University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Swimming & Diving
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- rwillets@athletics.pitt.edu
- Phone:
- 412-383-9078
Roman Willets enters his first season as an associate head coach for the Panthers after being added to the staff in August 2023. Willets comes to Pittsburgh after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Alabama.
"I am incredibly excited to announce the hiring of Roman Willets as an Associate Head Coach for our program," said Kreitler. "Roman is a phenomenal coach who is great at building meaningful relationships with student-athletes and has a mentorship-based coaching philosophy that falls perfectly in line with the rest of our staff. As we look to continue the success of the 2022-2023 season and build one of the premier swimming and diving programs in the country, Roman will make an immediate impact on our team culture, our performance in the pool and in our recruiting. We are very excited to welcome Roman and his wife Liz to Pittsburgh!"
Willets also coached three swimmers to qualify for the 2023 NCAA Championships and score in multiple individual and relay events at the 2023 SEC Championships, including two qualifiers for the World University Games (2023- Brazil).
During his time in Tuscaloosa, Willets coached the 200 Freestyle training group that went on to set the school record in the 800 Free Relay in 2022 and 2023, finishing in third place at the 2023 SEC Championships and finished 10th overall at the 2023 NCAA Championships, both became the highest finishes for the program in over 20 years.
Prior to Alabama, Willets was the volunteer assistant coach at California from 2020-2021 where we worked closely with Kreitler and assisted in every facet of the program. Willets helped coach seven athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games, a Pac-12 Championships and finish in a close second place at the NCAA Championships.
At the beginning of his coaching career, Willets worked for multiple nationally recognized USA Swimming teams, Club Wolverine and North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC). He helped grow two clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area and develop as competitive programs. While at NBAC, he had the opportunity to assist in coaching their professional group that included Michael Phelps.
Willets endured a successful collegiate swimming career at the University of Michigan from 2010-2013. As team captain, Willets was a member of the 2013 Men's National Championship team and the 2013 Big Ten Championship team. Willets earned NCAA All-American Honorable Mention honors in 2010 and was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team in 2012.
The Whitehouse, Ohio, native graduated from Michigan in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in secondary education. Willet's wife, Liz (Pelton) Willets, is a former U.S. National Team Member, World Champion, American Record Holder, and NCAA Champion. Liz Willet's father, Greg Pelton, is a Pitt swimming alumnus (1978-1982).
