Pepperdine University Athletics

Dan Marella was named Head Coach of Pepperdine Swimming & Diving in March 2026, after serving as Interim Head Coach for the majority of the 2025-26 season.

He originally joined Pepperdine in September 2022 as a volunteer assistant swim and dive coach. He then became a full-time assistant coach at the beginning of the 2023-24 season and took the mantle as interim head coach in December 2025. 

In his time with the team, Marella has helped the Waves win the PCSC Championship in 2023 and the MPSF championships in 2025. The 2025-26 season is his fourth overall with the team.

13 new program records were set in the 2025-26 season under Marella's direction, including three new diving records, four new relay records, and six individual records.
 
Marella guided the Waves to a 6th-place finish at the MPSF Championships in 2026, with six program records being set during the meet. This includes three freshmen helping set new program bests. Records that were set during the conference meet include the 800 free relay, 200 free, 200 medley relay, 400 IM, platform dive and 400 free relay.
 
The Waves defeated rival San Diego in the programs' dual meet for the first time since 2021 in January 2026, taking 13 of 19 events over the Toreros. Two Waves qualified for the NCAA Diving Zones as well, featuring freshman Jackie Johnson & senior Vivian Vallely.
 
The 2025 season saw the Waves win the MPSF Championship while 20 student-athletes earned All-MPSF honors. It marked the Waves' first MPSF title, second conference championship in three seasons with Marella on staff.
 
Marella also helped guide the 2023 squad to their second-ever PCSC Championship, as the past four years have seen the program breakthrough unprecedentedly in the postseason.
 
The Waves have also excelled academically during Marella's tenure, with 24 student-athletes earning MPSF All-Academic recognition this past academic year while earning CSCAA Scholar All-America Team honors for the 20th consecutive semester.
 
The fall 2025 semester saw the highest GPA in program history at 3.62.

Originally from Cupertino, California, Marella received his bachelor’s degree in music studies from UC Santa Barbara in 2022. While at UCSB, he was a two-time captain for the men’s swim and dive program. Marella had three top-three finishes at the MPSF Championships in his swim career and recorded four top-10 times in the UCSB record books. He earned All-MPSF first team accolades in the 500 free and 400 IM in 2021 and 2019, respectively.
 
Outside of the pool, Marella worked as a production assistant for ZHC Corporation in Hollywood in both 2020 and 2021. Prior to that, he was an assistant engineer at Hidden City Studios in Santa Barbara.