Today on the SwimSwam podcast is a man who doesn’t just run a program—he builds an ecosystem. We’re joined by Bill Dorenkott, Ohio State’s Director of Swimming and Diving. Bill’s teams have quietly—and not so quietly—become one of the most consistent and innovative forces in collegiate swimming. We’re talking about a program that, in summer 2025 alone, qualified 16 athletes for U.S. Nationals, notched 24 second swims, and put 4 athletes on U.S. National Teams. Charlie Clarke’s heading to Worlds in open water. Matthew Klinge, Mila Nikanorov, and Daniel Baltes? Off to represent at the World University Games. And let’s not forget—Daniel Baltes had never even swum a long course meet before coming to Columbus.
But this conversation isn’t just about results. It’s about how they’re doing it. Bill shares his “gradually, gradually, then suddenly” philosophy, how Columbus has become a magnet for young talent, and how their burgeoning pro and post-grad group is positioning Ohio State as a key player on the road to LA 2028.
Bill is well respected by his coaching peers, and he does acknowledge in this interview that he was on the shortlist for USA Swimming’s National Team Director.
In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.
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Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com
Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.
Mel: That was a very thoughtful interview you did with Coach Dorenkott.
QUESTION: in past interviews, you used to have a “halo” behind your head. Now, you have 8 framed medals on a wall behind your desk. Could you kindly give us a short description of what each medal is (when and where)? Thank you.
My wife redesigned my office, and my mentor (now deceased) framed my medals for me 25+ years old. For 25 years they’ve been in boxes. When my wife redesigned my office, she pulled them out (pulled some out of the sock drawer). Behind me, x2 Olympic golds (bookend), in the middle x2 US Nat Champs, World Champs, Pan Pac Champs and Goodwill Champs golds (actually 7 behind me). I put the Olympic bronze on the top shelf with some US Open medals.
The broad jump he is talking about by about is jacob lloyds
Gotta be one of the most overhyped coaches in the NCAA rn
5 B1G titles in 6 years on the women’s side is impressive (that loss to IU was 100% preventable and UM will seriously challenge them this year btw), but OSU’s team performances at NCAAs (where it matters most) have been… less than inspiring
Men’s team hasn’t been a threat since 2022 (Diving+Jankovics, Novakonis, Klinge, and Baltes saving face for the team)
Dorenkott’s strength is finding assistant coaches that are far more talented than him (Bowe, Tansel, Schrader) and using their labor to boost his profile
is he overhyped? it doesnt seem like he nor the program get very much chatter lol.
also not surprising they perform better at conference than ncaas given their deficit of top end talent (likely due to lack of hype) but decent overall roster. i would assume the emphasis the former rather than the latter is a deliberate and rational decision given their roster.
the guys you mention have all been on very strong improvement trajectories, as have many others on the roster. thats a better record than some of the more hyped programs that do generate a lot of chatter.
They were also 7th at NCAAs in 2021, 9th in 2022, 6th in 2023, and 9th in 2024. They’re the only Big Ten team that was in the top 10 in all four of those seasons.
I don’t think anybody is confusing them for Virginia, but they feel sort of appropriately-hyped to me: a perennial top 10 program that doesn’t recruit overly well, makes swimmers a lot faster, wins Big Ten titles based on depth without a lot of superstars.
They do historically underperform seed at NCAAs, that much is true.
1st you have to make the NCAA standards and doing that with folks who come into the program without standards is good. Getting folks to improve- especially on women’s side is not always easy, nor are some top tier athletes able to progress all 4 years.
If you took away the first sentence, I’d hardly be able to tell if this was a critique or applause
Tour youtube productions are so overhyped.
Your beard looks great, youre funny in a unique way and have a real knack for making the guests feel relaxed.
I’m appalled… or blushing?
Hiring good assistant coaches and creating an environment where they can be successful is the head coaches job. Is Ryan Day calling every play on defense and offense, as well as coaching all position groups?
If you’re a HC at a power 4 school, able to hire multiple full-time, decently compensated coaches, you should absolutely excel at organizational structure and delegation. Trying to do it all yourself while your assistants stand around watching is going to limit a program and potentially be a recipe for disaster.
“Dorenkott’s strength is finding assistant coaches that are far more talented than him (Bowe, Tansel, Schrader) and using their labor to boost his profile.”
That’s probably the most consistent trait of the most successful people in history so in a way you couldn’t have paid a bigger compliment.
Hannibal, the great Carthaginian general from the 3rd c. BC, said that his immediate subordinates were responsible for his success — especially at the Battle of Cannae (216 BC) in which he routed the Romans (70,000 Roman casualties).
Speaking of antiquity, it’s interesting to note that the Coach D has a sign that says ALEA IACTA EST in his office (back right).
Alea iacta est” is a Latin phrase meaning “the die is cast.” It’s famously attributed to Julius Caesar as he crossed the Rubicon River in 49 BC, signaling the start of a civil war. The phrase signifies that a decision has been made and there’s no turning back,
I’m 10% that you are Hunter Armstrong.
Im going to go ahead and assume you are Hunter Armstrong. At the Olympics, during the athlete walk around after the 400 Free Relay medal ceremony I yelled to you, “Hunter! 46.8! Are you kidding me!” and then gave you a high five. I was so overcome with excitement that I did that thing when you hold on after the high five. You had to keep moving so there was the awkward moment where your walking away but I’m kind of trying to hold on (the peacock feed actually shows the the tale end of this). Anyhow, sorry about that. My bad : )
Agreed. 1000%. Nothing can be accomplished when you are an island of ego and control. Great coaches develop and turnout great coaches.
Yeah I think that using this as a criticism of the leader of any organization is not the burn one might think it is…that’s literally the most-succinct job description of a CEO that I’ve ever seen.
I swam for Bill many years ago. His knowledge of the sport is second to none, and he’s developed great talent that were “no names” coming out of high school. This was a guy who was winning Big Ten titles with the resources at Penn State… So your take is FREEZING cold.
Laughable. Bill is one of the best.