By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
World Championship gold medalist and former SEC champion Matt King is headed back to where it all started (sort of), announcing he’s headed to Indiana University for the 2024-25 season.
King, a member of the high school class of 2020, initially committed to Indiana in January of 2019, but seven months later, reversed course and opted to switch his commitment to Alabama, where he competed as a freshman in 2021 and won the SEC title in the men’s 100 free.
After one season with the Crimson Tide, King transferred to the University of Virginia, where he had an impressive sophomore season, including placing 7th in the 100 free at the 2022 NCAA Championships and playing a key role on the Cavaliers’ 200 free relay that broke the American Record.
During his junior year, King left Virginia after the first semester, heading home to deal with a family matter. He then made the move to Texas Ford Aquatics to train with former Alabama coach Coley Stickels, and ultimately opted to redshirt the 2023-24 NCAA season to prep for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Now, once he’s done competing this summer, King will head to Bloomington, joining the Hoosiers four years after he was originally scheduled to, with at least two seasons of eligibility remaining (SwimSwam has reached out to King for clarity on his remaining eligibility).
King made the announcement on his Instagram story on Wednesday with the caption: “Back like I never left.”
The 22-year-old has been on an impressive run of form since joining Stickels at Texas Ford, qualifying for the 2023 U.S. World Championship team and winning three medals in Fukuoka, earning the complete set with gold on the men’s 400 medley relay, silver in the mixed 400 free relay, and bronze on the men’s 400 free relay.
He was then named to the 2024 World Championship team, placing 7th in the men’s 100 free and 14th in the 50 free while winning three more relay medals.
King has established himself as a bonafide contender to make the U.S. Olympic team next month, and come the 2024-25 NCAA season, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with individually while also providing a big boost to Indiana’s sprint relays.
King’s best times in short course yards stand at 18.96 in the 50 free and 41.34 in the 100 free, both quicker than Indiana’s quickest from last season (19.08 and 41.66 from Rafael Miroslaw).
The Hoosiers placed 4th at the 2024 NCAAs, just two points back of 3rd-place Florida, despite failing to crack the top eight in either the 200 or 400 free relay. That could change now with King joining the fold, aligning with rising sophomore Mikkel Lee, a Singaporean sprinter, Miroslaw, and Tomer Frankel, who will return for his fifth year of eligibility.
SwimSwam: Matt King Announces Transfer To Indiana, Where He Originally Committed, After Olympic Redshirt
You must be logged in to post a comment Login