Auburn junior Youssef Hammoud has told SwimSwam he will be transferring to Georgia Tech next fall, joining the Yellow Jackets to continue his NCAA career.
Hammoud is a backstroker/freestyler, with the emphasis starting to shift the freestyle end of things. He entered Auburn as a backstroker, having won gold in the 200 back and silver in the 100 at the Junior Arab Championships representing Egypt. But his sprint freestyle has been surging as of late, and he actually might project better there for Georgia Tech, particularly on relays.
“I went to Auburn as a backstroker and left as a sprint free and backstroker,” Hammoud said, “so I think I can use a lot from what I have learned at AU at GT.”
Hammoud’s Top Times
- 50 free: 20.25
- 100 free: 44.24
- 200 free: 1:37.49
- 100 back: 49.38
- 200 back: 1:47.90
“First, since I am a computer science major, Georgia Tech will be a great school to go to,” the Egyptian national told SwimSwam this week. “I loved the campus, the pool and the guys.”
“Georgia Tech has great sprinters, and since I do sprint free now beside the 100 back, I think GT will be a good fit for me,” he added. “I think I can add a lot to the team, especially in the relays.”
Hammoud was not on Auburn’s SEC Championship team in 2014, but his season-best times could have scored for Georgia Tech in four different events at the ACC Championships. In particular, Hammoud’s times would have fit into the B final of both the 200 and 100 freestyles (the ACC scores down to 24, so both of his backstrokes would have scored from the C final as well).
But the biggest upside for Georgia Tech might be Hammoud’s ability as a relay piece. His flat-start 100 would have made the Yellow Jackets’ ACC 400 free relay team without even factoring in a relay start, and he should have a good shot to swim the 200 free relay as well.
Georgia Tech already has a pair of nice freestylers in seniors Andrew Kosic and Nico van Duijn, and they’ll hope Hammoud can help strengthen that core even further. If he does, the Jackets could be putting together some formidable free relays next season, a fact not lost on Hammoud, as he cited it as one of the major factors in his decision.