Garland Bartlett, an assistant coach for American University men’s and women’s swimming & diving from 2016-21, was named the head coach of the program in June, 2021, following a two-month stint as interim head coach.
In her fourth season in 2024-25, Bartlett guided her largest-ever squad to a number of impressive accomplishments. Four-time All-Patriot League First Team honoree Mimi Watts closed out her career with individual gold medals in all three of her events at the 2025 Patriot League Championships, earning a “three-peat” in both the 50 free and 100 free, while winning the 100 fly for a second time. She finished her career at American with 12 career medals overall. On the men’s side, junior Colin Clough earned All-Patriot League Second Team honors, giving the men’s program its first All-PL award since 2013. Clough set two individual school records at the PL Championships, breaking a 23-year-old record in the 100 free and also swimming the top time ever in the 50 free.
Clough set two individual school records in 2025, and the Eagles set relay school records in both the women’s 200 medley relay and the women’s 800 freestyle relay at the PL Championships.
For the 60th straight semester, both squads earned CSCAA Scholar All-America recognition. For the fourth year in a row in 2023-24, the men's team earned the top GPA award among men's sports in the department, while the women were second after a three-year run at the top.
In her third season in 2023-24, Bartlett coached Watts to a pair of gold medals at the PL Championships. The program set four individual and seven relay school records. Bartlett's second season saw her coach Watts to three PL titles in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly. Watts was named the Patriot League's Women's Swimmer of the Meet—AU's first in 17 years. Both teams placed seventh at the 2023 Patriot League Championships with the women tying for their best finish since 2015, and the men improving on their eighth-place finish from 2022.
In her first season as head coach, Bartlett also guided the women's team to a seventh-place finish—its highest since 2015. Watts, then a sophomore, took home two silver medals and a bronze, and was the program's first All-PL First Team honoree since 2011. The Eagles set a total of nine school records at the PL Championships, including four relays.
Bartlett had spent the previous five years working with all aspects of the Eagles' swimming and diving program, but with particular expertise and experience in the distance freestyle events. She spearheaded recruiting efforts for the program, resulting in the largest and most talented freshman class in years in 2020-21.
While the Eagles dealt with a shortened season in 2020-21 due to COVID-19, as well as holding some meets virtually, they still boasted plenty of individual successes. Liam Riebling was the first member of swimming & diving to earn Top Male Senior Student-Athlete honors for AU Athletics since 2004, and freshman Mimi Watts set three school records in an outstanding debut season.
Bartlett came to American from Middlebury College, where the team finished the season with four qualifiers to the NCAA Division III national championships. Prior to that, she spent two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Trinity College and one season as an assistant at The College of New Jersey.
She was an accomplished distance freestyler as a student-athlete at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. She earned four silver medals, two bronze medals and a number of top-8 finishes at the Centennial Conference Championships. She still ranks among Franklin & Marshall's all-time top-10 in the 1,650 freestyle.
Bartlett graduated from Franklin & Marshall in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies. She also earned a master’s in American Studies at Trinity in 2015.
