Stephen Harris

Stephen Harris is in his fourth season as assistant rowing coach at Stetson. Harris came to Stetson after two-and-a-half years as the head coach at Washington University in St. Louis.

A Satellite Beach, Fla., native, Harris guided the Bears through impressive growth. While at Wash U., Harris was responsible for a 50 percent improvement in the retention of student-athletes, while also spearheading fund-raising efforts which led to improved equipment and facilities.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to join the Hatters with so much energy and development already in place,” Harris said. “After spending the past six years in the Midwest, I am excited to be returning to Central Florida as it has become a hot bed for rowing in the Southeast. I believe Stetson is promoting this trend as an institution that provides a quality education to student-athletes, along with one of the greatest bodies of water to train on in the country.”

Prior to his time at Wash U., Harris was the varsity women’s coach at Northwestern University during the 2012-13 academic year. As a competitive club program, the women competed at the Dad Vail Regatta and placed fourth overall among DI Varsity programs in the Women’s Varsity 4+.

After graduating from UCF in 2009 with a B.S. in Physical Education, Harris spent three seasons as the head men’s freshman rowing coach at Marietta College in Ohio, which he capped with a strong recruiting class and a coveted Dad Vail Gold Medal crew in the Heavyweight Freshman/Novice 8+ in 2012.

Harris has also served as an instructor at the Naval Academy’s Rowing Camp for Girls, and was a member of UCF’s Crew Club, serving as team captain during the 2005-06 season.