Bio

Began: 2019-20 | Season: 2023-24 is his 5th season 

Coach Scarth by the Numbers

2 national champions
1 national record holder
5 AAC team championships
4 AAC Coach of the Year awards
8 CSC Academic-All Americans
7 men's and women's team CSCAA Scholar All-American awards
44 individual CSCAA Scholar All-Americans
80 AAC event titles
Every Milligan school record reset during his tenure
7 AAC Swimmer of the Year awards
2 AAC First Year Awards
63 CSCAA All-Americans (top 8 at nationals)

Since joining the Milligan University athletic staff in 2019, Coach Scarth has transformed Milligan from a mid-level conference team into one of the NAIA’s premier national swim programs. That transformation has propelled both teams from 18th and 19th at nationals in 2020 to back to back top-5 finishes in 2022 and 2023. In the 2023-2024 season, he will once again serve the Appalachian Athletic Conference in the role of President for the swim coaches association, and is now the longest tenured coach in the conference. He will also serve as Vice President on the NAIA College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association Executive Committee.

Coach Scarth’s fourth year with the program (2022-23) was truly historic, as the Buffs finished 5th for the men and women for the second-straight year after previously finishing 18th and 19th at the 2020 event. Along the way, the Buffs had their first ever women's national champion, with Riley Renaud winning the 1650 free. The Buffs once again swept the AAC championships, marking the first time in conference history a team has swept in back to back years. At AACs, Scarth was named men's and women's coach of the year, collecting his 3rd and 4th awards while also sweeping men's and women's MVP and first year honors. The Buffs have now reset every men's and women's record at least once during Scarth's time at Milligan. Scarth was also named the Milligan University Athletics Coach of the Year in 2023.

The 2022 season was the first ever top-10 national finish for either squad. In addition, the Buffs took home their first individual title and national record when Stephen Gilbert won the 400 IM, the only national record set at that meet. The Buffs also took home both AAC conference titles in 2022, marking the first ever title for the women, the second straight for the men, while the Buffs became just the second team in AAC history to take both in one year. For his efforts, Scarth was named AAC men’s coach of the year and will serve as AAC president in the 2022-2023 season. The Buffs reset 32 out of the 38 school records in 2022, capping the most successful season in program history.

The Buffs have also excelled in the classroom under Coach Scarth’s tutelage. In 2022, Maggie Blazo became the first Buff in Milligan Athletics history to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team twice, and was the first Milligan swimmer to receive the prestigious award in 2021. The Buffs have had 5 other swimmers given this award in the last two years, which puts the Buffs at the top end of the list among NAIA programs. Additionally, the CSCAA has awarded both teams Scholar All-American every semester under Coach Scarth, while recording 44 individual Scholar All-Americans and countless NAIA Academic All-Americans.

In his second year with the program, the men took home their first AAC conference title in program history, collecting 5 individual titles along with sweeping all 5 relays. For his efforts, Coach Scarth was named AAC Coach of the Year, and freshmen Stephen Gilbert was named Swimmer of the Year. The women's team was a close second, finishing just 12 points out of first behind the efforts of 5 individual titles and 4 relay titles. Despite the cancellation of nationals due to covid-19, 2021 was a record breaking year, as the Buffs reset 23 school records along with 6 conference records. The Buffs also had 14 individuals named NAIA All-Americans, bringing the total to 17 in team history.

During his first year at the helm, Scarth led both teams to third-place finishes in the AAC Championships with Maggie Halloran being named co-female swimmer of the year. The team then had 12 members qualify for the NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships. Halloran continued her successful season by earning her sixth All-American recognition of her career at the national championships.

Prior to Milligan, Scarth served as an assistant swimming coach at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he helped the Brewers obtain four NCAA “B” cuts, which included guiding first year Jesse Ecklund to the highest individual finish at NCAAs in program history in his second year with the team. Along with coaching a NCAA All-American, he also recruited two Liberty League Rookie of the Year swimmers and five conference champions. During his time at Vassar, the team set 26 school records and the men's roster increased from 10 to 24. Both the men's and women's teams were selected to the CSCAA All-Academic team all four semesters under Scarth’s tutelage, with the men’s team finishing as high as seventh nationally among Division III programs in team GPA.

Coach Scarth has also gained experience at the highest levels of college swimming, including at the University of Texas, NC State University and Auburn University as a coach/counselor under Olympic and World Championship head coaches. He has also worked at RACE Aquatics in Bowling Green, Kentucky, as the head age group coach, at South Oldham High School in Crestwood, Kentucky as the men's and women's head coach, as well as several high schools and summer swim leagues in Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky. Scarth also has experience as a personal trainer and is a certified strength and conditioning coach through the NSCA.

Scarth holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and exercise science from St. Olaf College (2014) and a master’s degree in exercise physiology, with a concentration in strength and conditioning, from the University of Louisville (2016). He was a two-time NCAA Division III All-American and an 11-time conference champion while swimming at St. Olaf.

“My wife, Allison, and I are beyond thrilled to be joining the Milligan community,” Scarth said upon his hiring. “I look forward to transitioning to head coaching at the NAIA level and am eager to begin working with our motivated student-athletes. I know that we will accomplish great things in the coming years both in and out of the pool.”

Scarth is originally from Redding, Connecticut, and is married to Allison Scarth. Allison and Spencer celebrated the birth of their first child, Everett, in July of 2022.