Inside College Recruiting With Ohio State University's Head Coach Bill Dorenkott

GMM presented by @SwimOutletTV
Ohio State Director of Swimming & Diving Bill Dorenkott joins this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast for a recruiting conversation built for swimmers, swim parents and club coaches trying to understand what college coaches value.

Dorenkott enters the 2026-2027 season with 36 years of college coaching experience, including his 19th overall season at Ohio State. He is also entering his 31st season in the Big Ten, making him the conference’s longest-tenured coach.

SwimSwam did a similar recruiting podcast with University of Tennessee Director of Swimming and Diving Matt Kredich and his Associate Head Coach Sarah Collins. The feedback was positive, and we will be producing more of these. Coach Dorenkott was a natural next step. He's open, authentic, and a leader among his peers as the current President of the American Swimming Coaches Association.

College recruiting is an emotional, high-stakes marketplace where swimmers, parents and coaches try to predict the future from imperfect evidence. Coach Dorenkott's feedback narrows the focus with veteran insider information.

We cover these topics and many more in our 58 minute conversation:

--What does Ohio State really see when it watches a recruit?
--What matters beyond times?
--How does a coach separate a fast swimmer from someone who can become great in college?
--What are the red flags parents and athletes often miss?

Dorenkott goes in-depth about what he's searching for in recruits, and he talks at length about body language and response to disappointment at a meet. Response to disappointing goes beyond data points, and it can tell a college coach the truth about a recruit faster than a lights out best performance.

Our conversation also covers development:

--What do people misunderstand about developing talent?
--How long does it take to know who a swimmer really is, in terms of talent and drive, once they arrive on campus?
--How does a coach balance patience with the reality of a four-year NCAA clock?

As mentioned, SwimSwam will produce more of these recruiting podcast. If you have questions you want answered, share in the comments.

Many thanks to @SwimOutletGear for their 15 year partnership and support of this swimming news and media.
Swimming news courtesy of SwimSwam.com (swimswam.com)

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This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.

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.