J. Agnew

Directing camp this summer is J. Agnew, swimming and diving head coach for the Cardinals. He enters his fifth season in 2022-23.

In his second season, Agnew helped the program reach new heights in victories and school records. Agnew guided the women's team to a dual victory over Toledo, its first MAC victory since the 2016 season. The women's squad also picked up wins against Youngstown State, Eastern Illinois, Grand Valley State and Indiana State. At the MAC Championships, the women's team set a new school record in the 200 Free Relay. On the men's side, Angew coached true freshman Jared Holder to a school record in the 100 Back along with team records in the 200 Medley and 800 Free Relays.

Agnew's first season as head coach saw the Cardinals break several school records and earn various awards and honors. At the Mid-American Conference Championships, Ball State recorded 74 lifetime bests, notched 30, top-10 swims in school history, and set school records in the women's 200 free relay, men's 100 fly and men's 200 back. Throughout the year, the men finished third at the Indiana Intercollegiate at Purdue and earned a win against Eastern Illinois. The women claimed second at the Indiana Intercollegiate and wins against Eastern Illinois and Indiana State.

The Cardinals also excelled in the classroom under Agnew's leadership. Seventeen from the women's team were named to the Academic All-MAC squad while seven from the men's team received the same honor. Additionally, the CSCAA recognized both teams for academic excellence as a team. Divers Sean Wolfe and Rachel Bertram were honored individually as Wolfe was named MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and Bertram was a CSCAA Scholar All-American.

Agnew, a Ball State graduate, returned to his alma mater after spending the previous 11 years as Purdue's men's swimming and diving assistant coach. Purdue consistently produced its highest finishes in program history at both the Big Ten Championship and NCAA Championship level during Agnew's tenure. He was instrumental in helping guide 12 swimmers to qualify for the NCAA Championship meet and represent Purdue on the biggest stage of NCAA swimming. Agnew also coached numerous Big Ten finalists.

In Agnew's second year at Purdue, he coached Andrew Langenfeld to a Big 10 record in the 50-meter freestyle. Agnew then helped Danny Tucker win the 100-meter freestyle at the 2013 US Open Championship. The Purdue men were represented by 10 swimmers at both the 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. During Agnew's tenure at Purdue, the Boilermakers broke 37 school records and established 26 new freshman records.

Not only was Purdue successful in the pool, but the Boilermakers were recognized as a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team every year between 2008 and 2018.

Before heading to Purdue, Agnew was a successful high school coach with Yorktown High School and the Yorktown Swim Club, which is located less than 10 miles from Ball State. He brought the Yorktown swimming program to unprecedented heights during his seven-year tenure from 2000 to 2007, coaching eight individual state champions and 22 high school All-Americans.

In his final season with Yorktown, Agnew produced seven swimmers who went on to compete for NCAA Division I schools. The Yorktown boys' and girls' squads combined for 10 top-10 state finishes under Agnew's watch, including a runner-up showing by the 2006 girls' team. Agnew was named the 2004 Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Girls Swimming Coach of the Year after leading the team to a fourth-place finish.

Agnew earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Ball State. He earned a bachelor's in mathematics in 1996 and went on to earn a master's in educational leadership and supervision in 2008. Agnew is married to Kelly Agnew, a 1997 and 2000 graduate of Ball State. The couple has two daughters, Haley, a Purdue freshman, and Neely, who will be entering her sophomore year of high school.