ASU divers have broken nine school records during his six years as head diving coach, and Mark Bradshaw finally has some hardware to show for it.
Bradshaw was named the NCAA men's diving coach of the year on Monday after guiding a young diving squad, including star divers Joona Puhakka and Trisha Tumlinson, to arguably the most successful season in ASU history.
"I was completely surprised," Bradshaw said. "As a coach, you really don't think about [awards]."
The award, voted on by NCAA coaches, came on the heels of a season that saw Puhakka, a freshman from Finland, become the first Sun Devil in 35 years to win an NCAA diving championship.
Bradshaw also coached Tumlinson, a sophomore transfer from Kentucky, to a third-place finish in the platform event at the NCAA championships.
But Bradshaw was most impressed with the diving team's contributions to the overall success of the ASU swimming and diving team.
"In a perfect world, we would all come out winners but we know that that is not realistic," he said. "I think every individual met the goals they set throughout the season.
"Without question this season is the best season I've had from start to finish."
Bradshaw said the award isn't slowing down his workload though, as he works to prepare Tumlinson, Puhakka and other divers for their international competition over the summer.
Reach the reporter at cameron.eickmeyer@asu.edu.
