Graves joined the Tornado staff in August 2017, and continues to expand the Tornado swimming programs. In 2019-20, both King men's and women's team posted their best conference finishes in program history with each taking third at the Conference Carolinas Championships.
Athlete Honors - Women
- 3 Conference Carolinas champions
- 18 All-Conference Carolinas honorees
- 9 Academic All-Conference Carolinas honoree
- 8 Conference Carolinas Swimmers of the Week
King Highlights - Women
- 2 Conference Carolinas Messick Sportsmanship Award
- 7 College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team awards
Conference Carolinas Championships Finishes
2020-21 - 4th
2019-20 - 3rd
2018-19 - 5th
2017-18 - 5th
Year-By-Year Highlights
2020-21: The Tornado posted a dual record of 4-3 on the season and closed the year with a fourth place finish at the Conference Carolinas Championships. Stephanie Dansie and Ashley Woods led the way for the Tornado at the championships with Dansie taking a conference title and Woods taking two runner-up finishes.
2019-20: King turned in the best record in program history of 9-3 and registered their best finish at the Conference Carolinas Championships when the Tornado took third in February. The Tornado had a slew of athletes take third at the conference championships with Madi Matthews leading the way with a pair of third place finishes and a relay finish of third. Samantha Davis, Nicola Mead all earned individual third place finishes.
Athlete Honors - Men
- 1 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year
- 5 Conference Carolinas champions
- 47 All-Conference Carolinas selections
- 5 Academic All-Conference honorees
- 6 Conference Carolinas Swimmers of the Week
King Highlights - Men
- 2 Conference Carolinas Messick Sportsmanship Award
- 3 College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team award
- 1 CSCAA Scholar All-America selection
- King Pride Awards 2020-21 Male Team of the Year
Conference Carolinas Championships Finishes
2020-21 - 3rd
2019-20 - 3rd
2018-19 - 3rd
2017-18 - 10th (Bluegrass Mountain Conference)
Year-By-Year Highlights
2020-21: King finished the season with a dual record of 5-2 and came in third at the Conference Carolinas Championships for the second straight year. Dale Bruce came home with a conference title for the second consecutive year while King came up with three runner-up finishes.
2019-20: The Tornado posted their best record in program history, going 6-3 and finished a program-best third at the Conference Carolinas Championships. The highlight of the season came when the Tornado defeated Mars Hill 121-120 for their first victory over the Lions in program history. Dale Bruce won the 200 yard butterfly at the conference championships while Jabari Ramsey took second in the 100 yard backstroke. Jan Kuljak in the 1000 yard free style, Maximillian Thomas in the 100 yard backstroke and Drew Snider in the 100 yard backstroke all finished third at the conference championships. The 200 yard medley relay team also took third at the conference championships.
Prior to King
Graves was an assistant coach at Carson-Newman University since 2012. During his time at Carson-Newman, the program produced 12 All-Americans, including five a season ago. The Eagles also had two student-athletes set conference records and both the men's and women's teams achieved national rankings. Graves earned his Master of Arts in Teaching from Carson-Newman in 2017.
Prior to his stint at Carson-Newman, Graves attended North Illinois University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music. While there, he was an assistant coach of the Kishwaukee YMCA Swim Team. Graves earned in Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Tennessee where he was an honorary All-American and co-captain of the swim team. Graves swam the 100 and 200 butterfly as well as the 500 freestyle for the Volunteers and was a four-time Southeastern Conference (SEC) finalist.
