STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford women's rowing brings a familiar face to its coaching staff, as head coach Derek Byrnes has added Maegan Neihart as an assistant coach.
Neihart returns to The Farm following a stint as a graduate assistant with Michigan Women's Rowing. She spent the 2021-22 season with the Cardinal's lightweight rowing program as an assistant coach.
"I'm so excited to welcome Maegan Neihart back to the Farm," noted Byrnes. "She has a unique skill set and passion for the sport which I know our student-athletes will be able to feed off. When the position opened, we had a few candidates in mind and it just turned out Maegan applied before I could call her. I am elated that she wanted to return to Stanford and excited to get down to work."
In Ann Arbor, Neihart helped the Wolverine's rowing program to the 2023 Big Ten Championship title.
"I'm truly grateful to join the Stanford women's rowing staff," said Neihart. "It is an incredible opportunity to work alongside such remarkable individuals throughout the program, and being back in the Bay Area greatly adds to my excitement. I'm eagerly looking forward to the hard work, growth, success, and fun of the upcoming season!"
A three-time All-Big 12 rower at Oklahoma, Neihart was named the Big 12 Rower of the Year in 2016. Originally a walk-on at Oklahoma, she was the Freshman of the Year in 2014 and rowed in the Varsity 4+ in the Sooners' second-ever appearance at the NCAA Championship. Neihart was also a four-year all-academic honoree during her tenure in Norman, and a second-team CRCA all-region selection in 2017.
Neihart coached and trained in Saratoga Springs, New York from 2019-2021, coaching with the Saratoga Rowing Association while also training and racing with ARION. She also spent time as a CrossFit coach in Redwood City at NCFit from 2017-19 and worked as a youth gymnastics coach at Mat Trotters Gymnastics and Airborne Gymnastics from 2012-18.
Neihart graduated from Oklahoma in 2019 with a degree in multidisciplinary studies and pre-physical therapy.