The East Carolina men and women will each add another freshmen to their roster next season, as Ben Barden has given his verbal commitment to join the men and Jaylyn Forrest has announced her verbal commitment to the women.
Ben Barden:
Barden swims club for Swim GSA, and will make the move to ECU after graduating from Southwest Guilford High School. Last season, he qualified to compete at the 2015 Speedo Winter Junior Nationals (East). There, he set a personal best 50.98 while leading off the 400 medley relay. He was also a 2-time finalist at the North Carolina Senior Championships, placing 5th in the 100 back and 8th in the 200 fly.
On his commitment:
“Greenville feels like home to me, the team feels like family and the coaching staff knows how to produce fast swimmers.”
Barden’s Top Times:
| Event | Best Time |
| 100 back | 50.98 |
| 200 back | 1:50.05 |
| 100 fly | 51.81 |
| 200 fly | 1:51.50 |
| 200 IM | 1:54.60 |
| 400 IM | 4:04.42 |
At ECU, Barden will be training with the current AAC champion men. He should have an immediate scoring impact at conference, as his time in the 100 back is within tenths of what it took to make the championship final last season. He’s also fast enough to score in the 200 back, 400 IM, 100 fly, and 200 fly.
Jaylyn Forrest:
Forrest trains with the North Carolina Aquatic Club, and will head to ECU after graduating from Chapel Hill Senior High School. Last season, Forrest was a 2-time finalist at the North Carolina 3A State Championships. There, she picked up a pair of 6th place finishes in the 200 free and 500 free. She then went on to swim personal bests in the 200 free (1:55.18) and 400 IM (4:33.70) at the North Carolina Senior Championships.
Forrest’s Top Times:
| Event | Best time |
| 200 free | 1:55.18 |
| 500 free | 5:04.90 |
| 1650 free | 17:29.06 |
| 200 IM | 2:14.22 |
| 400 IM | 4:33.70 |
| 100 fly | 1:00.73 |
When she arrives at ECU, Forrest should have an immediate impact for the team at the AAC conference meet. Her personal best 17:29.06 in the mile is already fast enough to have scored last season.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email to [email protected].