Matt DeGrandpre - Women's Gymnastics Coach - University of North Carolina Athletics

Matt DeGrandpre

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
mdegrand@unc.edu
Recruiting Email:
unc-gymnastics@unc.edu

The 2026-27 campaign marks the third year Matt DeGrandpre is on the North Carolina gymnastics staff as an assistant coach.

In his first season as a Tar Heel, DeGrandpre helped lead Carolina to a top three finish in their second season in the ACC (2025). The Tar Heels wrapped up a historically great season, finishing ranked in the top 25 for the just the fourth time in program history.

After the regular season, Lali Dekanoidze was named ACC Specialist of the Year and JoJo Valahovic earned ACC Newcomer of the Year honors.

The 2026 season marked the team's third season in the ACC. Carolina continued to gain national recognition as they ranked in the top 25 each week of the season for the first time since 2004. The team spent six weeks in the top 15 and posted their highest end of season ranking since 2006 (no. 20).

The Tar Heels had three regular season All-ACC gymnasts and two All-ACC Championship Team members.

For the second consecutive season, the program had an individual qualify for the NCAA National Championships as an individual. Gwen Fink represented the Tar Heels at the 2026 NCAA Championships on vault. The senior secured her spot at nationals after recording a career high 9.900 on the event at regionals.

At Carolina, DeGrandpre serves as the primary bars coach while assisting on the other events. The bars lineup ranked in the top 25 each week of the 2026 season and ended with an NQS of 49.043 on the event. He helped coach Gwen Fink to a record-setting performance of 9.950 in the meet at NC State. The score moved Fink into third all-time in program hisotry on bars while setting a career high.

DeGrandpre arrived in Chapel Hill having spent the two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Woman’s University. At the conclusion of both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, DeGrandpre was part of a coaching contingent which was named the WCGA Division II Regional Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year.

During his time in Texas, DeGrandpre was the primary vault and bars coach for the Pioneers while also overseeing academic success and team travel. In 2024, DeGrandpre guided the team to their highest bars score in a decade and coached two individual athletes to school records on vault and bars, both with scores of 9.95.

With DeGrandpre on staff, the Pioneers earned back-to-back runner-up finishes at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championship Finals. TWU took fourth at the Midwest Independent Conference Championship in 2023 before a second-place showing this past season. Additionally, DeGrandpre coached a total of five TWU gymnasts to a combined seven Division II WCGA All-America honors on bars and vault.

Prior to his time at Texas Woman’s, DeGrandpre served as a graduate assistant coach with the men’s gymnastics team at Springfield College – his alma mater – from 2020-22. His duties included helping coordinate practices, planning routines and contributing to the overall success of the program.

In 2022, DeGrandpre helped lead the Pride to their first appearance in the NCAA National Collegiate Championships, becoming the first DIII program to ever compete at the meet. The Springfield coaching staff, including DeGrandpre, was named the ECAC Coaching Staff of the Year.

DeGrandpre competed at Springfield College from 2016-20 where he specialized in vault, pommel horse and floor, earning respective career-highs of 11.5, 11.8 and 12.65. He helped his team finish fourth at the ECAC Championships for three consecutive seasons.

A native of Westfield, Massachusetts, DeGrandpre received his bachelor’s degree in movement and sports studies with a concentration in physical and health education from Springfield in May 2020. He earned his master’s degree in athletic administration during his time as a graduate assistant. He was also named a USA Gymnastics Academic All-American as an undergraduate.