The Ohio State swimming & diving program has announced the addition of two assistant coaches to the Buckeyes’ staff: Graham Carpenter and Norm Wright. The hires give Ohio State the maximum 8 full-time coaches allowed under new NCAA rules that eliminate volunteer assistants, but expand the number of full-time coaches (paid or unpaid) that programs can hire.
Carpenter is a familiar face in Columbus after spending last season as a volunteer assistant.
Wright, meanwhile, is a familiar face for other reasons – as the former head coach at two of the top USA Swimming club programs in the country. That includes most recently as the head coach of NOVA in Virginia, which is the home club of rising Ohio State sophomore Sanna Peterson.
The Ohio State women are the four-time defending Big Ten Champions, while the men have finished as runners-up to Indiana in each of the last two seasons. Ohio State has undergone a lot of coach turnover in the last few seasons, but it doesn’t seem to have slowed their progress at the conference or national levels.
Graham Carpenter
Courtesy: Ohio State Athletics
“Graham grew up just down the road in Dublin, Ohio and he has set himself apart as a young, energetic, and hungry coach with a passion for the sport,” head coach Bill Dorenkott said. “Graham worked with our program over the past season as a volunteer assistant coach and it was apparent that he has what it takes to help elevate our programs. Graham will be tasked with a primary focus on recruiting.”
Carpenter spent the 2022-23 season as a volunteer assistant coach for the Buckeyes. As a volunteer, Carpenter assisted with recruiting efforts and accompanied student-athletes to outside competitions. He was also responsible for the implementation and management of on-deck equipment, collecting and interpreting training related data, assisting with logistics during team travel and aided in the creation and distribution of social media content.
“Returning to Columbus to work at Ohio State has been an absolute honor and a pleasure,” Carpenter said. “I am incredibly grateful for the knowledge, wisdom, experience, and relationships I have gained this past season. I want to thank Coach Dorenkott and the entire staff for the opportunity to continue building upon this experience and come into my second season as a Buckeye with greater confidence as I take on more responsibility and continue to sharpen my skills. Go Bucks!”
Prior to Ohio State, Carpenter had coaching stints at Anderson University and John Carroll University. He was a volunteer coach at Anderson during the 2019-20 season and, at the beginning of the 2020-21 season, he was named the interim head coach of the program. He spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach at John Carroll.
Carpenter graduated from Ball State in 2021, earning a degree in criminal justice and criminology. He competed on the swim team at Ball State for one season. Carpenter earned a graduate certificate in non-profit administration from John Carroll in 2022.
“We are excited to welcome Norm and his family home to Ohio,” said Dorenkott. “Norm is a born-and-raised Buckeye hailing from Dayton, Ohio. Norm has established himself as one of the top club coaches in the United States with a strong history of having athletes perform at both the national and international levels. Norm will head up our 400 IM efforts with a focus on our more aerobically driven swimmers.”
Norm Wright
Wright brings over 20 years of coaching experience to Columbus. He most recently served as the head coach for NOVA of Virginia Aquatics Inc. from 2019-23. With NOVA, he helped produce one Olympic Team member, one World Championship Team member and two Junior World Open Water Team members and placed swimmers on the National and Junior National Teams annually. Under Wright, NOVA was named a USA Swimming Gold Medal Podium Club for the first time, and, during his tenure, the club annually swept the LSC Virginia Swimming Senior and Age Group meets and won both the NCSA Junior Nationals and NCSA Age Group Championships.
“Being born and raised in Ohio, the opportunity to coach at The Ohio State University is both unexpected and thrilling,” Wright said. “I can’t overstate my gratitude and appreciation to Coach Dorenkott and the rest of the staff for placing their confidence in me. With determination and loyalty, I look forward to many years of Buckeye swimming and diving success.”
Prior to NOVA, Wright was the CEO and head coach of the Northern Kentucky Clippers from 2015-19 and the Director of Competitive Swimming and Aquatics for the Shenandoah Marlins Aquatic Club from 2010-15. He had his first Division I coaching job when he served as an assistant at Georgetown from 2009-10.
Wright has served as the head coach of Team USA for the 2022 FINA Junior World Open Water Championship, the 2019 UANA Junior American Open Water Championship, and the 2019 USA National Open Water Select Camps. He was also a coach for the 2018 USA National Team OW Altitude Camp and has served as a coach for the USA National Team and the USA Junior National Team.
Wright attended Asbury University, where he qualified for NAIA Nationals and set school records all four years of his career. He graduated in 2003 with a degree in psychology.
He thinks he is the king! I’m the king!
Hope for the best for him
In the end Norm was one of the best coaches I have known and has thought people to push far pass their limits and that is why he is successful. To be honest if you or your swimmer has had trouble with norm is is simply because they have a weak mental state or cannot handle swimming at that high of a level. The board did so many things wrong with him and I wish he was still here!
All the norm hate is kind of getting ridiculous, he coached the team to an NCSA title this year. Even if he wasn’t on deck for the meet itself he coached 95 percent of that season and got all those kids to the level they were at going into that meet yet he gets no credit.
Should have looked at the coaches from the former club that trained there, but once again Bill alienates coaches in the local area.
All the people complaining about club coaches not getting a shot, where you at? I see a lot of complaining about the club coach hired to a major D1 program
I can see the appeal of hiring coaches with no experience. No experience means no baggage and no enemies chasing you around the world with axes to grind.
His fast exit from the Clippers left people unhappy. What happened to Dorsey who was at OSU?
So? NCAA eliminates “volunteer coaching positions”, but expands full time coaching positions “(paid or unpaid)”?? Isn’t an unpaid coach the same as a volunteer coach?
An unpaid assistant is a volunteer, but in NCAA language, “volunteer assistant” has a very specific definition that relates to their rights and responsibilities.