Kirby Droogan - Rowing Coach - University of Delaware Athletics

Kirby Droogan

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
kdroogan@udel.edu

Kirby Droogan enters her third season as an assistant coach for Delaware Rowing in 2025-26 as the team transitions into its first season in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

In her second season with the Fightin' Blue Hens, Droogan assisted Delaware to a third-place finish at the CAA Championships, where the team accumulated a program record four all-conference honorees. The squad picked up a victory at the Ford Lake Cup, hosted by Eastern Michigan University.

In her first season with Delaware, the Blue Hens earned two CAA Boat of the Week honors during the spring season in April. UD also had two All-Conference honorees at the CAA Championhips, and a program record 13 CRCA Scholar-Athlete selections.

Hannah "Kirby" Droogan has been named assistant coach of University of Delaware's rowing program, as announced on August 28, 2023.

Kirby was a standout team leader and student-athlete," head coach Asiya Mahmud said. "Her desire to coach and push the sport of rowing forward has always been evident. With her connection to rowing in the Philadelphia area, we are excited and lucky to have her on the coaching staff!"

Droogan comes from Drexel after competing for the Dragons from 2018-2023, where she was elected as Team Leader in her final season of competing and was an All-Conference honoree and CRCA Scholar-Athlete. As a student-athlete, Droogan was a member of Drexel's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was appointed the rowing team's representative for five seasons. She was also a member of the Dragon Leadership Academy, selected by coaches to help encourage leadership, respectful conflict resolution, confident decision-making, and open self-reflection among Drexel's 17 sports.

"As a Drexel alumna, I'm excited to continue raising the standard in the CAA and across women's rowing as a whole," Droogan said. "My passion for the sport stems from having such amazing and supportive teammates and coaches, and I definitely wouldn't be here without them. Coach Mahmud has been a very influential mentor and working alongside her in this role feels like a perfect fit. I want to thank Chrissi and Andrea for extending this opportunity to me and being so welcoming. It's clear that Chrissi has an excellent vision for the department and the future of the rowing team is so bright!"

Droogan was an assistant coach for Dragon Rowing Summer Camps at Bachelors Barge Club in Philadelphia, Penn from 2019-2023. She instructed rowers age 12-18 by offering individualized coaching on water and on land, oversaw and ensured the safety of up to 30 rowers at the boathouse, in boats, and on the river, maintained the inventory, organization, and cleanliness of the boathouse's sculling and sweeping shells and equipment, communicated with athletes, parents, and coaches to offer updates on campers' progress, challenges, and areas for improvement, and led warm-up and cool-down sessions and emphasized the importance of injury-prevention routines for rowers.

Droogan graduated from Drexel's Pennoni Honors College in June 2023 with Cum Laude honors and a bachelor of science in psychology. She is currently working towards a USRowing Level II Foundation Level Coach certification.