Chelsea Piper (née Bailey) is in her seventh season with Vanderbilt swimming, with the 2025-26 campaign her second in the role of associate head coach.
Since coming to Vandy, in her role as recruiting coordinator Piper has helped bring a total of 30 student-athletes who have recorded 79 times that rank among the top 10 on the Commodores’ all-time performer list highlighted by eight individuals—Emily Constable, Aubrey Hull, Faith Knelson, Sophia Kosturos, Reagan Mathieson, Ellie Taliaferro, Mercedes Traba and Kailia Utley—combining to set 24 school and freshman records. In all, Dore swimmers have posted the fastest time in program history in 15 different individual events as well as all five relays in her time on the Vandy staff.
Piper’s efforts in 2023-24 helped the Commodores score their most points at the SEC Championships since 2007, with the trio of Knelson, Traba and Utley all advancing to finals at the meet. Utley would go on to become the first Dore to compete at the NCAA Championships in 30 years after she swam both the 100 and 200 butterfly, leading a group of 16 swimmers who would combine to post NCAA B and NIC A and B cuts in 41 events during the campaign. Piper aided individuals in breaking 10 school records on 14 occasions in throughout that season, in addition to setting a new standard in all five relays seven times, as 18 Dores had marks that ranked among the top 10 on the school’s all-time performer list 41 times while 20 swimmers set 58 career-best marks.
Not only was the team successful in the pool during the 2023-24 campaign, the program set grade-point average records in both the fall and spring semesters as three individuals—Knelson, Traba and Utley—were named CSCAA Scholar All-Americans while the quartet of Megan Ciezczak, Abby Francis, Taliaferro and Utley were selected Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators. In total, 29 of the 30 members of the program earned SEC academic honors following the season.
Piper helped Utley return to the NCAA Championships a year ago while also aiding the freshmen duo of Constable and Hull advance to compete at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship; at the end of the year all three individuals earned Scholar All-America recognition from the organization. Utley was again a CSC Academic All-District selection—joined by Kate Heintz, Quinlan Hinerfeld and Mathieson—with 31 members of the program making the SEC Winter and First-Year Academic Honors Rolls after the conclusion of the campaign.
In 2022-23, 14 members of the team posted a career-best mark in at least one race at the SEC Championships highlighted by school-record performances from Knelson (100 breaststroke, Taliaferro (200 freestyle), Traba (500 freestyle) and Utley (200 butterfly). Six individuals—equaling Vandy’s highest total since 2018—would go on to race in 17 events at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship, with Knelson posting the fastest time in program history in both the 50 breaststroke and 100 individual medley. And, Piper’s efforts helped the Dores have 27 of 29 members of the roster receive academic recognition from the SEC at the end of the season.
With her help, 12 Commodores finished with personal-best times in a minimum of one event at the SEC Championships during the 2021-22 campaign with another four individuals recording a career-low mark during the regular season as well. That included Utley setting a new school and freshman standard in the 200-yard butterfly and Traba recording a program freshman record in the 400-yard individual medley.
Piper helped Vandy navigate the pandemic while still excelling and improving in the pool with numerous personal bests throughout a shortened 2020-21 campaign, while in her first season with the program she helped lead the Dores to six dual-meet victories as well as a third-place result at the mid-season TYR ’85 Invite before student-athletes posted 14 career-best times and a new school record in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2020 SEC Championships.
And, 21 individuals have made the SEC Academic Honor Roll 43 times with 12 members of the program named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll during her tenure with the program.
A native of Seattle, Washington, Piper has always had a passion for the water. During her 14 years of competitive swimming, she qualified multiple times for World Trials, NCAA Championships and national championships, and competed in the 2016 Olympic Trials.
Piper attended, graduated, and swam for San Diego State, earning a bachelor’s degree in social science with an emphasis in psychology in 2015. While there, not only did she earn All-American honors each of her final two seasons in the 200 free relay but she competed in eight different events at the 2014 and ’15 NCAA Championships. A 15-time All-Mountain West Conference selection during her collegiate career, Piper served as team captain for the Aztecs two years, was recognized as a scholar-athlete after earning dean’s list recognition, and participated as an active member of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Upon completion of the Olympic Trials she became an assistant coach at Seattle University, where she guided the sprint group to a successful 2018-19 season before coming to Vanderbilt. Piper received her master’s degree in secondary education with an emphasis in psychology from Grand Canyon in 2019.