Vanderbilt Swimming | Cothern Joins Commodores Employees

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt swimming head coach Jeremy Organ introduced Thursday the hiring of Bella Cothern as assistant coach and director of operations.

She joins this system after finishing a profession at Arkansas that noticed her earn All-America and All-SEC honors.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bella to the Vanderbilt swimming family,” stated Organ. “She is an outstanding young coach with a passion for developing student-athletes both in and out of the pool. Her competitive background and drive to succeed make her a perfect fit for our program as we continually strive for excellence and to continue the momentum we’ve built the last couple of seasons.”

Cothern was an honorable point out All-American as a part of the Razorbacks’ 200 and 400 freestyle relays groups on the NCAA Championships in 2022 and 2023, including recognition with this system’s 200 medley relay squad the latter yr as nicely. Individually, she competed in three occasions on the 2024 NCAA Championships—the 50 and 100 freestyle, and 100 butterfly—after simply lacking the rostrum with a fourth-place end within the 50 free on the SEC Championships that winter.

Originally from Jonesboro, Arkansas, Cothern superior to finals within the 50 and 100 free in addition to the 100 breaststroke on the SEC Championships in 2023, profitable the C Final within the latter race the earlier yr. In addition to incomes second-team All-SEC recognition in 2023, she was named the league’s Swimmer of the Week on Oct. 31 the next season.

Cothern competed within the 50 free on the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, and she or he competed within the A Final in a number of occasions on the U.S. Open in 2021. She concluded her profession ranked second all-time at school historical past with a 52.52 mark within the 100 fly.

In the classroom Cothern was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll on 5 events, and she or he additionally served as a workforce captain every of her closing 4 seasons with this system.

A 2024 graduate with a level in recreation and sports activities administration, she added a grasp’s diploma in recreation and sports activities administration from Arkansas in 2025. She has expertise as a member of the teaching employees with the Aquahawgs Swim Club.