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 Will Bernhardt
Alma Mater: Indiana University '02
Years at Wabash: 6
Will Bernhardt came to Wabash College as the head swimming coach and aquatics director on October 10, 2018. Bernhardt joined the Little Giant program after two seasons as the head coach at Wittenberg University, where his student-athletes set four new school records and were honored as Scholar All-America teams by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America for their work in the classroom.
Bernhardt was named the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Swimming Coach of the Year after guiding his Little Giant team to a third-place finish at the conference championship meet. His squad scored 1,117 points, the third-most points produced by a Wabash team at the NCAC championship meet. The Little Giants produced five All-NCAC performances and broke or tied two school records.His 2023 squad placed third at the NCAC Championships. Little Giants freshman Nick Plumb earned all-conference honors with a third-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. The 800 freestyle relay team of Ethan Johns, Quinn Sweeney, John Allen, and Zander Straw captured all-conference honors with a third-place finish in the finals.
Wabash placed third at the 2024 NCAC Championships. Freshman Nick Plumb secured all-conference honors with a third-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke, finishing in 1:50.65. The Little Giant foursome of Ethan Johns, Quinn Sweeney, John Allen and Xander Straw scored a third-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:47.91 to pick up all-conference recognition.
Wabash finished third at the 2020 NCAC Championships with a school-record 1,264 points over the four-day meet. Bernhardt's team turned in five all-conference performances including a victory in the 400-yard medley relay, the first relay win by a team other than Kenyon or Denison at the conference meet since 1995. Jan Dziadek and Hunter Jones qualified for the 2020 NCAA Division III Championship Meet and were awarded All-America honors after the meet was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jones also earned an NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship in 2020.
The Little Giants finished fourth at the 2019 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in Bernhardt's first season at Wabash. Aaron Embree was named the Men's Diver of the Year. Embree scored a pair of individual all-conference honors. The Little Giants add two all-conference relays, as well.
Bernhardt previously spent five seasons as associate head coach at the University of Buffalo, where he helped the Bulls capture 34 Mid-American Conference individual championships, 19 MAC relay titles, and set 46 University of Buffalo and 13 MAC records. He also served as a volunteer assistant coach with the women's program at the University of Notre Dame from 2009 to 2011, assisting the Fighting Irish swimmers to four NCAA qualifying efforts, and 14 Big East Conference individual and relay championships, and 10 school records.
A volunteer assistant coach and interim aquatics director at Northwestern University from 2002-2005, Bernhardt helped the Wildcats earn an individual national championship and 36 All-America honors, capture 12 Big Ten individual or relay titles and set 10 Big Ten and 12 school records.
Bernhardt graduated from Indiana University in 2002 with a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology. As a swimmer for the Hoosiers, he was a Big Ten finalist in the 100 and 200 backstroke events and qualified for the US Olympic Trials in 2000.
2018-19: NCAC Championships (fourth place); one individual champion in three meter diving; five All-NCAC Honors in 100 individual medley, one-meter diving, three-meter diving, 200-yard freestyle relay, and the 200-yard medley relay; Diver of the Year; Regional qualifier for the NCAA Diving Regional
2019-20: NCAC Championships (third place); one relay championship (400-yard medley relay); five All-NCAC performances. Two national qualifiers and All-Americans (Jan Dziadek, Hunter Jones). One NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship recipient (Hunter Jones).
2020-21: No conference championships due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2021-22: NCAC Championships (third place); five All-NCAC performances. Named NCAC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year.
2022-23: NCAC Championships (fourth place); five All-NCAC performances.
2023-24: NCAC Championships (third place); five all-NCAC performances
2024-25: NCAC Championships (third place); six all-NCAC performances; program-record 1,339.5 total points scored.
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