Tiffany Swoffard is in her fourth season as an assistant coach at the University of Toledo. Swoffard works with all aspects of the program, including, perimeter-player development, recruiting, academic support and opponent scouting. She also serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator.
“Tiffany is very creative with workouts and is a terrific teacher,” three-time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year Tricia Cullop said. “She is one of the best I’ve seen at developing relationships. In the three years she’s been here, Tiffany has won over our team and built strong relationships in our recruiting region. I appreciate how hard she’s worked and her ability to do whatever our staff needs to be successful.”
During her time at Toledo, Swoffard has helped the Midnight Blue & Gold amass a 60-35 overall record and a 32-22 mark in the Mid-American Conference.
2017-18
Toledo posted an 18-15 overall mark and an 8-10 ledger in the league.
The Rockets made their 11th overall appearance in the Postseason WNIT and sixth under head coach Tricia Cullop. UT defeated Horizon League member Wright St., 64-50, in the first round at home and advanced to the second round for the sixth-straight time in the event. Their post-season run came to a halt following a heartbreaking 68-66 setback at Big Ten foe Michigan St.
Individually, junior Kaayla McIntyre and junior Mikaela Boyd secured third-team All-MAC honors, while senior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott earned honorable mention accolades. Bravo-Harriott collected all-conference recognition for a third-straight season, while Boyd and McIntyre received post-season laurels for the second and first time, respectively.
In addition, Boyd was tabbed to the MAC All-Defensive Team. The Hillside, Ill. native became the first Rocket to garner defensive accolades.
2016-17
Toledo finished with a 25-9 overall record and a 12-6 ledger in the conference.
UT, which tied for third in the MAC West Division standings, earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships after winning the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2001 and eighth time in school history.
The Rockets tallied at least 20 wins for the first time in four years and their 25 victories tied for fifth most in school history. The Midnight Blue & Gold wrapped up the year ranked unofficially No. 26 in the country among mid-major programs, according to the collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
Sophomore Mikaela Boyd was named the MAC Tournament MVP and joined on the all-tourney team by freshman Mariella Santucci.
Individually, senior Janice Monakana secured second-team All-MAC honors, while junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott and Boyd garnered third-team accolades and Santucci was selected on the All-Freshman Team.
Monakana and Bravo-Harriott collected all-conference recognition for the second-straight season.
Swoffard helped mentor Boyd to a strong sophomore campaign. The Hillside, IL native averaged a team-high 12.2 points, a squad-best 7.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and a team-high 2.1 steals in a squad-best 30.8 minutes.
The only Rocket to start all 34 contests, Boyd ranked fourth in the MAC in defensive caroms (5.8 rpg), sixth in thefts, overall rebounding and assist/turnover ratio (1.6, 137-85), seventh in helpers and 20th in scoring.
In 2015-16, Boyd averaged 2.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.5 steals in 9.4 minutes per contest.
In addition, Santucci started 33 of 34 games and averaged 7.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, a team-high 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals in 29.5 minutes. The 2016-17 MAC All-Freshman Team honoree ranked sixth in the league in helpers, ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.4, 156-110) and 10th in thefts.
The 2017 MAC All-Tournament Team recipient led the Rockets in dimes on a team-high 17 occasions, thefts a squad-tying best 14 times, rejections on six occasions, scoring four times and rebounding once.
The Bologna, Italy native also dished out at least seven dimes on four occasions.
2015-16
Toledo finished with a 17-13 overall mark and a 12-6 record in MAC play. UT placed third in the MAC West Division standings and earned a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Individually, senior Brenae Harris earned first-team all-league accolades. Harris paced the Rockets in scoring (14.8 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), minutes played (36.8 mpg), free throw percentage (.869, 126-of-145) and three-point field-goal percentage (.392, 20-of-51).
The 2015-16 team captain ranked first in the conference in minutes played, second in free throw percentage and helpers, eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.7, 155-93), ninth in scoring and 15th in defensive caroms (4.2 rpg).
Swoffard's Coaching Origin
Swoffard came to Toledo following five seasons at Mercer University, where she played a big role in recruiting, on-court development, academic support and in-office administration.
On the court, Swoffard was instrumental in the development of 2014-15 Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year Precious Bridges and 2013-14 ASC Defensive Player of the Year Teanna Robinson. She also played a pivotal role in Briana Williams and Kahlia Lawrence garnering ASC Freshman of the Year recognition in 2010-11 and 2014-15, respectively.
In total, she mentored five all-conference honorees.
In the classroom, Swoffard helped Mercer improve the team GPA each year and worked with 17 academic all-conference recipients.
After an initial rebuilding phase at Mercer, Swoffard helped mold the program into a consistent winner, tallying records of 20-12, 17-14 and 20-15 over the last three seasons. In 2012-13, the Bears posted the program’s first 20-win season since the 1991-92 campaign. The Orange & Black also went 13-5 during conference play, setting a school record for most league victories in a single-season. Aided by the second-biggest turnaround in the country, Mercer capped off the season by earning the No. 1 seed in the 2013 Women’s Basketball Invitational for its first appearance in a postseason tournament since 1985.
In 2014-15, Mercer cracked the 20-win plateau for the second time in the last three years and advanced to the WBI Tournament semifinals, capturing postseason victories against Troy and Marshall.
Prior to coaching at MU, Swoffard was an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith for four seasons. She was responsible for arranging team travel, updating game statistics, scouting opponents, organizing film exchange, ordering equipment, scheduling community service projects and assisting with scheduling. Swoffard also coordinated on and off campus recruiting visits, identified possible recruits and facilitated camps.
Swoffard recruited an NJCAA Division 1 honorable mention All-America selection and developed eight players who earned Division I scholarships.
In her first year with the Lady Lions, Swoffard helped guide the team to a 34-2 record and the Bi-State Conference East Division title, the NJCAA Region II Tournament title and a third-place finish at the National Tournament.
Swoffard also spent three seasons at the helm of the Georgia Metros AAU Basketball Team before joining the staff at Rowan University (NJ) as a graduate assistant.
Life as Student-Athlete
Swoffard played under current Mercer head coach Susie Gardner for four seasons at Austin Peay State University from 1998-2002, including two consecutive years in which the Lady Governors captured Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championships and represented the league in the NCAA Tournament (2000-02).
An active member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Swoffard earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing from Austin Peay in 2002. She also earned a master’s degree in business administration from Rowan University in 2007.
