Sean McNulty begins his second year as head coach of the Transylvania Triathlon team for the 2020 season.
In just one season at the helm of the Transylvania triathlon program, McNulty has quickly elevated the Pioneers into a national contender in Division III women’s triathlon. An emerging sport in college athletics, McNulty’s Pioneers have staked their claim towards being an annual power in the triathlon circuit.
McNulty confirmed those aspirations as he returned the Pioneers to the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships in Tempe, Arizona for the second time in as many years of existence in the fall of 2019. Under McNulty, freshman Grayson Bray recorded a top-10 finish among all Division III competitors as the Pioneers capped off another season with an elite finish in the national championship.
The feats of McNulty’s Pioneer triathletes culminated a sterling first season for the former Division I athlete who matriculated nearby at Division I University of Kentucky.
Along with Bray’s showing at the national championships, McNulty steered the Pioneers towards weekly achievements on the course and in the classroom in his first year at Transylvania; the triathlon team was recognized by the Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association at season’s end for recording the third-highest team grade-point average across all three levels of NCAA collegiate varsity triathlon teams. Bray was named a Scholar All-American by the CTCA while Malauri Edwards was named an Honorable Mention. The two were the first two student-athletes to earn the academic honors in program history.
The two excelled under McNulty in their inaugural seasons as Edwards captured four top-5 finishes on the course and both Edwards and Bray earned CTCA All-Region First Team honors.
"Coach McNulty brings a solid resume of experience that will move the program to new heights,” says Transylvania Vice President for Athletics, Dr. Holly Sheilley. “We are lucky to have him and are excited to see our program continue its upward trajectory.”
McNulty’s career is rooted in the development of individual and team champions across several events at all ages and levels of competition. As a former Division I student-athlete in track and field who has competed across a wide range of racing events and sports, McNulty draws upon his own versatile experience in a variety of coaching roles at the Division I and Division III collegiate levels, high school and club track and field levels.
Prior to arriving at Transylvania in the fall of 2019, McNulty spent four years at Duke University on the men’s track and field coaching staff as the steeplechase coach. Tasked with implementing a training program for his steeplechase athletes, McNulty guided the Blue Devils to a national ranking of as high as number 7 in the USATCCCA while one of his athletes captured a bronze medal in the ACC Championships. McNulty also coached three athletes to East Regional berths while at Duke.
Before coming to Durham, McNulty served in multiple concurrent coaching roles in the New York metropolitan area, training world-class athletes at the NJ*NY Track Club in New Brunswick, New Jersey and was the head coach at Hightstown High School in Hightstown, New Jersey.
McNulty trained world-class athletes under USATFCCCA Hall of Fame head coach Frank Gagliano at the NJ*NY Track Club, which is regarded as the elite track and road racing club on the East Coast. In this role, McNulty trained Olympians, US National Champions, and world championship qualifiers while also engaging in fundraising and promotional efforts for the organization. His duties at Hightstown High School involved planning and implementing season distance running training plans for boys and girls and coordinating and overseeing track meets.
At the start of 2020, McNulty assumed additional roles as head coach of the Transylvania track and field and cross country teams, furthering offering his expertise from his past career stops. His return to Lexington last year marked a homecoming for the University of Kentucky alumnus, who obtained his bachelor’s degree in 2014.
McNulty began his coaching career at nearby Lafayette High School where he was the head coach of the boys and girls cross country teams and an assistant coach for the track and field teams from 2012 through 2014.
Away from his coaching duties, McNulty is an accomplished triathlete and a former Division I athlete. McNulty competed in cross country and track and field for the University of Kentucky during his collegiate days. He won both the 2008 USA Junior National Sprint Triathlon Championship in Cayuga Lake, New York and the 2009 New Jersey State Spring Triathlon, and also has four top-5 finishes in the New Jersey State Sprint Triathlon to his credit.
McNulty boasts a Level I USA Track and Field Certified Coach certification to his long list of credentials. In total, McNulty is in his sixth year of coaching at the collegiate level with his new endeavors.
