Big 12 Champion, NCAA Qualifier Tim Connery Enters Transfer Portal

University of Texas swimmer Tim Connery has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after one season in Austin.

Connery, who was the #8 recruit in the high school class of 2021, originally verbally committed to Michigan before changing his mind and committing to Texas. He is a native of Davidson, North Carolina, and pre-college trained with superclub SwimMAC Carolina.

In his first season of collegiate swimming, Connery was the Big 12 Champion in the 100 fly (45.61) and swam three individual events at the NCAA Championships. At NCAAs, he placed 54th in the 100 free (44.39), 42nd in the 200 free (1:34.40), and 23rd in the 200 IM (1:43.07). The 200 IM was the only of his three races where he swam a personal best at NCAAs.

Connery came to Texas as one of the more versatile high school recruits that we’ve seen – part of a leading edge of increasingly-versatile swimmers coming into the college ranks.

As a freshman, he focused mostly on the freestyle, butterfly, and IM events, and didn’t swim the breaststroke races, which were arguably as good as any events on his resume coming into college.

Tim Connery Times Progression:

In high school, Conner was a champion at both the 2021 Speedo Summer Championships – East meet (100 free, 100 fly), the 2019 Winter Junior Championships – East (100 fly), and was a three-time North Carolina High School State Champion (small schools).

Texas qualified more student-athletes than they were allowed to take to each of the last two NCAA Championship meets. The Longhorns have a good class coming in – including the #12, #16, and an honorable mention recruit so far – but not so good of a class that a swimmer like Connery might fear being pushed off the NCAA roster by incoming freshmen.

Entering the NCAA Transfer Portal does not mean that an athlete has to transfer; rather, it gives them more flexibility to discuss the possibility of transferring with other colleges. Because he initiated his entry into the portal after May 1, he would have to apply for an NCAA waiver to be eligible in the 2022-2023 season. Among the reasons the NCAA grants waivers include a head coaching change or a canceled athletic scholarship after May 1 but before July 1.