SEATTLE – Caitlin McClain has decided to step down as the head coach of the Seattle Pacific University women's rowing team following her fifth season with the Falcons.
"After much reflection and prayer, I have decided to take a personal sabbatical to celebrate twenty years of coaching before seeking another full-time position," McClain said. "I am looking forward to visiting friends and colleagues around the world to experience new and different approaches to coaching, leading, and living."
McClain turned the Falcons into a fixture on the national stage. The team qualified for nationals in four of her five seasons at the helm. In 2024, the varsity 4+ boat won the national championship. In 2023, the Falcons finished third, marking the best team finished under McClain's leadership.
McClain oversaw six All-Americans during her time with the team. 2024 featured NCAA Elite 90 Award winner Audrey Rekedal. In 2023, Jennifer Hoag was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Rower of the Year. In five seasons, 10 Falcons earned GNAC All-Conference honors. Even more impressive, 67 Falcons earned GNAC All-Academic honors while McClain was in charge.
"We appreciate Caitlin for her excellent work in developing both the entire SPU women's rowing program and also individual student-athletes," Athletics Director Dan Lepse said. "Each of those women are better off for having been coached by her, both on the water, but also in the classroom and character formation. Caitlin inherited an outstanding rowing program and not only helped it continue to thrive but led it to new heights with NCAA Championships appearances in the last four years."
"Of course, it is bittersweet to leave SPU," McClain said. "Coaching here has been a formative time in my career and life. The shift from high school to collegiate coaching was challenging and I am so grateful for the trust, grace, and support I received from the SPU community of staff, coaches, and student-athletes. It has been an honor and pleasure to be a part of the individual and collective journeys of the team. They are the heart of this program and the ones who make the shell house a shellome. They are humble, brave, earnest, faithful, friendly and fierce. They've engaged with the hardships and triumphs of this sport to create a team dynamic that is high-achieving without sacrificing the fundamental values of stewardship, progress, and unity that encompass the many process steps of the team's success. I will cherish and smile at the many memories and memes that mark my time at SPU."
McClain's work in the rowing community extends far beyond Seattle Pacific's campus. On April 9, 2025, McClain earned the Ernestine Bayer Award from USRowing. The Ernestine Bayer Award recognizes outstanding contributions to women's rowing and/or to an outstanding woman in rowing. McClain certainly fits the criteria after incredible accomplishments with the Falcons and the USRowing U19 national team in 2024.
McClain's leadership and coaching with the U19 women's national team have helped lay the foundations for the long-term development of talent in the United States. This past year, her U19 women's eight won by over five seconds at the 2024 World Rowing Championships. She has been coaching in the USRowing U19 system since 2014. After five years as an assistant working with sweep and sculling boats, she coached the 2019 U19 women's quadruple sculls in Tokyo. In 2021, she became the women's head coach and led her crews to A final finishes in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
"Thank you to SPU's leadership past and present for entrusting me with the team and supporting the program over the past five years," McClain added. "Thank you to Amy Hildebrandt and Matt Oclander who stayed at SPU and stuck with me for my first three years here. Their care and commitment provided the consistency for the team to grow through uncertainty and change. Lastly, my sincere appreciation to Kenzie Waltar and Gracie Hoidal '19 who have been such enthusiastic and impactful additions to the staff. Their energy, authenticity, and collaborative spirits have made the past two years so fun and fulfilling while also introducing new ideas that enhanced the program."
"Coach McClain's absence will be felt in the shell house, but also throughout the athletic department as her knowledge and wisdom were valuable resources to the administration and also her SPU coaching peers," Lepse added. "We wish Caitlin well in her future endeavors."
An announcement on the SPU Athletic Department's plans to fill McClain's position will be made in the coming days.
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