(Photo Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics)
With the sound of a megaphone and clearance to begin training, the drive to new heights set forth in Knoxville, Tennessee.
It is safe to say that the rowing world knows that the athletes who carry the weight both figuratively and verbatim within the rowing shell tend to get overlooked by most observers solely due to their ratio of 8:1 or 4:1 depending on which boat class is in the topic of discussion.
When you look at the BIG THREE — Baseball, Basketball, and Football, the following terms remain an icebreaker hooking the conversationalists to immediate dialogue and an array of highly-passionate perspectives and utter takes on if teams across the nation are putting out their very best and elite gamechangers to seal the deal come gameday.
FSN’s recent installment, coined as “First String” is set in stone for what we as a Staff believe is one of the most critical positions in College Rowing combining an array of leadership impacts and value far beyond the waterway. We give this series to the “9th Seats” of the sport that drastically make or break the results on race day, to not only set the tone of the crew’s mentality and work-ethic stemmed in practice, but the forward-thinking, strategic, and highly-disciplined individual behind piecing the puzzle together for max-efficiency backed by a proficiency for accuracy, utmost teamwork, and support — the Coxswain.
In August of 2025, the FSN Staff circled the roundtable to spark the conversation amongst the College Rowing landscape and the tiers of elite drivers who in all reality earned a spotlight and their fair share of publicity backed by College Rowing’s leading analysts, For Stars Network’s Founder/CEO, Hudson Forster. Sharing his Top-10 Coxswains in both Men’s and Women’s Rowing, respectively, the crew received his highly-researched and data-driven list of Drivers who have big shoes to fill in 2026, and a team that will be corralled by their innate leadership stills and overall influence.
(Photo Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics)
With the first “leadoff hitter” and front-runners for FSN’s “First String” Coxswain Series, we bring you Southern California’s very own, University of Tennessee Sophomore, Taryn Graves, who got her start coxing for Newport Aquatic Center located in Newport Beach under Varsity Men’s Head Coach, Nick D’Antoni, before making her jump across the harbor to Newport SeaBase under Head Coach, James Long-Leno, after D’Antoni made his way over to work for HUDSON Boatworks, one of Women’s Rowing’s leading boat providers at the Collegiate Level.
Ranked as the No. 3 Coxswain in Women’s Rowing during the Pre-Season by FSN, Graves, only a Sophomore, was listed as the youngest of the ten nominees featured in the first-ever installment of Top-10 Coxswain Rankings at the collegiate level in history.
We had an opportunity to sit down with the Tennessee-Phenom, and recently-crowned, SEC Champion, who was named the Varsity Eight Coxswain at the NCAA Rowing Championships as a Freshman — an unbelievable feat in the rowing sphere, answering to inspire the next generation of elite playmakers in the United States and beyond. Ready to launch and fired up off of “The Osborne Brothers’” classic track, Rocky Top, let’s get dialed with Lady Vol, Taryn Graves:
FSN: What is one token of advice for Coxswains embarking on their Freshmen Year in College?
Taryn Graves: Going into your Freshmen Year of college is definitely scary…everything is new. If I had one piece of advice for incoming freshman coxswains, it would be to just be yourself. When I first got to Tennessee, I was intimidated. I was joining a top-three program, and while I knew I was a good coxswain, college rowing is a completely different environment.
Being yourself and moving in silence is key. Being a coxswain means being a sponge—it’s so important to absorb everything your coaches and teammates say. I developed tremendously in just my first year because I made a point to learn from my entire coaching staff, especially Colleen [Colleen Gillis: Lead Coxswain Coach/Assistant for the University of Tennessee].
(Photo Courtesy of Thomas Hauge/Crew Pix)
FSN: How do you work on your craft outside of the Coxswain Seat rather than just listening to Coxswain Recordings?
Taryn Graves: I have never been a coxswain to listen to other’s recordings. In my opinion, every coxswain is different and trying to clone another coxswain will never make you better. The big thing about being an exceptional coxswain is just being yourself, and bringing your personality into the boat. I honestly do not do much outside of practice to become a better coxswain. It is all about being yourself, and not trying to change to be like a coxswain you look up to. I instead will always reflect on my practices for an hour, and just think about what went well and what didn’t.
FSN: What are your top three songs to listen to before Practice and then for Race Day? Are they the same or do they vary?
Taryn Graves: I tend to talk very fast, so something I’ve learned is that I need to listen to calm, slow music before practice or a race so I can show up as my best self for my team. I usually listen to Country Music or SZA, it really just depends on my mood or the day.
FSN: What is one call or move that you made in a Race that you’ll never forget?
Taryn Graves: I have had many moves in races that I will never forget, but I would have to pick two. The first of the two being one from high school, and then one from my collegiate career stint. In high school, I will never forget calling, “BOW BALL” in the Grand Final in the first 300 meters on all the other boats. This really brought such a big confidence and just reassurance in my boat and we just kept going to win it all.
So far and in college, a race call I will never forget was probably at NCAA’s [2025], and I wanted to try a new call that Colleen [Gillis] and I had talked about prior to the race. After our race starting sequence, I said, “GET THE **** OUT OF THERE” which really got the boat to pick up speed, and I felt everyone swing together, and the shell really started moving full steam ahead.
FSN: How important to you is 1:1 Coxswain Coaching during high school and what was the best tip you received from a Coach, Mentor or even Teammate?
Taryn Graves: I am so thankful for a few of my high school coaches because I would not be where I am today without them. I learned so much from my first high school coach, Nick D’Antoni. He really got me to have discipline and helped me learn how to steer very straight, and I have such good race awareness because of him.
My second junior rowing coach, James [Long-Lerno], truly changed my whole perspective on rowing. He made me fall in love with the sport of rowing more than I ever knew I could. At the end of the day, I never had a huge tip that stuck with me; it was more along the lines of the trust that my coaches had in me. When my Coach, James, launched our boat at Youth Nationals in 2024 at Sarasota, I knew he had so much trust in me to cox the boat to the finish line, and that is what I believe led to my crew winning the race.
(Photo Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics)
FSN: Where does Motivation rank out of the most important characteristics about being an Elite Coxswain for you on a scale of 1-10, ten being the least important?
Taryn Graves: I would honestly rate it an 8.5. While many people assume a coxswain’s role is simply to be loud, happy, and motivating, the job requires far more than that. A coxswain must be able to take control of the boat and be firm when the situation demands it. Motivation absolutely has its place, but it is only one piece of the puzzle. Being an elite coxswain means managing multiple responsibilities at once and consistently balancing a wide range of skills.
FSN: How often are you coaching your rowers while on land? Did anyone teach you when to back off giving Critiques or Extrinsic Motivation and when to step in while the athletes are on the ergs or did it just come naturally?
Taryn Graves: This is always very situational, which is why knowing your rowers is so important. I know that some people only want a quick “yup” or a short cue during harder erg sessions, while others want me to actively cox them individually for a bit. During longer pieces at a lower to mid rate, that’s when I focus more on coaching; helping people make technical adjustments and improve their efficiency. All of this came naturally over time, with guidance from one of my coaches, Colleen Gillis.
(Photo Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics)
FSN: What are three words that you believe best illustrate your character as a leader within your program?
Taryn Graves: I’m sorry, but I would be doing myself a disservice to list just three here — Relentless, Driven, Disciplined, Calculated, Perceptive.
(Photo Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics)
FSN: What do you want to be remembered for during your time in the saddle as a Lady Vol?
Taryn Graves: This is a very tough question. I am a Sophomore now, so I still have three racing seasons left to compete in Tennessee Orange. I want to be remembered as a coxswain who has made such a big impact on my team. I strive to make Tennessee as fast as possible, and by the time I graduate, I hope I am able to accomplish this. I also want to be remembered for starting off as a Freshman and racing in the top-two eights for the entirety of my first racing season. I say this, because I want other coxswains to know that if you put your head down and work, and once again, being a sponge to your coaches, the opportunity to truly anything at the next level is possible.