Katie Grover of SwimAtlanta’s Johns Creek location has verbally committed to UCLA, she announced via Twitter late Wednesday night.
Grover is a fairly unique prospect for the Bruins, given her best events. She goes 50.07 in the 100 yard free and 1:48.86 in the 200 yard free. She has a bit of work to do in her 50, but a 23.64 should still prove to be extremely valuable for UCLA.
She’s also made monumental gains in her sprint backstroking as a junior. Between her sophomore and junior seasons of high school, her 100 yard time went from a 56.4 all the way down to a 54.2. Her improvements in the 100 yard fly have mirrored that, dropping from 57.60 to 53.55.
She is the defending Georgia state champion in the 100 yard fly and 100 yard back in 6A (the biggest schools), and the year prior also took the victory in the 100 yard free. As a junior, Grover turned herself from a nice recruit with some sprint freestyle potential to a potential star in a crowded Pac 12 Conference.
UCLA’s most success recently has been in developing butterfliers, and it seems that is where Grover would be the biggest need and best fit, following in the footsteps of NCAA qualifier Ting Quah.
She is the second swimmer to verbally commit to UCLA this week. Jax Shoults from Mission Viejo, another very good backstroker, also gave her pledge.
Grover swims for Jeff Hike at SwimAtlanta and Theresa Lee at Milton High School.