SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Swim program and Head Coach Jax Rosen are excited to welcome Matthew Harder as assistant coach for Men's and Women's Swim teams.

Harder comes to UC Santa Barbara with a decade of experience as a coach, teacher, and manager across USA Swimming Club, IHSA, and NCAA levels, coaching athletes to national teams and through Olympic trials. 

He most recently served as an assistant coach at the University of Chicago where he helped lead both Men's and Women's Swim to Top-10 Team Finishes at the 2024 and 2025 NCAA Division III National Championships. He also coached the men's relay teams to national titles in the 200, 400 and 800 Freestyle Relays at the 2025 NCAA Division III National Championships, with the 800 Free tying the national record.

While in Chicago, Harder also served as the Head Senior Coach at RISE Aquatic Club, which he co-founded in 2022. He guided RISE to become a Bronze Medal Club within USA Swimming Club Excellence, and since 2022, RISE Aquatic Club has produced several Winter Junior National Qualifiers, Summer Junior National Qualifiers, Junior National Finalists, and US Open Qualifiers.

Harder earned his Bachelor of Science in K-12 Physical Education from Concordia University Chicago with a minor in Sports Psychology. 

He will join the reigning Big West Champions for both Men's and Women's Swim. The 2025-26 season is set to kick off in October.