Father Coach Steven Cartwright enters his second season as Head Swimming Coach at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. A native of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and a graduate of John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor, Cartwright brings a proven track record of athletic and academic success to the Monks program. His distinctive leadership style seamlessly integrates discipline, competitive drive, and a deep commitment to developing the whole student-athlete.
Cartwright returned to collegiate coaching in 2025 to lead the Saint Joseph’s program, immediately embarking on a comprehensive rebuild centered on long-term athletic development and competitive excellence. In his debut season at the helm of Monks Swimming, Cartwright maximized a compact four-swimmer roster at the 2026 GNAC Swimming & Diving Championships to secure a sixth-place out of seven team finish. Under his direction, multiple swimmers recorded lifetime best times and scored vital points in championship and consolation finals, highlighted by impactful relay performances.
Parallel to their postseason progress, the Monks immediately established a standard of elite academic performance under Cartwright's leadership. The squad earned College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team recognition for both semesters of the academic year, posting an outstanding 3.66 team GPA in the Fall 2025 semester followed by a 3.55 team GPA in the Spring 2026 semester.
Prior to arriving at Saint Joseph's, Cartwright engineered one of the most successful eras in the history of Georgetown University's Division I swimming and diving program. After joining the Hoyas as an assistant coach in 2004, he rose rapidly to serve as interim head coach for the 2006–07 season before being named Head Coach in April 2007.
During his interim season, Cartwright made an immediate impact as the Hoyas shattered 14 school records, including 13 at the BIG EAST Championships, and qualified a then-record 24 student-athletes for the conference showcase. Over the course of his head coaching tenure (2006–2010), his student-athletes broke 34 school records and achieved more than half of the program's all-time top-10 performances. His 2009–10 women’s team posted a brilliant 10–2 dual-meet record, marking the best single-season win percentage in program history at the time, while both the men's and women's teams consistently elevated their standings at the highly competitive BIG EAST level.
At Georgetown, Cartwright also cultivated an extraordinary culture of academic excellence. The Hoyas achieved CSCAA Academic All-America recognition for 36 consecutive semesters during his tenure, culminating in both the men’s and women’s programs earning the highest team GPA in the entire nation in successive years.
Before his collegiate head coaching career, Cartwright developed elite athletes within premier national club programs, including the Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club and the Seacoast Swimming Association. In these roles, he trained and conditioned swimmers to meet stringent Sectional, National, and U.S. Open qualifying standards. Additionally, he spent multiple summers working closely with legendary 15-time NCAA National Champion and three-time U.S. Olympic Head Men's Coach Eddie Reese at the Longhorns Swim Camp.
As a competitor, Cartwright was a premier distance freestyle and butterfly specialist. He was a U.S. Open qualifier in the 1000- and 1650-yard freestyle, a Junior National qualifier in the 200-yard breaststroke, and an NCAA provisional qualifier in the 200-yard butterfly.
He began his collegiate athletic career on a full swimming scholarship at St. John’s University in Queens, NY and then later at St. Bonaventure University, where his team captured the 1999 Atlantic-10 Conference Championship title. He completed his swimming career at The Catholic University of America, where he was a former school record holder in the 200-yard butterfly and the 2000 Eastern College Athletic Association (ECAC) Conference champion in the event. Cartwright was voted team MVP in 2000 and 2001, and was honored as the 2000 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Swimmer of the Year after leading his team to the CAC Men’s Team Championship.
Following his successful tenure at Georgetown, Cartwright discerned a call to the priesthood and entered priestly formation. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2015. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America and holds a Master of Divinity from Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary.
In addition to his coaching duties at Saint Joseph's College, Father Coach Cartwright serves as the Pastor of the Parish of the Holy Eucharist in Maine, which encompasses four churches in southern Maine. He is a level 4 coach with the American Swimming Coaches Association of America (ASCAA), as well as a member of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
He resides in Gray, Maine, on Crystal Lake with his English Bulldog, Levi.
