Florida State University Men's Swimming

Athena Miller joined the Florida State swimming and diving staff in May of 2022. Miller brings a wealth of experience to Tallahassee after serving one season...

McVittie works will all swimmers, however he most frequently coaches those that specialize in middle distances. He also heads up recruiting for the men's team.  In just two seasons, McVittie has helped several athletes to All-American accolades while coaching the men's and women's teams to their highest finishes at the NCAA Championship meets since his days as an athlete. In fact, McVittie helped the relay team of Pavel Sankovich, Jared Pike, Connor Knight and Paul Murray establish the highest relay finish in school history at the meet as they took fourth place in the 200 medley relay in 2014 overcoming the previous mark of sixth which was originally set by the 1999 200 free relay that McVittie anchored.  In addition to collegiate athletes, McVittie also works with members of the profressional group that include former FSU standout Pavel Sankovich. Prior to the World Championships in 2015, McVittie helped Sankovich to the fourth fastest time in the world in the 100m fly (51.53).  On top of his coaching duties, McVittie spearheads the men's team recruiting.  While a Seminole from 1995-99, McVittie was known as the ultimate relay swimmer, contributing six ACC titles and 10 All-America honors during his career, guiding FSU to its highest team finish at the NCAA Championships in 1997 (Ninth). In addition to his relay excellence, McVittie earned his highest finish at the ACC Championships in 1999, where he took silver in the 100 free. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Communications, McVittie ran the Kamehameha Swim Club in Honolulu, Hawaii for three years as one of the head coaches. The club claimed three-consecutive state titles under McVittie with swimmers ranging from age group speed all the way up to senior national finalists. Following his time in Hawaii, McVittie followed his former FSU head coach Don Gibb to the University of South Carolina, where he served as an assistant from 2003-2007. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, McVittie maneuvered administration tasks, such as maintaining the budget, implementing communication strategies and providing logistical support on top of serving as the academic liaison to the athletic advisors. McVittie guided a total of 14 Gamecocks to All-America honors, highlighted by an 11th place team finish at the NCAA Championships in 2004. He was also valued for his recruiting skills, where he helped South Carolina sign the ninth best recruiting class in the country for the 2007-2008 season. After 2007, McVittie explored a different line of work, where he was employed by Allegiance Crane & Equipment in Pompano Beach, Fla., dealing in sales. A native of Chelsea, Mich., McVittie is engaged to Lindsey Williams. The couple has a daughter named Ashlyn Mae and a son named William Calder

Ben Zajic comes to Tallahassee from FAU where he has coached since 2020. In his second year with the Owls, the men’s team earned silver at the CCSA Swimming ...

Gardocki assists with all groups while heading up the women's team recruiting. A standout distance swimmer and four-time NCAA qualifier for Auburn from 2009-2013, Gardocki spent three of those seasons under the instruction of current FSU head coach Frank Bradley. During her career, she was a five-time All-American and 2012 U.S. Olympic Trial qualifier and produced her best times at the 2013 SEC Championships, placing sixth in the 1650 with a time of 16:01.86 after taking 10th in the 500 free with a mark of 4:38.75. Following her graduation in December of 2013, Gardocki joined the FSU staff in January, just in time for championship season. As one of Bradley's most hardworking, knowledgeable and tenacious athletes he's ever coached, he knew that her experiences mixed with her patience, carefree and easy-going personality would make her the perfect piece to complete his coaching staff. In just a short amount of time, Gardocki made an immediate impact on both squads, especially the distance group. She helped Madison Jacobi achieve a pair of bronze medals at the 2014 ACC Championships before she went on to take ninth place in the mile at the NCAA Championships with a time of 16:01.09. Prior to Auburn, Gardocki was a three-time U.S. Junior Team member while swimming for the Aquabears Swim Club. She also holds Connecticut State Records and attended Suffield High School. Gardocki is a native of Suffield, Conn. and is the daughter of Peter and Lynda Gardocki. Her sister, Sara swam for the College of Charleston. She majored in hotel and restaurant management at Auburn.

Raulerson will be tasked with coaching the distance group along with heading up junior recruiting. Originally from Sanford, N.C., Raulerson brings a unique perspective to the Seminoles after playing a huge role in club swimming since 2002. Raulerson worked at Circle C Swimming in Austin, Texas as an assistant from 2002-03 before moving over to Longhorn Aquatics as the associate head coach in 2003. In 2004, Raulerson helped Longhorn Aquatics send 44 athletes to the 2004 Olympic Swimming Trials in Long Beach, Calif. where four swimmers earned a spot on the Olympic Team for Athens. Following his four-year stint with Longhorn, Raulerson moved into a head coaching position at the Raleigh Swim Association from 2006-13, where he worked with both elites and beginners, including current US National Team member Sarah Henry, who qualified for the USA Junior National Team while representing RSA. She also placed seventh in the 400m IM at the 2012 Olympic Trials while finishing in the top 16 in the 200 breast in 2008. Her teammate, Hannah Moore also earned a second swim in the 200 back in 2012. Prior to his club coaching days, Raulerson served as an assistant at Georgia Tech from 2000-02, helping mens team to a second place finish at the 2002 ACC Championships, which was the highest finish in school history.  Raulerson first began his collegiate coaching career in 1998 as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Michigan, helping the Wolverines to the Big Ten title in 2000. While in Ann Arbor, Raulerson had the opportunity to work with two-time 200m fly US Olympic medalist Tom Malchow. Prior to Michigan, Raulerson spent three years as a Science Teacher and Swim Coach at The ONeal School in Southern Pines, N.C. while coaching the Sandhills Sandsharks Swim Team. In 2014, Raulerson switched careers briefly and became a sale representative for iNet Process -a global partner with local expertise in North America, Europe and India based in Raleigh, N.C. where he assisted with the development and sales of company software. Raulerson married his wife Maggie in 2001 and the couple have a daughter named Warner (10) and a son named Hayes (5). 

Ethan Burdette is in his sixth season as a broadcast engineer and audio/video technician at Seminole Productions – the professional live sports broadcasting,...

Proctor, arrived in Tallahassee for the 2014-15 season from Midland, Texas inheriting a talented crop of divers that included Katrina Young.  He Young to an All-American honor on 1-meter on top of an ACC title.  Young captured silver on platform before qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Following her collegiate career, Young remained under Proctor's instruction working strictly on 10-meter events. At the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, Young sat in fourth place before jumping to second in the final round in order to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio, becoming the fourth FSU diver to compete in the games.  During 2015-16, Proctor coached Dylan Grisell to a seventh place finish on platform at the 2016 NCAA Championships, becoming the first All-American in the event in school history.   He also coached rookie Cassidy Gebhart to an NCAA bid after she placed fifth on platform at the ACC Championships.  In his first season in a different element, Proctor felt right at home as a collegiate coach.  He led three divers to the NCAA Championships, in addition to Young, he also helped freshman Tyler Roberge capture an honorable mention on 1-meter.  At the ACC Championships, Proctor helped the men's team score 113 points in three events, led by Roberge and Grisell who dove in two championship final heats each. Young grabbed silver on platform at ACC's and secured a pair of ACC Diver of the Week accolades during the season.  Proctor joined the Seminole staff after serving as the Program Director and Head Diving Coach of City of Midland (COM) Aquatics in Midland, Texas for 15 years (1999-2014). He built a nationally-known program where he has produced over 50 junior national individual champions including four USA Junior All-Starts and has also coached a finalist in every USA Diving National Meet since 2009. In 2011, COM Aquatics was named a USA Diving Center of Excellence. Since 2008, Proctor has occupied the volunteering position of Coaching Representative on the Board of Directors at USA Diving after previously collaborating on the Committee for Competitive Excellence in 2004. In 2012, he was invited to join the USA Diving staff at the FINA Grand Prix in Rostock, Germany. Hes a guy that is very well connected, Bradley said. I know he will be able to work well with our athletes on top of being an excellent recruiter. Were working towards something here as a program and I believe that John will help us get there. Im happy to have him on board. Proctor has produced a three-time and current national team member Anna James, who is currently heading into her freshman year at Purdue. James competed in the 10m-syncronized event at the 2011 FINA World Championships before contesting in the same event at the 2014 FINA Diving World Series in 2014 in both Dubai and Beijing. While at the helm of COM Aquatics, Proctor oversaw the development of 225 athletes ranging from beginners to elite level divers in addition to heading the growth of five assistant coaches. Proctor has also been the heart of fundraising for the club, generating over three-million dollars in athletic scholarship money since 1999 while directing the Dive Parent Booster Club. During his 15 years in Midland, Proctor has volunteered for other duties that included both Junior (2000-2005) and Senior (2006-2008) Diving Representative roles for the Northwest Texas Diving Association. Prior to 1999, Proctor was the head coach of the Tucson Diving Team while serving as the diving team manager for the University of Arizona (1997-1999). He previously was the Head Diving Coach at Ballard High School in Louisville, Ky. (1995-1996) after starting his coaching career as an age group instructor at Auburn Diving Club (1992-1993).

Kaden Danley was promoted to ticket operations coordinator in February of 2025. Danley is tasked with overseeing women’s basketball ticket operations, while ...