Commander Sean M. Tedesco finished his 24th season at the helm of both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 2024-25.
Tedesco has been the Assistant Athletic Director for Aquatics since July 2014. In addition to his role as the head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach, Tedesco serves on the Faculty Forum Executive Committee as the First Vice President (after previously holding both the President and First Vice President roles in recent years), is PE&A’s STCW Coordinator and a Professional Faculty Instructor.
Since his arrival at Kings Point, Tedesco has five individual NCAA Division III National Championships by two divers in 2004, 2009 and 2011. The two student-athletes were also named the NCAA Divers of the Year during their respective seasons.
One of Tedesco’s most accomplished alums, Kevin Lindgren ’15, became the Academy’s first-ever swimmer to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 2012 Games when he did so during his freshman season. Lindgren again qualified for and competed in the Olympic Trials for the 2016 Games. In 2019-2020 season, Nolan Monahan ’20 earned seven All-American Certificates, which is the most in a single season in the program’s storied tradition.
Tedesco's men's program has been a model of consistency, as the Mariners have competed at 21 NCAA Championships over the past 23 seasons. Tedesco has mentored 76 NCAA Qualifiers with 230 NCAA qualifying standards attained overall, and saw 28 student-athletes go on to become All-Americans, earning a combined 94 All-American Certificates. The team has placed in the top-37 at the NCAAs Division III National Championship Meet 17 times and finished as high as 15th in the nation in 2019. (They were also seeded 14th going into the 2020 NCAA Championships which were canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.)
On the men’s side, Tedesco has led the Mariners to a total of 24 conference championships – 22-straight in their primary conferences every season since he started at Kings Point (14 Skyline Conference titles and nine Landmark Conference titles) and then one Metropolitan Conference Championship in 2018-19, which was the Academy’s first at the ultra-competitive, multi-divisional meet since 1986.
The Mariner women have also captured 11 Skyline Conference Championships throughout Tedesco’s tenure, including eight-straight since re-joining the conference in 2016-17.
The men’s and women’s teams have broken all 46 Academy records (23 men/23 women) since Tedesco started in 2001. Overall, 46 school records have been broken and re-broken 326 times since 2001. And the men’s and women’s teams broke 353 various Conference, Meet and Pool Records.
Tedesco's athletes also excel in the classroom, as they have earned a combined total of 28 Individual Academic All-American Certificates and 20 Team Academic All-American Certificates (12 on the men’s side and eight on the women’s).
The Mariners, since 2001, have had a combined 71 Conference Swimmer/Diver of the Year awards: 26 Conference Rookie of the Year Awards, 13 Academy Rookie of the Year Awards, seven Admiral Giles C. Stedman Trophy Winners (Outstanding Male Athlete Award), the Academy’s highest men’s award, and six Julie A. Berke Trophy Winners (Outstanding Female Athlete Award), the Academy’s highest women’s award.
Tedesco has also garnered 34 Coach of the Year honors through his 23 seasons. He has been named both the Skyline Conference and Landmark Conference Men’s Coach of the Year a combined 18 times (11 Skyline/seven Landmark), the Metropolitan Conference Men’s Coach of the Year five times and the Skyline Women’s Coach of the Year four times. Tedesco has also received USMMA’s Dr. Stephen 'Bill' Omeltchenko Coach of the Year Award in 2004-05 and 2007-08 as a standalone Coach of the Year, and in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2023-24 as the Men’s Coach of the Year, as well as the Academy’s Sue Petersen Lubow Coach of the Year Award as the Women’s Coach of the Year in 2016-17 and 2023-24.
Prior to his arrival at Kings Point, Tedesco served as the top assistant men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach at Villanova University. His responsibilities included designing, organizing, and running swim, dry land and weight training workouts for the teams while also coordinating all recruiting efforts. At Villanova, he coached one Olympian, three U.S. Olympic Trial qualifiers, two Canadian Olympic Trial qualifiers, one NCAA Champion and eight NCAA qualifiers.
Tedesco earned a Master’s degree in business administration from Adelphi University in 2003. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Connecticut in 1998, where he was a member of the men’s swimming and diving team. He earned the University Senior Athlete Award in 1998 and garnered Most Valuable Swimmer honors in 1996 and 1998. Additionally, Tedesco was a NCAA Division I qualifier, a Senior National qualifier and a Big East Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke. The Huskies were named a Big East Conference All-Academic Team in 1996 and 1997 with Tedesco on the roster.
Tedesco still stays active in his free time. In 2006-08, 2010, and 2011 he earned Triathlete All-American honors. He also completed in the 2012 NYC Ironman as well as the 2004 Wisconsin Ironman.
Tedesco currently resides in Garden City, N.Y., with his wife Marissa and their daughters, Abigail and Amanda.
Tedesco’s Team Accomplishments Since the 2001-2002 (21 seasons - 2020-21 Canceled: Covid)
- One Olympic Trial Cut
- Two National Champions (5 individual championships)
- 28 All-Americans
- 94 All-American Certificates
- 76 NCAA Qualifiers
- 230 NCAA Qualifying Standards
- 21 NCAA Trips in 23 years
- 15 straight trips to the NCAA Championships (’02-’16)
- 17 Top 37 Finishes at the NCAA Championship in 22 years (’20-canceled-seeded 14th/’21 canceled)
- 326 Broken Academy Records
- 353 Broken Conference/Meet/Pool Records
- 20 Team Academic All-American Certificates
- 28 Individual Academic All-American Certificates
- 35 Conference Championships-25 Skyline Conference Championships (14 men/11 women), 9 Landmark Championships (men) and 1 Met Championship (men)
- 8 NCAA National Runner-ups
- 3 National Diver of the Year
- 3 National Diving Coach of the Year
- 1 National Record
- 2 Swims under the National Record
- 34 Coach of the Year Awards
- 71 Conference Swimmer/Diver of the Year Awards
- 26 Conference Rookie of the Year Awards
- 13 Academy Rookie of the Year Awards
- 7 Admiral Giles C. Stedman Trophy Winners (Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year Award)-Academy’s Highest Award
- 6 Julie A. Berke Trophy Winners (Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year Award)-Academy’s Highest Award
- 337 Wins (170 men / 167 women)
