USA Swimming National Junior Team swimmer Regan Barney, who is wrapping up her junior year of high school, has verbally committed to the defending NCAA Champion Georgia Bulldogs. She will join the team in the fall of 2017.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFw3uwiuu0-/?taken-by=regan_barney
Barney is a member of the 2015-2016 USA Swimming Junior National Team by way of the 400 IM. Her best yards time in that race, done at the 2014 Winter Junior Nationals when she was just 15, is 4:10.99. That time placed her 2nd at that meet (prior to its split into an East and West site last year).
Best Times (Yards/LCM):
- 200 free – 1:49.77/2:05.82
- 500y/400m free – 4:49.94/4:20.88
- 1000y/800m free – 9:54.55/9:02.27
- 200 IM – 1:59.06/2:17.01
- 400 IM – 4:10.99/4:47.00
The Bulldogs are best known for their success in the freestyle races (they won NCAA event titles in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles last season), but also had 4 swimmers last season better than 4:10 in the 400 yard IM. That’s more than any other team in the country.
2 of those 4 finished their last year of eligibility this season, and 1 more (NCAA bronze medalist Emily Cameron) will graduate before Barney arrives at Georgia.
Regan (top) celebrates her commitment with best friend Fey Matamoros (bottom).
This is a new recruiting pool for Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle. While he’s had swimmers from the Lone Star State in the past, his 2015-2016 roster doesn’t have a single swimmer from the state of Texas.
Hoping this spurs a good recruiting class for the Dawgs. Burchill can’t carry the torch alone. Wonder if IU would trade a breaststroker for a middle distance freestyler?