UC Davis Athletics

Laurel Abernathy enters her first season as the Assistant Diving Coach at UC Davis in 2025-26, bringing many years of coaching experience and a strong record of developing high-level divers. 

Abernethy joins the Aggies after serving as the head diving coach at Cal Poly, where she was appointed in 2023 and later took on director of operations duties for the swimming and diving program. In her few competitive seasons with the Mustangs, five top-five marks in school history were set under her direction. 

Before Cal Poly, Abernethy spent two seasons (2021-23) as a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater, BYU, while also serving as head development coach for the Cougar Dive Club. During her tenure, BYU divers captured three individual titles at the 2023 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, helping the Cougar men win the team crown. 

As a collegiate athlete, Abernethy was a six-time Western Athletic Conference finalist on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards for BYU from 1990-94. She transitioned immediately into coaching, mentoring NCAA qualifiers and Olympic Trials participant Jake Crayne, among many others, through her work at BYU, Nebraska, and later with the Capital Divers in Sacramento.

Abernethy is no stranger to UC Davis, having previously served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Aggies from 2012-16 while living in the Sacramento area.

Diving is a family passion for Abernethy. Her husband, Glenn, was a two-time conference champion swimmer at BYU, while two of their three children also competed for the Cougar swimming and diving program. Her other son, Boyd, is a professional Jiu Jitsu fighter.