Tanner Barton

Title

Head Coach
Email

tbarton@jcu.edu
Phone

216-397-4368

Tanner Barton enters his fourth season as the head coach of the John Carroll Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving programs in the 2023-24 school year.

In his third season, Barton guided both JCU Men's and Women's teams to 2023 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships. Barton and his staff were named the OAC Men's Coaching Staff of the Year and OAC Women's Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. The JCU Women's team point total of 1,038 points was the highest for any swimming & diving team, regardless of gender, at the OAC Championships. At the National Championships, JCU notched 4 individual All-Americans (including the NCAA D-III Runner-Up in the 100 Back, Liam McDonnell) and 3 All-American relays.

In his second season, Barton steered both JCU Men's and Women's teams to 2022 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships. The Blue Streaks enjoyed a historic feat on the men's side by winning all five relays and sending all five to the NCAA Championships. The Blue Streaks won every race and relay of the weekend other than the 1650 freestyle and diving events. The Blue & Gold also broke a total of nine OAC records and earned 12 NCAA B cuts. Barton and his staff were named the OAC Men's Coaching Staff of the Year.

In his first season, Barton led both JCU Men's and Women's teams to 2021 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships. The Blue Streaks set records for points at the OAC Championships (1,027 by the men, 1,017 by the women). At the men's OAC meet, the Blue Streaks set 6 new conference records, winning 10 individual events and all 5 relays. On the women's side, the Blue Streaks set 3 conference records, winning 9 individual events and all 5 relays. Despite the 2021 NCAA Championships being canceled due to COVID-19, the Blue Streaks notched 8 All-Americans and three of his relays were nationally ranked in the Top 3 at the end of the season. In addition, Barton and his staff were named the OAC Coaching Staff of the Year on both the men's and women's sides.

Barton previously spent one season at Anderson University as the Head Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Coach. In his role at Anderson, Barton championed the formation of the diving program. During his only campaign, he led Anderson student-athletes to 57 record breaking performances including 30 new program records. Barton's teams were named CSCAA Scholar All-America teams in both the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020. He also coached the program's first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) champion and Scholar All-American.

At Cleveland State, Barton was the lead coach for the 2019 Horizon League Women's Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year, Molly McNamara. McNamara was also named the Female Scholar-Athlete of the 2018-19 Winter Season by the Horizon League.

Barton enjoyed a successful collegiate career at Ball State University, where he was selected as a team captain for his junior and seniors years and ranks second all time in the 200-butterfly with a time of 1:50.09. During his senior year, Barton earned the Bob James Memorial Award, which is awarded to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) student-athlete of the year. He was a 4-year finalist at the MAC Swimming & Diving Championships. Barton was also a representative of the MAC Council of Student Athletes as well as Ball State's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). Barton begin coaching collegiately at his alma mater, Ball State University. While serving as the program's graduate assistant, Barton coached the 200 yard backstroke record holder.

Career Accomplishments at JCU

Men's OAC Champions: 2023, 2022, 2021
Women's OAC Champions: 2023, 2022, 2021
2023 Men's OAC Coaching Staff of the Year
2023 Women's OAC Co-Coaching Staff of the Year
2022 Men's OAC Coaching Staff of the Year
2021 Men's OAC Coaching Staff of the Year
2021 Women's OAC Co-Coaching Staff of the Year
2023 OAC Male Swimmer of the Year (Liam McDonnell)
2022 OAC Female Swimmer of the Year (Olivia Goodman)
2022 OAC Male Swimmer of the Year (Jonah Venos)
2022 OAC Female Swimmer of the Year (Gwyn Hamilton)
2021 OAC Male Swimmer of the Year (Liam McDonnell)
2021 OAC Female Swimmer of the Year (Gwyn Ledrick)
4 individual All-Americans (Liam McDonnell: 100 Free, 100 Back, 100 Fly; Jonah Venos: 100 Breast) & 3 All-American relays (200 Free, 200 Medley, 400 Medley) at 2023 NCAA Championships for a 15th place team finish
3 individual All-Americans (Liam McDonnell: 100 Free, 100 Back, 100 Fly) & 2 All-American relays (200 Free, 200 Medley) at 2022 NCAA Championships for a 13th place team finish
8 CSCAA 2020-21 All-Americans
2021-22 Fall & Spring CSCAA Scholar All-America Team for JCU Men's & Women's teams
2020-21 Fall & Spring CSCAA Scholar All-America Team for JCU Men's & Women's teams
8-0 Dual Meet Record in 2021 (4-0 in Men's, 4-0 in Women's)
Coached JCU's 2020-21 Female Clyde Lamb Award Winner, Gwyn Ledrick
Individual All-OACs: 87
All-OAC Relays: 20
OAC 'A' Championship Finalists: 203
Scholar All-Americans: 11

Coaching Career Prior to JCU

2019-20: Head Coach, Anderson University
2018-19: Assistant Coach, Cleveland State University
2017-18: Graduate Assistant Coach, Ball State University

Swimming Career

2014-17: Ball State University

Personal

In addition to coaching, Barton is a Disease Expert Panelist & Consultant for Novo Nordisk which is a global healthcare company based out of Copenhagen, Denmark with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. Barton has also been involved with the JDRF Speakers Bureau since 2013 where he has delivered presentations to audiences of 6,000+ on topics including diabetes research, motivational messages and fundraising advice.

A native of Dublin, Ohio, Barton graduated from Ball State's Honor College in 2017 with summa cum laude honors and a bachelor of arts degree and double major in Health Science and Spanish. In May of 2019 he earned a Master of Science degree in Exercise Science: Sport Performance.

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