By Claire Wong on SwimSwam
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Leonardo Garcia, a Colombian native, will dive for Texas A&M beginning this fall. Garcia will arrive at Aggieland as a graduate transfer following a three-year stint at Florida, who he last dove for in 2023. Prior to that, he spent his freshman year at Missouri, making A&M his 3rd SEC school.
Garcia, a five-time All-American, has qualified for the NCAA Championships in all 4 of his collegiate seasons. His highest showing came at the 2023 NCAA Championships, where he scored a 366.35 on platform to tie for 6th. Garcia additionally dove in the consolation final on the 1-meter, finishing 15th.
Garcia made his podium debut at SEC Championships this past season as a senior, where he earned bronze on platform diving with a score of 418.65. However, Garcia has always been a model of consistency, having advanced to the A-final on platform at SECs every season at Florida.
Internationally, Garcia represented Colombia at the Word Aquatics Championships in Doha in February. There, he placed 31st in the 10m platform.
Top Scores:
- 1 meter (6 dives) – 359.10
- 3 meter (6 dives) – 439.43
- 10m diving (6 dives) – 406.05
- Platform diving – 418.65
The Texas A&M men finished 4th at SECs in 2024 before going on to place 16th at NCAAs. Their highest scoring diver at SECs was Rhett Hensley, who finished 2nd in the 1m, 4th in the 10m, and 13th in the 3m. Texas A&M diving, which is headed by Jay Lerew, has historically had one of the best diving programs in the nation. Lerew, a former U.S. Olympic diving coach and the 2022 CSCAA & NCAA men’s diving coach of the year, is entering his 16th season as the head coach at Aggieland.
Garcia will join Travis Gulledge (breast/sprint free), BOTR Chase Swearingen (fly/IM), Ben Sytsma (sprint free), Seth Tolentino (sprint free), Ryan Rautenbach (back), Niko Jankovic (free), #17 Jacob Wimberly (IM/free), and Australian national team diver Jaxon Bowshire in Aggieland as newcomers for the 2024-25 season.
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Read the full story on SwimSwam: Texas A&M to welcome Diver Leonardo Garcia, an NCAA finalist, as Graduate Transfer.