Males’s swimming maintains momentum buoyed by sturdy incoming recruiting class, transfers

Even after shedding half of final season’s roster to commencement and attrition, Liberty University Tenth-year males’s swimming Head Coach Heath Grishaw is hopeful the incoming recruiting class that features seven freshmen and two transfers will assist the Flames keep their aggressive edge within the 2026-27 season.

“We’ve kind of gone to the drawing board (about) how we can keep team cohesion and at the same time still keep rising to success, even though numbers may not be where they were the past few years,” Grishaw stated. “We’re getting creative, we’re trying to change some stuff up with our training and how leadership runs, but first and foremost just making sure our standard as a team is set and held to.”

Under Grishaw, the Flames have posted 5 consecutive top-five finishes on the College Club Swimming (CCS) National Championships, together with three straight nationwide runner-up showings from 2023-25 earlier than putting third out of a report 144 groups at this previous April’s occasion on the Greensboro (N.C.) Aquatic Club. At that meet, Liberty solely completed behind packages from Cal-Poly and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that featured a number of swimmers from their NCAA Division I groups that eradicated or lowered scholarships.

While not as deep as these in current seasons, this 12 months’s recruiting class is extra balanced than in years previous when the Flames have introduced in just a few superb swimmers and lots of needing time to develop.

“It is going to be a fun group that is going to provide some strength in areas where we definitely need it,” Grishaw stated. “All of them have been around the sport for a long time and are coming in with a really strong knowledge and base of swimming. They all come in with really good strengths, which is going to make our practices really competitive.”

“We are going to be able to train on better intervals more consistently and they’re going to be able to push our veterans because they’re all at that same level,” he added. “They all have really good upside potential to show off this year.”

The two switch student-athletes are Kaleo Theis from Pendleton, Ore., who began his profession at Oklahoma Christian and may excel within the 50- to 200 free occasions, and Tim Brown, who began at Thomas University in Thomasville, Ga., earlier than spending the previous seasons at NCAA Division I Ohio State University and the University of Hawaii.

The freshman class consists of Drew McQueeney, a breaststroke phenom from West Palm Beach, Fla., who ought to assist fill the void left by the commencement of third-year workforce captain Dillon Delaney in that stroke.

The Flames will characteristic two very sturdy backstroke recruits in Landon Crum from Cincinnati and Lincoln Annise from Harleysville, Pa., and a fantastic butterfly swimmer in Brayden Todd from Greencastle, Pa., who previously attended the Maximum Velocity summer time swim camps hosted by Liberty.

“He is going to be a great addition for our team,” Grishaw stated of Todd. “He is super well-versed in everything. He can swim it all. He’s very versatile, but I am most excited about seeing him compete in butterfly.”

Mason Drumm, a freestyle and breaststroke swimmer from North Port, Fla., will complement Avery Snyder, a breast and distance free swimmer from Forest, Va., and Aidan Wanner — brother of rising junior Ethan Wanner, from Morgantown, Pa. — who will compete within the breast, fly, and particular person medley.

“Coming into an established program, these kids are going to have to show some grit to set them apart,” Grishaw stated. “I am looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out, and to see who is going to really take to our training and step up at the (Liberty Natatorium) when it’s time for meets. Time will tell.”

Both Grishaw’s spouse Ashlyn and Assistant Coach Jordan Stackpole’s spouse Ellen expect in early August and the 2 coaches might be on paternity go away main as much as this season’s tryouts, set to begin Aug. 31.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Kylee Wright/Club Sports Video & Media Support Staff