Ohio State Fills Out Combined Staff With Assistant Bryon Tansel

Ohio State has finalized its staff for the Buckeyes first season as a gender-combined program, with Bryon Tansel making the leap from LSU to an assistant post in Columbus.

Tansel was with LSU last season, but had a longer stint prior to that with Eastern Michigan University. He was an all-Summit League performer and captain at Oakland in the mid-2000s.

Ohio State just combined its men’s and women’s programs this offseason after longtime men’s head coach Bill Wadley announced his retirement. Former women’s head coach Bill Dorenkott has taken over as head coach of both programs and director of swimming and diving. The Buckeyes just hired former Indiana assistant Matt Bowe to fill what was roughly Wadley’s prior role as associate head coach on the men’s side. Here’s what the new-look OSU staff will look like next season:

  • Bill Dorenkott, Director of Swimming & Diving
  • Jordan Wolfrum, Associate Head Coach (women’s)
  • Matt Bowe, Associate Head Coach (men’s)
  • Michael Hulme, Assistant Coach
  • Bryan Tansel, Assistant Coach
  • Justin Sochor, Head Diving Coach

Here’s the full Ohio State press release:

Columbus, Ohio— Ohio State has hired Bryon Tansel to be an assistant coach, director of swimming and diving Bill Dorenkott announced Thursday. Tansel spent last season on the coaching staff at LSU after three seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University.

“I am excited to accept a position with the newly combined Ohio State Swimming & Diving program, under the leadership of Bill Dorenkott,” Tansel said. “I grew up in the Midwest and love that this opportunity brings my wife and I closer to our families.  I am excited to work with a team that has a leader whose vision, values and goals align with my own, while also representing a university that blesses its programs with the resources needed to win championships. I am thankful to the coaching staff and to the athletic department for this opportunity, as the combination of the team and staff is exciting and is extremely capable of reaching great heights.”

Last season 13 members of the LSU Swimming and Diving program qualified for NCAA Championships, with an individual earning All-America status and All-SEC Freshman Team recognition as well. Tansel worked with the sprinters at LSU, and assisted his athletes to four individual school records and two varsity records in 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay.

“Bryon comes to Ohio State highly recommended by coaches we respect a great deal,” Dorenkott said. “He is a Midwest guy with the work ethic and values that align with our program and university.”

During his three seasons at EMU, Tansel helped the men’s program win the MAC Swimming & Diving Championship in both 2015 and 2016, while improving the women’s team from 4th in 2014 to consecutive second place finishes in 2015 and 2016. He helped lead the Eagles to 27 varsity records, 8 Mid-American Conference records, and a combined 12 individual and relay MAC Championships.

While at EMU, Tansel coached Cole Bateman to a semifinal appearance in the 200 backstroke at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials as well as three swimmers to the NCAA Championships, including freshman Delaney Duncan. Duncan became the first freshman in program history to qualify for nationals earning NCAA All-American Honorable Mention status with her 14th place finish in the 100 breaststroke.

“Bryon’s passion for the sport and desire to help young people is evident the second you meet him,” Dorenkott said. “He is a genuine person and brings great energy to the pool deck. We are beyond thrilled that he is a Buckeye.”

Tansel had year-long stints in Dallas, Texas coaching for the Dallas Mustangs Swim Team national group and the Dallas Aquatic Masters. Before that, he worked at Poseidon Swimming Inc. and volunteered for the Spiders at the University of Richmond. His first coaching job was for Silver Medal, top tier USA Swim club, Oakland Live Y’ers in Troy, Michigan.

A decorated swimmer himself, Tansel swam for Oakland University, where he was named the Summit League Swimmer of the Year in 2005 and received All-Summit League First Team honors from 2003-08. Tansel was elected team captain during his final two seasons for the Golden Grizzlies.

Tansel earned his master’s degree in sport management from EMU and graduated from Oakland University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in business management. Bryon is a native of Dundee, Mich. and has been married to Danielle Tansel as of 2010.

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Huh?
6 years ago

All Summit League ’03-’08? How does that work?

meeeeee
6 years ago

So both of OSU’s new asst coaches were at Eastern Michigan. That tells you something about the great job that Peter Linn does there.

Emuathlete
Reply to  meeeeee
6 years ago

Peter is the man
Bryon and Bowe are going to dominate the recruiting though. Such great guys

SwimCoachDad
6 years ago

I guess Bryon going from Eastern Michigan and Michigan Swim Camp (and Danielle going from her Assistant Coach position at Michigan) directly to OSU breaks some kind of treaty and requires a visa and severe vetting. So they went to LSU first and then to OSU. It is great that the Ohio State program has gotten a great coach and a solid recruiter by picking up Bryon. Good luck in Columbus!

SUNY Cal
Reply to  SwimCoachDad
6 years ago

What happened at LSU that he only lasted a yr. His poor wife gave up her good job with MI a top program to move with him & now their bk coaching at MI biggest rival???? Wow!!

LSU
Reply to  SUNY Cal
6 years ago

9 months actually. Nothing happened at LSU. Even bought a house here. It was a personal choice for Bryon. If you see him I am sure you can ask him and he will tell you

Midwest Madness
6 years ago

Glad to see that OSU has rounded out their staff with some midwestern roots, looking forward to seeing what this staff can do with the program combined!

Hearing that LSU has replaced Tansel with Sean Schimmel, seems like a huge get for LSU!

LSU
Reply to  Midwest Madness
6 years ago

False on replacement…keep on with your madness!

Midwest Madness
Reply to  LSU
6 years ago

Then why was he the only person brought on campus?

Who’s replacing Tansel at LSU???

GeauxTigers
Reply to  Midwest Madness
6 years ago

on campus interviews have been concluded from what I hear

Admin
Reply to  LSU
6 years ago

I can confirm that Sean Schimmel has not been hired by LSU.

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Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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