Following National Signing Day, 11 new athletes committed to Texas’ men’s swim and dive team. Eight swimmers and three divers make up the first round of high school recruits on their way to the Forty Acres.
These 11 new recruits add fresh strength to the men’s swim and dive team, with many of the swimmers specializing in the individual medley and backstroke. These events were previously lacking or will be left with spots to fill after the team’s seniors, graduate students and upperclassmen move on to the next level.
Garrett Gould, Landon D’Ariano, Luke Stibrich, Cooper Lucas, Kyle Peck, Jeremy Kelly, Max Hatcher and Tyler Quarterman are the eight swimmers who recently announced their commitment to Texas, with each specializing in several events and carrying impressive times and rankings.
Gould is coming all the way from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and is ranked No. 4 in his state and No. 118 in the 2024 class. He specializes in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly events.
D’Ariano, from West Chester, Pennsylvania, is the No. 1 ranked recruit in his state and No. 21 in the class of 2024 swimmers. His strongest events include the freestyle, butterfly and individual medley.
Stibrich is a local product out of Humble, Texas, and ranked No. 11 in the state and No. 88 in the class of 2024. While well-rounded, his strength lies in the individual medley and freestyle.
Lucas is a recruit from Keller, Texas, ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 5 in the entire class of 2024. With past experience in competing with USA Swimming, he is well-rounded in all events.
Peck, coming from Fredericksburg, Virginia, is the No. 2 overall recruit in his home state and No. 15 on the list of 2024 swimmers. A four-time finalist in the Virginia Senior Championships, he holds his strongest events in the backstroke and butterfly.
Kelly, from Georgetown, Texas, is ranked No. 7 in the state and No. 59 in the national class of 2024, with his highest events being the individual medley and freestyle. He has experience competing with Austin’s very own Texas Gold swim team.
Hatcher, a recruit from Grapevine, Texas, is ranked No. 4 in the state and No. 39 nationally. As a two-time UIL 6A State finalist, he holds most of his experience in the freestyle, individual medley and butterfly.
Quarterman is from Boise, Idaho, and is ranked No. 1 in his state and No. 162 nationally. His strongest events include the individual medley and backstroke.
The three divers recruited to Texas include Luke Forester, Jacob Jones and Jake Welsh. Each has competitive experience in the 1-meter and 3-meter events.
Forester’s primary position is the 3-meter springboard, with his 2023 USA Diving National Championships high of 384 and 2023 Moose Moss Invitational 1-meter score of 548.40. His hometown is Woburn, Massachusetts.
Jones is from Spring, Texas, with high scores in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events and with USA Diving.
Welsh comes from Atherton, California, with national competitive experience with USA Diving. He will compete at the 2023 USA Diving Winter Nationals.
The gap in events will grow as upperclassmen graduate and is expected to widen further with the upcoming retirement of legendary head coach Eddie Reese, who will be leaving after 2024’s Spring Olympic Trials.
With the hole left by Reese and the upcoming graduation of influential seniors, such as Coby Carrozza and Chris O’Connor, the value of new Texas commits is emphasized even more now than in previous years.
