Billy Doughty Named Team USA Short Course Coach

Swimmers heading to the 2026 Short Course Worlds in Beijing will train under Doughty, the head coach of Sacramento's DART Swimming.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Swimming

Empty competition swimming pool lane with rippling blue water and white lane ropes receding into the distance under soft daylight. — USA Swimming has named Billy Doughty, head coach of Sacramento's DART Swimming, to lead Team USA at the 2026 World Short Course Championships in Beijing. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

USA Swimming has named Billy Doughty, head coach of DART Swimming in Sacramento, as head coach of Team USA for the 2026 World Short Course Championships. The appointment is Doughty's first senior international coaching role, and assistant coaches will be named later.

Why it matters

For American swimmers and fans tracking the national program, the choice of coach shapes training direction and selection for the team heading to the December 2026 meet in Beijing. The announcement comes as the program sets its roster for the competition.

The appointment is an official USA Swimming staffing decision rather than a research finding. Results cited are from the 2024 Short Course Worlds medal count and the most recent national trials, where Luca Urlando set an American Record in the 200 fly.

The players

USA Swimming

The national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States, overseeing national teams, athlete development and club programs.

Billy Doughty

Head coach of DART Swimming in Sacramento and Chair of the National Team Steering Committee, named head coach of Team USA for the 2026 Short Course Worlds.

Luca Urlando

American swimmer and former Georgia collegiate athlete who made the team at the Short Course World Championship Trials and set an American Record in the 200 fly.

The details

Doughty holds a seat on the USA Swimming Board of Directors and chairs the National Team Steering Committee, roles that place him inside the organization's national-team decision-making. He previously held junior international appointments, including at the Mel Zajac meet in Canada and Junior Pan Pacs in Fiji. Urlando, who made the team at the trials, completed his collegiate career at Georgia this spring and withdrew from the NCAA Championships, and he has returned to training with Doughty at his youth club in Sacramento.

Spring 2026: Urlando completes his collegiate career at Georgia and withdraws from the NCAA Championships.
Last week: Urlando makes the team and sets an American Record in the 200 fly at the Short Course World Championship Trials.
Last week: DART Swimming is named a Silver Medal Club in the USA Swimming Club Excellence Program.
December 1-6, 2026: The 2026 World Short Course Championships take place in Beijing, China.

Health Landscape

Competitive swimming's national-team coaching appointments sit within a sport whose elite programs draw heavily on youth club systems, as this selection highlights with Doughty's Sacramento club and its athletes. The Short Course Worlds record of U.S. medal leadership provides the benchmark against which this coaching decision will be judged.

Recreational and competitive swimmers can watch the national team's training direction under its new head coach as a reference for technique and program standards. Readers involved in youth or masters swimming may find the club-to-national-team pathway worth following when considering their own training goals, and questions about training load are best discussed with a coach or physician.

The takeaway

The national team's leadership is shaped by coaches who came up through youth clubs, which is a useful reminder that structured club training underpins elite performance. Swimmers and parents seeking guidance on training intensity or recovery should speak with a qualified coach or physician.

What happens next

Assistant coaches for Team USA will be named at a later date, and the team competes at the 2026 World Short Course Championships in Beijing from December 1 to 6, 2026.