Courtesy: John Carroll Athletics
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — Tanner Barton has been named the head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming & diving program at John Carroll University, as announced by Michelle Morgan, the school’s Director of Varsity Athletics and Recreation.
Barton joins the Blue Streaks after spending the 2019-20 season as the head coach at Anderson University.
“We are thrilled that Tanner will be joining our team and lead the JCU swimming & diving programs” said Morgan. “His enthusiasm and commitment to our student-athletes will enable the program to continue to reach new heights from an already strong and established foundation in the pool and in the classroom.”
Barton spent one season at Anderson where he began the formation of the diving portion of the swimming program. During his only campaign he led Anderson student-athletes to 57 record breaking performances including 30 new program records. Barton’s teams also earned College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar-America teams in both the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020. He also coached the program’s first Swimming & Diving Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) champion.
“I am very excited and honored to become the next Head Coach for the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs” said Barton. “I want to thank Michelle Morgan, Director of Athletics, for entrusting me with this opportunity. There is a very rich swimming and diving history at John Carroll. I look forward to building on the current foundation while continuing to reach new heights in and out of the water.”
Prior to Anderson University, Barton served as an assistant coach at Cleveland State University and a graduate assistant coach at Ball State University.
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 minute, 50.09 seconds. 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. Barton was also a representative of the MAC Council of Student Athletes as well as Ball State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).
Barton added, “It will also be a privilege to connect with future, current and former members of the John Carroll Swimming & Diving family. As a relational leader, I genuinely enjoy connecting with each individual so I can empower student-athletes to succeed in the pool and in life. When we come together to support one another, there’s no limit to what we can achieve.”
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’s 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.