Lilly King Named Indiana University’s Athlete Of The Year

Two-time NCAA Champion Lilly King has been named Indiana University’s Athlete of the Year. Along with men’s basketball senior guard Kevin Yogi Ferrell, King has been recognized by the IU Department of Athletics for her accomplishments in just her freshman year as a Hoosier.

King burst onto the college swimming scene in a big way, earning both the 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke NCAA titles, becoming the first Hoosier to win multiple NCAA titles in the same year since Jim Montgomery in 1976. Also en route to her historic swims, King broke the American, NCAA, NCAA Meet, U.S. Open, Indiana school, Big Ten and Georgia Tech pool records in both events.

King was also recognized as the CSCAA National Swimmer of the Year and was unanimously voted as Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and Big Ten Rookie of the Year.

Said IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass of King’s and Ferrell’s achievements, “Yogi Ferrell and Lilly King are champions and record setters whose performances this past year make them more than worthy of joining the ranks of our legendary athletes who have earned our Athlete of the Year award. Reaching our highest athletic potential and winning championships is a top priority, and these great athletes who performed spectacularly for two of our most honored programs are tremendous representatives of our championship heritage. Congratulations to both Yogi and Lilly on being named IU Athletes of the Year.”

Reflecting on King’s season, Head Coach Ray Looze said, “Lilly King had one of the most impressive freshman seasons in NCAA history. The best part about Lilly is how good of a person she is on a daily basis: team oriented, competitive, and she always puts the team goals ahead of individual ones. She has a very bright future and significant room to improve. It will be exciting to see where she can take her swimming career at Indiana.”