While the Georgia men lost an exciting meet to an on-fire NC State Wolfpack team on the road on Saturday 155-143, as they boarded the bus for home, some exciting news to cushion the loss filtered its way through Twitter.
That is the news of the verbal commitment of the #5 recruit in the men’s class of 2015: Aidan Burns from the Santa Clara Swim Club.
Burns is the second-best overall distance freestyle recruit in the class, and the best miler in the class. While those are his primary events, he’s also a solid backstroker and IM’er.
In yards, his best times are:
- 200 free – 1:37.15
- 500 free – 4:17.97
- 1650 free – 14:57.07
- 100 back – 49.10
- 200 back – 1:44.37
- 200 IM – 1:45.36
- 400 IM – 3:48.60
He will be the next in the line of the great Georgia distance tradition that stretches through names like Andrew Gemmell, Matias Koski, Troy Prinsloo, and into the women’s team with swimmers like Brittany MacLean and Wendy Trott.
At NCAA’s last year, Georgia had more men in the top 20 of the 1650 free (four) than any other team in the country.
Burns has big international hopes for Team USA as well. He was 12th at this summer’s National Championship meet in the 1500 free and earned silver in the 400 free at the 2014 Jr. Pan Pac Championships.
Burns’ sudden ascension in the distance freestyles really took hold, especially in yards, during his junior season. He dropped 26 seconds in the 1650 free, and a more modest but still impressive four-and-a-half in his 500.
Burns’ times already line him up to be a top 8 finisher in at least three events at the SEC Championships as a freshman, and any kind of improvement (with the presumption of hitting his taper at the right time) should make him an immediate NCAA scorer.
Great for Aidan!
He’ll have a tremendous training group at Georgia, and probably getting a free ride. He has huge potential in lots of events. I expect he will do very well there!
BUT, for Georgia getting a top-10 recruit, this is not the one they needed…
What will he swim in college? 200/500/1650, the IMs and 2 Back… events that Georgia has historically crushed. Burns is 100% baller, but he doesn’t address the gaping holes in Georgia’s lineup (the 50s and 100s).
Not sure if he’s as good of a swimmer as he is good looking….
The Santa Clara Swim Club family is proud of the hard work by Aidan Butns and his coaches that has lead him to Georgia.
Wow! Aidan is in Stanford’s back yard and with Cal and USC also closeby, he’ll go cross-country. Nice get and with many east coast swimmers selecting California schools, it’s interesting to have one go the other way.