Bryan Christiansen enters his fifth season as head coach of the Quincy University men's and women's swimming programs during the 2026-27 academic year after overseeing unprecedented growth and success since relaunching the sport in 2022.
Under Christiansen's leadership, Quincy has quickly emerged as one of the rising swimming programs in the GLVC. In just four seasons, the Hawks have produced four NCAA All-America performances, multiple NCAA Championship qualifiers, and continued to raise the standard at both the conference and national levels while expanding the program from its inaugural roster to a competitive squad on both the men's and women's sides.
The 2025-26 season marked another historic step forward for Quincy Swimming. For the first time in program history, the Hawks placed at least one swimmer in the championship finals of every event at the GLVC Championships. The men's team climbed to a program-best fifth-place finish after placing eighth the previous season, while the women improved to eighth after finishing ninth in 2025. Both programs surpassed their team scoring goals, with the men eclipsing 600 points and the women surpassing the 500-point mark. Quincy also added two more NCAA All-America performances on the men's side, continuing the program's rapid ascent on the national stage.
During the 2024-25 season, Christiansen guided the Hawks to the most successful campaign in program history to that point. Wyatt Walsh and Borna Kudwoli earned NCAA All-America honors as Quincy finished 29th nationally, while the men's team placed eighth in the GLVC. The women's team established six pool records and two program records while earning victories over St. Ambrose and Illinois Tech.
Following significant roster growth in 2023-24, Quincy expanded from 16 to 37 student-athletes and established itself as a competitive NCAA Division II program. Wyatt Walsh qualified for the NCAA Championships and narrowly missed All-America status with a 17th-place finish in the 400 IM, while the Hawks set 16 program records.
Christiansen launched a new era of Quincy Swimming during the 2022-23 season by restarting the women's program and establishing the university's inaugural men's swimming team. The Hawks recorded five NCAA B cuts in their first season, highlighted by freshman Wyatt Walsh posting the 11th-fastest time in NCAA Division II in the 400 IM.
Prior to Quincy, Christiansen served three seasons as head coach at Frostburg State University, guiding the Bobcats through their transition to NCAA Division II competition. During his tenure, Frostburg produced seven conference champions, the conference Swimmer of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and broke 54 team and pool records. Christiansen also coached Connor Gioffreda, who earned a spot on the U.S. National Team and set a world record before competing at the U.S. Paralympic Trials.
Before Frostburg, Christiansen was an assistant coach at John Carroll University, where he helped both the men's and women's teams capture the 2018 Ohio Athletic Conference championships while the coaching staff earned OAC Women's Coaching Staff of the Year honors. He also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at State University of New York at New Paltz, helping coach eight conference champions while the men's and women's programs both completed undefeated seasons in 2016-17.
Christiansen has coached swimming since 2008 at the club, high school, collegiate, masters, and summer league levels. He has also directed numerous swim camps, including the QU Swim Camp.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Hiram College, Christiansen earned his bachelor's degree in history while serving as a three-year captain of the men's swim team. He later completed a master's degree in communication and media technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Christiansen and his wife, Sarah, an attorney for the Appellate Court of Illinois, reside in Quincy with their son, George, and two cats, Missy and Linc.
