spent the 2021-22 season as a volunteer assistant coach at UC Berkeley. He was a member of the coaching staff that captured both the NCAA and Pac-12 team championships while serving as the primary coach for Cal's breaststroke group, which was the highest-scoring breaststroke unit at the 2022 NCAA Championships. During his time with the Golden Bears, Martinez worked with NCAA champions Hugo Gonzalez and Destin Lasco, as well as Olympians Ryan Murphy and Jack Alexy, while assisting with technical analysis and championship preparation.
 
Before returning to the collegiate ranks, Martinez coached with Warringah Aquatic Swim Club in Sydney, Australia, where he served as the lead coach for the club's top age-group training squad. His experience in Australia provided the opportunity to coach in one of the world's premier swimming nations while helping develop age-group athletes in a highly competitive club environment.
 
Martinez earned a Master of Arts in Student Personnel Administration from Saint Louis University in 2017 after receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from Arizona State University in 2014. A native of Walnut Creek, California, Matt and his wife, Sara, have two dogs, Mondo and Ronnie.
 
Spano joins the UC San Diego swimming staff after two seasons as an assistant coach at Swarthmore College. During her time with the Garnet, she helped the women's team win back-to-back Centennial Conference Championships, 2024-25 (4th) and 2025-26 (5th), and the men's team to its fourth consecutive Centennial Conference Championship in 2024-25.
 
Over her two seasons at Swarthmore, the program qualified 20 swimmers for the NCAA Division III Championships, earned 68 All-America honors (15 First Team, 53 Second Team), established 40 new school records, and saw 182 times enter the programs all-time top ten records. She also spent the past four summers as a coach at the University of Texas Swim Camps.
 
As a student-athlete, Spano earned four All-ODAC honors during her graduate season at the University of Lynchburg in 2024 after collecting five All-SCAC honors at Southwestern University in 2022 and 2023. She became the first swimmer in Southwestern history to earn First Team All-SCAC honors in the 400 IM and continues to hold the school record in the event. She also remains the holder of six school records at the University of Lynchburg.
 
Spano earned her bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Exercise Sports Studies from Southwestern University in 2023 before completing her master's degree in business administration with an emphasis on sports management at University of Lynchburg in 2025.
 
 
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"It is with great pleasure to announce Matt Martinez as the newest member of the UC San Diego Tritons Swimming family, joining our staff as top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator," Djordjevic states. "Matt brings outstanding experience from Power Four programs and a proven track record in athlete development, recruiting, and building championship-caliber teams. His knowledge and energy will be tremendous assets as we continue to elevate our program. I am excited to welcome Matt to the Triton family and look forward to the impact he will have on our student-athletes and our continued rise to the next level."
 
"I am very excited to introduce Molly Spano as the newest assistant coach of UC San Diego Swimming program! Molly is a passionate coach who brings outstanding energy, a commitment to student-athlete development, and valuable experience in coaching, recruiting, and program operations. Her enthusiasm, work ethic, and dedication to building meaningful relationships will make her an exceptional addition to our staff. I am excited for everything she will do to help our program continue its upward trajectory."
 
"I am grateful for the time I spent at Swarthmore College, the mentors who shaped me, and the relationships I developed with my Swat Swim family. I am excited to join the Triton Swimming Family and translate my passion for high academic and athletic performance to the UC San Diego community," Spano states. "Thank you, Andy Fee, Danielle Melman, and Marko Djordjevic or this opportunity. I am excited to help continue the tradition of excellence at UC San Diego. Go Tritons!"
 

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.