Cooper Hoffman Will Join Florida State Sprint Legacy in Fall of 2015

Cooper Hoffman from Countryside High School in Clearwater, Florida has verbally committed to the Florida State Seminoles.

Hoffman will join his high school teammate Summer Finke, who also committed to the Seminoles this fall.

The Tampa Bay Aquatics product is primarily a sprinter, although at last weekend’s Florida 4A State Championship meet he was 2nd in the 100 back (50.09) in his only individual event.

He also split a 20.28 on the anchor of the 200 free relay in prelims, which was a huge favorite before being DQ’ed in finals; a 19.87 on the anchor of the team’s 200 medley relay that placed 4th; and a 45.61 leadoff on their 400 free relay.

Those 100 free and 100 back times were already lifetime bests early this season. A full listing of his best times are below:

• 50y free – 20.88
• 100y free – 45.61
• 100y back – 50.09
• 200y back – 1:54.20
• 50m free – 24.44
• 100m free – 53.26
• 100m back – 59.79

Sprinters is what the Florida State men’s team is primarily known for, and Hoffman is within range of contending for, though not guaranteed of, a spot on the team’s sprint relays as a freshman. Hoffman would rank as the team’s 3rd-fastest 50 freestyler and 2nd-fastest 100 freestyler so far this year, though the collegiate program that’s in the middle of training is at a very different place than the high school program coming off of a state championship meet. Even with that considered, the Florida State sprint group, while very young and improving led by sophomore Jason McCormick, isn’t as strong at the top as it’s been in years past.