During a press conference on Tuesday in Austin, Texas men’s head swimming & diving coach Eddie Reese that the team is going to take 4 divers and 16 swimmers. That’s in spite of having 24 men eligible to qualify for the meet in swimming and 5 divers.
Each team has 18 roster spots at the NCAA Championship meet, with swimmers counting as 1 spot and divers counting as .5, so 16 swimmers and 4 divers adds up to the maximum 18 roster spots.
The press conference was done before Texas’ 4th and 5th divers were qualified, but Reese said that even if they had 5 divers qualified, they would leave 1 home, alongside 6 eligible swimmers.
Even without divers, Texas is seeded to outscore the rest of the teams in the country – and they have by far the best diving group among the top contending teams.
Among other topics covered was the coronavirus that is reshaping the global swimming stage in the leadup to the 2020 Olympics. Reese said that he’s been told that there is a possibility to delay the Olympics, although they would still have to take place in 2020, though he remains optimistic about it.
As for the more imminent threat, the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship meet that is only 2 weeks away, Reese said “I’m not worried about that, I know that’s a possibility. I know the Ivy League just cancelled their conference basketball tournament, and South by Southwest was cancelled. We’re into an era now where over-protection is what we do, and we’ve gotta do it that way, something like this.
“Nobody’s slowing down, everybody’s planning on it.”
Reese did say that if the NCAA Championship meet was cancelled, he might have to “invent” something in Texas’ home pool to give his team a chance to see the payoff of their taper, saying that he believes that’s an important thing for swimmers to have an opportunity for every season.
When asking about the impact that a 2020 title would mean, resulting in Reese having won NCAA titles in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, Reese joked that it means he’s old, before getting a little more sentimental about the moment.
“I’m still in the sport, because I love the sport. I love what it makes them do. They go to college, they go to class, I get to see them 20 hours per week, and they work real hard, and they learn a lot of disciplines that will take them further in life. Almost every swimmer in life has gone on to be very, very successful. They used to come to me and say ‘I’m not going to have my children swim, because it’s too hard.’ And that has turned around. I used to tell them, ‘don’t for one minute think that you could get as far as you’ve gotten without swimming.’ And then of course the other one is ‘that just means you don’t love your kids as much as your parents love you.'”
Reese was also asked about his big transfers this season, Maxime Rooney, Alvin Jiang, and Chris Staka.
“Maxime came to school here, and when he first started practicing, he would shake hands and bump fists at the end of practice, with everyone on the team, and he still does a lot of that. In other words, he’s going all out for the team, and he does the same thing in his swims. He’s top 3 or 4 in the 100 fly going into the NCAAs. He doesn’t breathe the last 25. There’s probably 2 other guys who will do it that way. He’s just very tough, very determined.”
“The impact he’s had on the team has been special. This group this year…everybody talks about culture now, 10 years ago it was team chemistry, and in 10 years it’s gonna be, how much do they care about each other, and when he came in, we have upgraded, we’ve got a culture that is second to none, they take care of themselves, they take care of each other.”
Reese went on to laud his other two big recruits, Alvin Jiang and Chris Staka, as well.
Lots of people who get that diving has three events at this meet, and lots of people who DON’T get it.
The sport is “Swimming and Diving.” Enough said. But if you want more: When Texas wins with diving scores, it’s because they got points across the board (hahaha). What people miss about this is that Coach Reese is serious about making sure as many athletes get competitive opportunities, in an era when NCAA S&D has been cut from many colleges. Looking at YOU, Clemson, UMd, Illinois, UCLA, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas… Texas is creating opportunities for divers, and as a result, divers contribute to team success. In the bigger picture, UT divers have also represented the USA and other… Read more »
They should make diving part of the gymnastics title event. Its more closely related.
I like making NCAA divers a full roster slot and then scoring the same as relays – take that…
Greatest Coach
Funniest Coach
In history.
Keep going Eddie.
We love you brother!!
A lot of people drinking the Texas koolaide in these threads.
Must be a big conspiracy (not like Eddie is going to win titles in FIVE different decades).
Eddie has never scored a point in those five decades.
I do not understand why so many downvotes for this post. This is a fact. I told Eddie I saw him swimming (celebratory) breaststroke at Atlanta and I was not impressed. He sad he tried hard to be a better breaststroker but could not turn his feet outward if his life depended on it. So, true, I do not think you will see Eddie on Psych Sheet for NCAAs any time soon. Maybe in 20-30 years, after some practices?
And he would be the first to tell you that, which is part of his greatness.
When you have a half century of extreme levels of success, it’s more than kool aid.
Oh you Don’t know Eddie? Sorry.
Anyone know where Eddie got his baseball cap with ‘Swimming and Diving’ prominently displayed? Nuf said…
I’ve been looking around for a Texas swimming & diving apparel store, only one I could find is via the camp. It’s surprisingly cheap to get custom embroidered baseball hats, though. Like, $15.
Again, D&J Sports store at the Texas Swim Center on Tuesdays from 4pm-7pm (next to cafe) or during any Age Group Swim meet. https://longhornaquatics.utexas.edu/store
Whatever Eddie wants, Eddie gets
I think D&J store at the Texas Swim Center sells them. They are only open on Tuesdays and during meets.
We do. Not identical to the one Coach Reese is wearing, but the word “swimming” and a longhorn.
Open at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center Tuesdays 4pm-7pm
Open at the Anderson Mill and 183 Location 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat.
Sorry for the self promotion, but it came up.
One of the most telling things about Eddie Reese is the way he compliments his swimmers publicly. I remember about two decades ago at some press conference he was gong on about how tough one of his swimmers was. This guy was a 400 IMer (sorry, can’t remember his name) who had made consolation finals at NCAAs, he wasn’t one of the stars of that team, but Reese was just lavishing praise on him left and right. That breeds tremendous loyalty and trust.
I’ve often wondered what goes through the minds of the guys who qualify (a dream for most college swimmers), but are left home. Would they transfer, or quit swimming?
Last year Jack Collins (who transferred in from Indiana) was one left home. He had a fantastic summer and has gone best times. It looks like he will make it on the travel team. Lots of credit to him to sticking with it. And he is only 5’ 9”, don’t think he was heavily recruited by Texas in high school.
How about Maxime Rooney who transferred in for one year and gets to go to NCAAs How do the swimmers moving up the ranks feel about that.
Really SWIMMER? How do you think they feel about Maxime helping them win a National Championship? If I had punched my ticket for NCAA’s, and it is clear Maxime can score more points than me, he could have mine any day. If I could score more points or even the same – then there is the Eddie factor…and you probably know how I would feel about that. So many comments wondering about how left home ‘individuals’ or their parents feel on these articles point to how little they know about how much EVERY swimmer and diver feels about their team’s competitiveness.
Really?? If I put in 4 years of hard work in Austin and got bumped out by a guy who has only been there less than 8 months I would be majorly upset.
And that’s why you don’t “get it”. Team over self.
What if it was a freshman? Don’t like it, swim faster… there are no guarantees. Or go to a program where they don’t qualify the maximum.
And that’s one of the many reasons you don’t swim at Texas, @swimmer.
Dude. This isn’t a union where seniority rules. If a freshman like Jake Foster comes in and is faster – he swims NCAAs. If a transfer comes in and is faster, he swims. Swimming is the most objective sport out there — that’s a FEATURE of swimming, not a bug.
Think he swam at home over the summer.
Isn’t Jack’s older brother the Texas assistant coach?
How much time do they deduct for being related to the coach? How much of a bonus time reduction is standard here?
Am I remembering wrong or did Eddie’s grandson qualify and get left home in the last couple years?
I think a family member of both coaches has been left home.
This is no surprise. Texas swimming has been off the last couple of years. 3rd in 2018 2nd in 2019 If the horns are going to pull off the upset it will be their divers making the difference. #Texas Diving and swimming.
Texas WON NCAAs in 2018.
In 2018 Cal and NC State our swam texas. Texas diving saved them in 2018.
Join the NCAA swimming and diving board and lobby for a split if you think having divers is an egregious sin. You can try to gerrymander the scoreboard however you like, but it just makes you look ridiculous. Everyone knows the events that are on the table. Texas won in 2018 because they leveraged that in the best way possible. Cal lost in 2018 because they didn’t.
Everyone plays by the same rules. Quit crying. #divingpointsmatter
stop with this.
Kind of hoping this discussion can be taken over to DiveDove.com
And imagine how much better the swimming could have been had swimmers received the diving scholarships. I don’t think Texas is going to feel bad about contesting three more events than teams that might not have the foresight to plan for them.
I bet you think Hilary Clinton should be president because she ran up the score in California.
Oh you mean the year They got 2nd and 3rd?all I know is Texas won. National champs.
If they cancel NCAAs, please have a Texas Cal duel meet.
I’d fly somewhere and pay to see that. I’ll even raise the money to rent out the Texas Swimming Center (or heck – let Cal have the home pool!) – checking SW Airlines round trip to the Bay Area now…
But NCAAs already is a Texas Cal dual meet…
Yes, please. A 3-day championship lineup dual meet.
You’d have to think you’d want it in a neutral pool, since Cal wins in Austin.
Then you gotta remember NCAAs is already in Indy, which would be my choice #1 for a pool anyway.
Info on the psych sheet article dropped this morning says it’s at IU Natatorium though… Thought that was in Bloomington, and it was the IUPUI that they’re having the meet at. Braden?
The meet is at IUPUI, which is technically an IU campus also connected to Purdue – hence the name, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, or IUPUI. The aquatic center there is officially called the IU Natatorium. (The pool in Bloomington is called the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center).
Short version of that long answer is that you’re correct, the meet is in Indianapolis, not Bloomington.
I don’t know why I ever doubted IU would name their pool after Doc Councilman. Thanks.
And The Nat is the only permanent pool in the country where they can host men’s NCAAs and actually have tickets publicly available. Needs to be there every year…sorry I said It. And oh, yeah, have women’s there at the same time like every other non-college meet in the world.
If you ever walk around IUPUI, you’ll see that it’s a lot more IU than PU.