2010-2011 Junior National Team member Taylor O’Brien has verbally committed to swim for the Indiana Hoosiers next fall, sources close to the program tell us. She made her decision back in August after a recruiting trip.
O’Brien is a distance specialist who will head to Bloomington with a best of 16:12 in the 1650 free, which already would have been within 5 seconds of scoring points at the NCAA Championships last year. She also comes in with a 4:49.17 in the 500 free and a 1:49.14 in the 200 (though she’s capable of much better than that, based on the splits from her best 500 free). Amongst her best long course performances is an 8:37 in the 800 free that earned her spot on the Junior National Team last year.
She currently trains at the Parkland Aquatic Club with one of this summer’s breakout junior stars – 14-year old Gillian Ryan. O’Brien, like Ryan, would have been an A-finalist at this summer’s National Championships in the 800, but she missed the summer championship season after fracturing a vertabrae that caused her to need back surgery. Assuming that she fully recovers from that (and this must have been the prognosis for Indiana to offer her so shortly after surgery) she will be one of the best distance swimmers in the class.
O’Brien seems to be a good fit to transition into USA Swimming’s Open Water program during or after her college career, similarly to current Indiana senior Nikki White.