Plymouth State University

Leah Swanson enters her fourth season atop the women's basketball program in 2022-23. She opened the 2019-20 season as interim head coach and was promoted to head coach in January 2020. Swanson had spent the previous two seasons patrolling the sidelines as an assistant and has also been the assistant coach of the women's soccer team since 2018.
 
Swanson led the Panthers to an impressive two-point win over up-tempo Westfield State in PSU's home opener last winter. Plymouth State trailed by one in the final minute, but was clutch from the charity stripe down the stretch to rally for the win. Swanson also guided PSU to a wild, 61-54 overtime win against WestConn in the final regular season home contest. After giving up the lead on a free throw early in OT, Swanson rallied the Panthers to a 10-2 surge to earn the conference victory.
 
Swanson picked up her first career win in her first game as the Panthers rolled to a 17-point victory over Northern Vermont-Johnson, sparking a 3-1 start to open the season. She earned her first conference win during another thrilling overtime contest against Castleton University during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. The Panthers went 1-3 in league play and appeared in the tournament semifinals for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
 
Prior to joining the coaching staff, Swanson was a two-year member of the team playing as a guard for the Panthers from 2015-17. Known for her aggressive defense, Swanson finished second on the team with 0.9 steals per game as a senior. She began her basketball coaching career as the junior varsity girls' basketball coach at Timberlane Regional High School during the 2013-14 school year.
 
A multi-sport athlete at PSU, Swanson was also a four-year member and three-time captain of the women's soccer program, playing as a defender from 2013-16. She broke out during the 2016 campaign, tallying five goals to finish second on the team in scoring. Her second half strike at UMass Boston on Sept. 17 broke a 1-1 deadline and improved the team's season-opening unbeaten streak to six games.
 
She gained additional coaching experience as the freshmen girls' soccer coach at Timberlane during the fall of 2013.
 
Swanson earned her undergraduate degree in 2016, majoring in Marketing, and she is currently enrolled in PSU’s Master of Business Administration in General Management program.