Oberlin College Athletics

The 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, Alex de la Peña is entering his eighth season as Oberlin’s head swimming & diving coach and aquatics director in 2025-26. 

In his seven years at the helm, there have been nine All-NCAC finishers, 126 top-ten program times, and ten school records. The Crimson and Gold have produced 102 NCAC Academic Honor Roll recipients, 16 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selections, 26 College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America teams, and two CSCAA Academic All-America honorable mention honorees.  

Prior to Oberlin, de la Peña served as head women's swimming coach and director of aquatics at Pfeiffer University where he guided the Falcons to a fourth-place team finish at the conference championship meet in 2018. Eight individuals also earned all-conference honors. Before going to Pfeiffer, de la Peña worked at the Cleveland Sports Institute in a variety of roles, including coaching swimming and strength & conditioning while serving as aquatics coordinator. de la Peña has also held Division I assistant coaching positions at UNC Wilmington and Brown University from 2013 to 2016.

de la Peña's first collegiate head coaching position was at Monmouth College from 2011-13. During his tenure, the Fighting Scot swimmers produced 23 All-Midwest Conference selections, one Midwest Conference champion, 19 school records, and 88 top-ten times in program history. He began his collegiate coaching career at Oberlin from 2009-11, when he helped guide swimmers to 11 school records and 81 top-ten times. Additionally, three athletes achieved NCAA "B" cut times, including one national qualifier.

A native of Northeast Ohio, de la Peña swam collegiately at Baldwin Wallace University and was a two-year team captain while being a part of several team records and top-ten times in program history. After graduating from BW with a bachelor's degree in sport management and business administration, he earned a master's degree in educational administration at St. Lawrence University while working as a graduate assistant coach.