By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
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Almost a year after committing to USC, Campbell McKean, the 14th-ranked boys recruit in the high school class of 2025, has flipped his verbal commitment to the University of Texas.
McKean swims for the Bend Swim Club in Bend, Oregon, is a member of the USA Swimming Junior National Team, and swam for the U.S. at the 2024 Junior Pan Pac Championships. There he won a silver medal in the 100 breaststroke , and also raced the 200 free, 100 fly, 200 IM, and on both the 400 free relay and 400 medley relay, flexing his versatility.
He also raced at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing 21st in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.00) and 26th in the 200 IM (2:01.30), both lifetime bests at his first Olympic Trials meet. He was the highest-placing junior in Indy in the 100 breaststroke by nine spots.
He is a four-time Oregon High School State Champion, winning the 200 IM and 100 back as a sophomore and the 100 breast and 200 IM as a junior, both in class 5A (for the state’s smaller high schools). Both swims were new OSAA Oregon High School records.
McKean swims for Caldera High School in Bend.
Best Times in Yards
- 100 breast – 53.36
- 200 breast – 1:59.63
- 200 IM – 1:44.23
- 400 IM – 3:46.55
- 100 fly – 48.00
- 200 fly – 1:46.75
- 50 free – 21.60
- 100 free – 45.08
- 200 free – 1:39.85
- 100 back – 49.12
McKean’s breaststroke has come a long way since his initial commitment article, where breaststroke wasn’t even mentioned. His best at that time was a 57.18, but in November 2023 he dropped that to 54.21, setting off a chain of improvements throughout his junior season.
McKean’s arrival for the new-look Longhorns comes in the same week when Max Goetsch, a sprinter with freestyle bests of 20.41/44.42/1:36.71 in the short freestyles, flipped his commitment from Texas to Cal in the same class, while Evan Conti flipped his commitment to Notre Dame.
New head coach Bob Bowman has made waves of change in a hurry in Austin, bringing in some big international commitments and having at least two domestic recruits for the class of 2025 look elsewhere.
While McKean is a versatile swimmer who should land as an All-American in the 200 IM, at least, the 100 breaststroke is a key get for Texas, as that’s where they have a gap headed into next season after Jake Foster‘s graduation. Foster was the Longhorns’ only entry in the 100 breast at NCAAs, as a 5th year. While Texas has a very good class of 2024 arriving on campus this fall, the best two they brought in this year are Cooper Lucas (54.18) and Jeremy Kelly (54.98), neither of whom were primarily recruited as breaststrokers.
The burden won’t be fully on McKean in the breaststroke group, though: a trio of swimmers Will Scholtz, Brayden Taivassalo, and Nate Germonprez all went 52s last year as freshmen, so one of them should find their way into the 51s this season.
Texas had a small class of three public commitments when Bowman took over. Besides Conti and Goetsch, who have both now committed elsewhere, John Simmons still lists Texas as his school of choice on his social media bios. Michael Gorey of the Carmel Swim Club and Calvin Fry from England have both committed to Texas in recent weeks.
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Read the full story on SwimSwam: #14 Ranked Recruit in the Class of 2025 Campbell McKean Flips His Commitment to Texas