Coaching Staff

Tanner Barton
Head Coach

Tanner Barton was named the 11th women's swimming and diving coach at Bowling Green on April 3, 2024. Barton comes to BGSU after spending four seasons as the head coach for men's and women's swimming and diving at John Carroll University, which is a nationally ranked DIII intercollegiate program in nearby Cleveland, Ohio.

In just four years at John Carroll, Barton led JCU to eight total Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) championships which includes four on the men's side and four on the women's side. His time at John Carroll has boasted 21 CSCAA (College Swimming Coaches Association of America) first-team All-Americans and 11 CSCAA first-team Scholar All-Americans. His teams set 27 OAC records and notched 104 conference championship titles (68 individual, 36 relay titles).

"Tanner Barton is high-energy, high-impact, and a transformative leader," said van der Merwe. "He has been thrust into leadership roles from his time as a student-athlete in the Mid-American Conference to coaching positions over the years. In each role, he has significantly and positively impacted the trajectory of the programs and distinguished himself as a change agent. I am excited to partner with him in building a swim and dive program that has consistent success and evolving BGSU's commitment to swim and dive in the region. His contagious energy and passion will make BGSU Athletics better every day."

"Upon coming to campus, I quickly learned how BGSU is at the heart of this city," said Barton. "As a relational leader, I am eager to become a member of the community and build meaningful partnerships. I want to thank President Rogers, Derek van der Merwe, Stacy Kosciak and Chet Hesson for entrusting me to lead the women's swimming and diving team. With steadfast commitment to bettering ourselves in and out of the pool, I am confident the current and all future Falcons will proudly represent BGSU. I am extremely excited to begin, and the future is bright!"

The four years Barton was at John Carroll were electric, including setting 41 school records. He coached multiple national championship qualifiers each year and the 2023 men's team finished Top-15 as Barton coached the national runner-up in the men's 100-yard backstroke. The 2022 season saw JCU's men's team finish 13th, which is the best since 1989. During his time at JCU he produced 202 All-OAC honorees and set a conference record for most points scored at the championship meet for both the men (2022) and women (2023). His staff earned conference coaching staff of the year honors in each of his four seasons.

Barton previously spent one season at Anderson University in Indiana 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.

Prior to holding the head job at Anderson, Barton spent 2018-19 a at Cleveland State. During that time 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, where he was selected as a team captain for his junior and senior years and ranked 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 four-year finalist at the MAC Swimming & Diving Championships. Barton was also a representative of the MAC Council of Student Athletes and Ball State's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). Barton began coaching collegiately at his alma mater, Ball State. While serving as the program's graduate assistant from 2017-18, Barton coached the 200-yard backstroke record holder.

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. He was a double major in health science and Spanish. In May of 2019, he earned a master of science degree in exercise science with an emphasis in sport performance from Ball State and also earned a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in management and organizational leadership from John Carroll in August of 2024.

Ian Bishop
Assistant Coach

Ian Bishop enters his first season as assistant swimming coach/recruiting coordinator at BGSU during the 2024-25 season.

Bishop comes to Bowling Green from Division III John Carroll University outside of Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons under new BGSU head coach Tanner Barton. While at JCU, Bishop helped lead the Blue Streaks to two men’s and two women’s Ohio Athletic Conference championships and was a part of four OAC Men’s and Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year awards combined. In 2023, the men’s team placed in the top 15 at the NCAA Championships for only the third time in program history.

Additionally, Bishop was one of only six collegiate coaches in any division to win the Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Jean Freeman Award earlier this year, which recognizes those whose exceptional contributions have brought recognition to their institution and have epitomized the characteristics of Freeman, who was a longtime coach for the University of Minnesota.

“I’m very excited for Ian Bishop to join Bowling Green State University,” Barton said. “Ian is ready and eager to assist in all facets of the program. He possesses a high swimming IQ, and I’m extremely confident that his ability to connect with recruits and current student-athletes will immediately enhance our team. While I’ve personally witnessed Ian’s development as a collegiate swim coach, so have others in this profession. The CSCAA recognizing Ian as a 2024 Jean Freeman award recipient reaffirms how he is a someone we want to be a part of BGSU Athletics.”

On both the men’s and women’s sides during his tenure at John Carroll, Bishop helped guide three different OAC Swimmer of the Year recipients, nine NCAA Division III Championships qualifiers, six First and Second Team All-Americans and 26 OAC champion swimmers while they set a combined seven OAC records under his tutelage. As the team’s recruiting coordinator, he brought in 31 swimmers and divers to JCU in two years, three of which had incoming times faster than the current program records.

"I'm really excited to be at Bowling Green and be a part of a team and athletic department that truly values the community which makes this place special," Bishop said. "I also think the team has a lot of potential, can get off to a hot start and be special in the coming years."

Before his stint at John Carroll, Bishop was a volunteer assistant coach at Division III Albion College in Michigan where he helped lead the Britons to third place finishes at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championships on both the men’s and women’s sides. During that season, he also served as head coach of the Parkside Middle School swim team in Jackson, Michigan.

Since 2019, Bishop has assisted as a coach at various swim camps including ones with NC State, University of Georgia, Indiana University and University of Wisconsin. For five years, he was also a clinician coach for Wolverine Swim Clinics that were ran by legendary former University of Michigan swim coach Jim Richardson.

Bishop graduated with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education & physical education from Northern Michigan University in 2021 and a master’s degree in sports leadership from John Carroll in May. A former collegiate swimmer, he began his career at Olivet College competing in sprint freestyle and backstroke events before transferring to NMU following his freshman season. Bishop competed as a diver for the Wildcats during his sophomore campaign before becoming a student assistant coach for his remaining two years.

A native of Jackson, Michigan, Bishop graduated from Jackson High School in 2017 where he also served as an assistant coach in 2021.