Saint Mary’s Hires Ellie Monobe from Pepperdine as Inaugural Swim Coach
Saint Mary’s on Tuesday announced the hiring of Ellie Monobe as the head coach of its new men’s and women’s swimming team.
Monobe stepped down from Pepperdine earlier in the day. She will complete the fall schedule with the Waves, her sixth season in charge, before assuming the Saint Mary’s job on Dec. 1. The Gaels will begin competition in 2026-27.
Dan Marella will serve as the interim coach at Pepperdine for the rest of the 2025-26 season.
“I’m honored to join Saint Mary’s College and help launch the men’s and women’s swimming programs. I’d like to thank VP Mike Matoso and senior athletic staff for entrusting me with this incredible opportunity,” Monobe said in a press release. “Their vision, commitment and enthusiasm for aquatics makes this an exciting time to be a part of Saint Mary’s. I look forward to building a championship caliber program in the Bay Area, well known for its rich aquatic traditions.”
Monobe was hired by Pepperdine in the summer of 2020. She led the Waves to three titles in the last four seasons, with the 2022 Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference title the first league crown in program history. The Waves won the PCSC in 2023, then captured last spring’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Monobe was named the 2025 MPSF Coach of the Year, her fourth conference coach of the year award in five seasons.
Monobe coached 17 individual and relay league champions. Swimmers set program records in 13 events under her leadership at Pepperdine, which has only women’s swimming and diving.
“We are extremely grateful for Ellie’s leadership and passion, which have led to unprecedented success for our student-athletes both in and out of the pool,” Pepperdine Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner said in a news release. “We wish her the very best in this next chapter.”
Monobe is a native of Fremont, Calif., who attended Cal from 2007-11, part of NCAA team championships in 2009 and 2011. She was a captain as a senior, then started as an undergraduate assistant/volunteer assistant coach in the 2011-12 season while completing her undergraduate studies.
She earned a master’s degree in kinesiology at San Jose State, were she worked as a graduate assistant in compliance and a team manager of the women’s team while coaching the Sun Valley High School in Lafayette.
Her college coaching career began in earnest with assistant coaching jobs at UMass in 2014-15 and UNLV in 2015-16. At the latter, she worked with a men’s team that finished 35th at NCAAs. She spent four seasons at UC Santa Barbara from 2017-20, the last as the associate head coach. She helped the men’s team win two MPSF titles and the women to finish second three times.
“We are thrilled to have someone with such high accolades and character in Ellie join our athletic department and lead our swimming program,” Saint Mary’s Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Matoso said. “Ellie is a perfect fit for the campus community and her success coaching will be a tremendous asset as we build the swimming program.”
