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Jeff Graba Hometown: Forest Lake, Minn. Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Minnesota (1992), Salem Int'l (2011)

2012 Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year Jeff Graba will begin his third season at the helm of the Auburn gymnastics program in 2013.

The 2012 season included many notable achievements, including the program's highest regular season ranking since 2009 with Auburn reaching as high as no. 13. The Tigers also posted the second-highest regional score in program history with a 196.100 in the NCAA Auburn Regional.

In addition, Auburn posted two of the top five overall team scores in program history with totals of 196.875 against Florida and 196.700 against Southern Utah. Auburn's 2011 recruiting class was ranked in the top 10 by CollegeGymFans.com

During the 2012 season under Graba's guidance, Auburn gymnasts tied or set more than 40 career-best scores and totaled more than 60 season bests. Senior Kylie Shields made her second-straight trip to the NCAA Championships, while freshman Bri Guy became the first Auburn freshman since 2005 to qualify for the national championships in the all-around competition. 2012 marked the first time Auburn sent more than one participant to nationals since 2006.

With Graba's tutelage, Guy was also named the program's first All-SEC selection since 2009.

Graba led Auburn to a 9-14 overall record in his first year as head coach during the 2011 season, as the Tigers posted 26 individual titles.

Additionally, Graba coached Auburn to a NCAA Regional score of 195.600, its highest score at a regional since 2004. Rachel Inniss and Shields both finished the season ranked in the top 20 nationally on floor and beam, respectively. Shields also qualified for the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, in the all-around.

Graba was named Auburn head coach on August 16, 2010. He came to The Plains after spending five years as an assistant coach at Utah. While with the Utes, he was named the 2009 West Region Assistant Coach of the Year while coaching bars, collaborating on floor routines and serving as the recruiting coordinator.

During his first four years as an assistant, Utah finished as the NCAA runner-up three times and placed third once. Graba has also coached nine NCAA All-American gymnasts to 20 All-America performances.

As Utah's bars coach, he tutored Kristina Baskett to a 2006 NCAA uneven bars title as a freshman in his first trip to the NCAA Championships. He has also guided nine gymnasts to qualify for the uneven bars finals and has seen five turn in top 5 finishes.

Under Graba's leadership, Utah received the highest bars score in the preliminary session of team competition at the NCAA Championships in 2006, 2007 and 2009. In 2006, Graba also helped the Utes post the best bars score in the Super Six.

Prior to his stint at Utah, Graba spent two years as an assistant coach at Utah State. In 2005, he coached the Aggies to their first Western Gymnastics Conference championship and their first regional appearance in three years. In addition to his coaching duties, he served as the head of recruiting and assisted with the strength and conditioning program.

From 1995-2003, Graba was the co-owner and head coach of Midwest Gymnastics Club in Arden Hills, Minn. He had three gymnasts qualify Elite in his last three years with the club and had several level 8, 9 and 10 regional and national competitors. Graba coached Ashley Mutchler to a first-place finish at both the 2003 American and U.S. Challenge/Classic meets in the Senior National Elite Division.

Graba's collegiate coaching career began at Hamline University from 1992-1998. While in St. Paul, Minn., his highlights included six-consecutive trips to the Division III National Championships and a runner-up finish in 1996. Eleven of his gymnasts combined to win 26 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) All-America citations. He also coached more than 20 scholastic All-Americans.

In addition to coaching at Hamline, Graba was also the head coach at Flips Gymnastics Center in Minneapolis from 1988-1995. While there, he coached level 10 gymnast Sarah Reiling-Hildebrand, who made the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Diving Teams.

From 1988-92, he coached at both North St. Paul High School and White Bear Lake High School. He served as an assistant coach at North St. Paul from 1988-90 and at White Bear Lake from 1990-91, before becoming the head coach at North St. Paul from 1991-92.

Graba is a native of Forest Lake, Minn., and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in economics and earned his M.B.A. from Salem International University in 2011. He and his wife, Bridget, have five children: Bryan, Jaymie, Jason, Kyla and Shayla.

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