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USA Swimming Scholastic All-American and 2022 All-Deco Swimmer of the Year Jake Kennedy has verbally committed to the University of Alabama. He is a junior at Springfield High School in Pennsylvania.
“I’m proud to announce my verbal commitment to continue my athletic and academic career at the University of Alabama! I wanna thank my coaches, family, and friends who have supported me along the way. Roll Tide! 🔴⚪️🐘”
At the 2023 Pennsylvania Class 3A Boys High School State Swimming and Diving Championships, Kennedy won the 100 back and finished 2nd in the 50 free. He also swam as part of the winning 200 free relay, with a split of 19.82.
Kennedy also competes for the Ridley Area YMCA. At the 2022 YMCA Long Course Nationals, he won the 50 free with a time of 23.35. He also finished 7th in the 50 and 100 back, and 10th in the 100 free. At the 2022 YMCA Short Course Nationals, he performed well, though his top individual finish was 15th in the 50 free, with a time of 20.94.
Kennedy has a 2023 Summer Juniors cut in the SCY 50 free and 100 back, a 2022 Winter U.S. Open cut in the LCM 50 free, and USA Swimming 2023 Futures cuts in the SCY 100 free, and LCM 100 free and 100 back.
Best short-course yards times:
- 50 free: 20.41
- 100 free: 45.26
- 200 free: 1:44.69
- 100 back: 49.43
- 200 back: 1:55.84
Alabama is a member of the Southeastern Conference, and at the 2022 SEC Championships, the men’s team finished 2nd behind the University of Florida. This was the program’s best finish since winning the title in 1987. At the 2023 SEC Championships, however, the Alabama men fell to 7th out of 10 teams.
At the 2022 NCAA Championships, the Alabama men finished 14th, its 8th-consecutive top-15 finish at NCAAs, but fell to 19th in 2023.
At the 2023 SEC Championships, Alabama did not have any swimmers in the A final of the 50 free. Alabama’s best finisher in that event was freshman Tim Korstanje, who finished 21st with a time of 19.70. While it’s certainly possible that Kennedy could make the top finals in that event, he’ll have to drop a couple of seconds to be in contention, though he has plenty of time to improve before he even joins the team in 2024.
Korstanje is also the team’s best 50 freestyler this season, with his best time at SEC Championships. The 2nd- and 3rd-fastest swimmers in the event are sophomores–Charlie Hawke with a 19.72 and Ben Hines with a 19.90.
Kennedy’s times show the potential for quick improvement. In March 2022, his time at high school states was 21.00, and he swam a 20.47 in December 2022 before posting a 20.41 in March. If he can continue to drop over the next year, he can set himself up for success on the team.
Kennedy has shown significant improvement this season in the 100 back. While he’ll miss training with current senior Matthew Menke, who finished 5th at SEC Championships with a time of 45.51, Kennedy will have the opportunity to step in when the top swimmers graduate this year or next.
Kennedy joins versatile swimmer Jarrett Payne in the class of 2028, and both will be part of head coach Margo Geer’s recruiting push to compete with the likes of Florida.
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i love jake kennedy