Steve Wood

Steve Wood returns to the Florida State swimming and diving staff as an assistant coach after serving three seasons at UNLV.

“I could not be happier to work with Steve again,” FSU head coach Neal Studd said. “As a volunteer for us, he was just amazing and since then, he has really proved himself at UNLV. I love how well he connects with the student-athletes and his passion for what we do.”

Wood was the volunteer assistant coach for FSU from 2016-18, before heading to Las Vegas to be an assistant coach for the Rebels, where he experienced a number of roles.  He recently was the primary coach for the middle distance group, which saw major improvements and played a role in taking home both the men’s and women’s conference titles in 2020-21.

After finishing the 2020 meet in fourth place, the women took home the Mountain West trophy, edging out the University of Nevada- Reno on the final relay for the win with a total of 1,349 points. It was the first Mountain West title in 16 years and second in program history.

The men claimed its first Western Athletic Conference team title in six seasons with an all-time conference record of 907 points. It was the third WAC title in school history.

Before his time in Tallahassee, Wood served on the DePauw University staff for one season after spending three years as the head coach at Francis Howell for both the boys’ and girls’ squads. He was also an assistant for the Rex-Plex Sharks club team.

Wood is a graduate of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in sports administration and a minor in coaching. He swam all four years for the Salukis where he was a captain, earning second team All-MAC as a junior and senior while specializing in the IM and breast events.

A native of O’Fallon, Missouri, Wood is married to the former Meredith Martelle, who was a part of the ACC Championship-winning team back in 2006 at Florida State. The couple have a daughter, Quincy.

“Meredith and I are both very excited to be heading back to Florida State,” Wood said.  “We had an incredible three years at UNLV, but the timing and opportunity seemed right to come back to FSU. We are excited to help continue building on the success that Neal and the rest of the staff have had in recent years. Florida State swimming and diving is truly a family and we are excited to be bringing ours to Tallahassee. Go Noles!”

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