Thanks to LadySwish contributor Bob Flynn for this look at William and Mary’s Ed Swanson, who’s approaching another milestone.
Ed Swanson is at 99.
At William and Mary, that is. The Tribe coach earned his 500th career win earlier this season, and with W&M’s Jan 4 victory over Towson, picked up his 99th victory at the school (No. 100 could come Thursday when the Tribe host UNC Wilmington). However, the only numbers that matter to Swanson, who is in his seventh season in Williamsburg after 23 at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, are zero and three.
Zero is the number of conference tournament titles and NCAA appearances the Tribe have in school history. Three is how many consecutive wins it takes to win the CAA tournament, which would enable the program to win its first CAA title and make its first NCAA tournament appearance.
“I just want to win the right three, that’s at the end of the year,” Swanson said.
Swanson, the 13th coach in program history, will become just the third to reach 100 career wins for the Tribe. It took him six games to get his first W&M victory, and he remembers it well. They were playing in a tournament in Maine, and had lost to 90-44 to Wisconsin-Green Bay the night before.
“I was just worried about it, that the kids were too down and out after that one,” he said.
About 24 hours after playing what Swanson called one of their worst games, the Tribe prevailed 96-88 in overtime against UMass.
“That was a memorable win because we had lost a couple close games,” he said. “I look back to that first team. … I thought we had a really good year. I really do.”
W&M finished 8-21 overall and 5-11 in the CAA in the 2013-14 season. He has followed that with seasons of 15-16 (9-9 in CAA), 15-15 (6-12), 20-11 (9-9), 16-14 (7-11) and 15-16 (7-11). Included in that stretch is the first postseason appearance in program history (the WBI in 2015), and, in 2017, the Tribe’s first appearance in the CAA tournament semifinals since 2001.
While the program still is working to become a consistent contender in the CAA, the progress continues under Swanson. The Class of 2018 set a program record with 66 career victories, which was tied by the Class of 2019. This year’s senior class can hit that number if it wins 15 games this season. From the 1984-85 season, when the team made the move to Division I, to the season before Swanson arrived, the program posted just five winning seasons. In the other 24 seasons, they finished on averaged 11 games under .500.
“I think teams right now respect us,” he said. “I think teams know you have to play hard against William & Mary — that they’re going to compete hard.”
But by no means are the Tribe where he wants them to be.
“We’re not over the hump yet,” he said. “In order for us to compete for a championship, and that’s what I’m trying to get through to them now. … There’s more that you have to do.”
At least one of his rivals has noticed the improvements he’s made and how close the Tribe is to reaching that next level.
“You can just see them getting better and better,” said Denise Dillon, the longest tenured coach in the CAA, having been at Drexel since 2003. “This year’s team is really nice. He’s done some good things the last couple of years, but I think you’re going to see a whole different shift this season.”
She likes how he plays to the strength of his players.
“He definitely gets the most out of them and doesn’t really put them in a situation of trying to make something happen that they’re not capable of,” she said. “They are definitely players that fit well in his style.”
In fact, if CAA voting for Player of the Year were done today, sophomore Eva Hodgson would be alongside JMU’s Kamiah Smalls for the honor. The 5-9 guard and CAA Rookie of the Year last season leads the Tribe averaging 19.2 ppg while shooting .551 from the field, .458 from 3 and .910 from the free-throw line.
It’s not all X’s and O’s with Swanson. In a video produced by the sports information staff at W&M, more than 30 former coaches and players from W&M and Sacred Heart congratulated Swanson on reaching 500 career wins, 406 of which came with the Pioneers. Many mentioned his leadership and how he had mentored them.
Misha Jones played for Swanson for three years and spent one year as a redshirt at W&M before graduating in 2019.
“When I got injured my sophomore year and missed the season, I got to see him from a different perspective,” she said. “He didn’t always have all the answers. But he surrounded himself with assistant coaches who could fill in the gaps well. And I suppose that’s why I respect him looking back on it now, having been a captain. You have to know who you are and what you lack and be willing to ask for help. That’s an essential part of leadership.”
Victoria Reynolds, a senior on this year’s team, said one of his strengths is his knowledge of the game, which he passes on to his players.
“On the court, he’s always encouraging me to dominate,” she said. “He encourages all of us to do the very best we can, and then to sharpen the things we need (to improve). Off the court, he is the same way.”
Last summer, the athletic department announced an ambitious goal with its Tribe 2025 Plan. The women’s basketball program was one of the programs (along with men’s basketball and football) singled out for a challenge: to combine for five CAA titles in the next six years. The men’s basketball program also has never won a CAA tournament title, and the football team’s most recent CAA crown came in 2015. W&M will host the CAA women’s basketball tournament for the first time in 2024. Swanson was honored his program was mentioned.
“I applaud our administration for that, they could have easily not said that,” he noted. “It could have been just an internal type thing. We want to pursue excellence, and we have the capabilities of winning here. That doesn’t bring any added pressure. I want to hear that. I don’t want to hear just do your best. … We just want to keep raising the bar.”
He admits the players and coaches are well-aware of never qualifying for the NCAA tournament, and they talk often about ending that drought.
“That’s our goal. That’s what we’re shooting for. That’s what we’re hungry for,” he said. “The kids want to hang up a banner in the gym. And that’s what we’re working toward. … My job is to let them know, ‘Hey, this isn’t easy.’ ”
He knows they have made giant steps, but he’s not looking back at where they were, win No. 500 or any other milestone. He’s always looking to the next game.
“My theory has always been eyes forward,” he said. “Keep moving forward, keep trying to get better as a coach. Have the program keep making steps. Some years you make bigger steps than others, but each year keep moving forward. I think we’re doing that.”
That approach has served him well enough so far that he might soon be looking back at the program’s first CAA title and first NCAA tournament appearance.
Photo courtesy of William and Mary Athletics