Francisco ‘Chico’ Rego enters his fifth season with Georgia Tech swimming and diving, having been officially announced on Sept. 9, 2019. He was promoted to associate head coach on Sept. 27, 2023.
During his time on The Flats, Rego has helped produce four individual ACC swimming championships and helped coach swimmers to more than 15 NCAA All-America honors, including seven-time NCAA All-American and Tokyo Olympian Caio Pumputis, who won three ACC titles and was the 2019 ACC Championships Co-Most Valuable Swimmer.
Also under Rego’s tutelage on the men’s team has been six-time NCAA All-American Christian Ferraro and two-time All-American, Tokyo Olympian and 2021 ACC Champion Batur ÜNLÜ. On the women’s side, he has also helped coached five-time NCAA Qualifier and CSCAA Scholar All-American McKenzie Campbell, 2021 NCAA Qualifier and CSCAA Scholar All-American Brooke Switzer and Rei Kuramoto, who is top 5 in three events in school history, including the record holder in the 200 IM.
Outside of the pool, Rego has also been instrumental in Georgia Tech’s recruiting performance, scoring an honorable mention by SwimSwam for its 2021 recruiting class.
Rego joined the Yellow Jackets with nearly 15 years of coaching experience, both on the world’s stage for Brazil and in Auburn. He’s coached swimmers to more than 15 national championship and world championship medals, as well as nearly 100 state championship medals.
Rego comes to The Flats after spending the last two years in Greenville, S.C., coaching Team Greenville swim club to both its first long-course and short-course state championships in more than 14 years. While in Greenville, Rego was also elected to be the head coach of the 2019 South Carolina Zones Team, where he led them to its best finish in history (fourth).
Prior to Team Greenville, Rego coached for two-plus years at Auburn and with the Auburn Pro Team “Tiger Elite” club. During that time, Rego coached a myriad of world-class swimmers, including Kevin Cordes (multi-time medalist in Budapest 2017; gold medal in Rio 2016), Marcelo Chierighini (silver medal in Budapest 2017; finalist in Rio 2016) and Felipe Lima (finalist in Budapest ’17; bronze medal at Short Course World Championships in 2016).
| THE CHICO REGO FILE | ||
| PERSONAL | ||
| Hometown | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Family | wife: Katherine – Dogs: Purdy, Honey, Big, Bruce and Dixie – Cats: Sheila and Peggy | |
| Education | Estacio de Sa, 2009 (B.S., Physical Education), Auburn University, 2017 (M.S., Exercise Physiology) | |
| COACHING EXPERIENCE | ||
| 2005-09 | Grajau CC | Head Coach |
| 2010-2012 | Fluminense FC | Senior Coach |
| 2013-2015 | Botafogo FR | Age Group Coach |
| 2015-2017 | Auburn University | GA/Volunteer Coach |
| Jan. 2017-Dec. 2017 | Auburn Pro Team “Tiger Elite” | Assistant Coach |
| 2018-2019 | Team Greenville | Senior Coach/Age Group Coach |
| 2019-23 | Georgia Tech | Assistant Coach |
| 2023-Present | Georgia Tech | Associate Head Coach |
Rego’s coaching highlights include:
Prior to coaching in the United States, Rego worked with multiple renowned swim clubs in his home country of Brazil, including Fluminense FC, Grajaú CC and Botafogo FR.
Rego earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Estácio de Sá University in 2009 in Rio De Janeiro. While working at Auburn, Rego also earned a master’s degree in exercise physiology in 2017.
Rego resides in Atlanta, Ga., with his wife, Dr. Kat McKinney.
