Olympic Trials finalist and former Florida Gator Danielle Valley has transferred to Wisconsin and will compete Friday against USC, the Wisconsin Swim & Diving program told SwimSwam today.
Valley was a double-SEC A-finalist in 2014, her freshman year at Florida, but left the program this summer with the intention of transferring to a new home.
She sat out the fall semester, but it was heavily speculated that she’d surface in Wisconsin. She’ll now be reunited with her former Sarasota YMCA teammate Nick Caldwell, who transferred away from Florida a couple of years before Valley and is now one of the top Badger men.
Valley is a huge pickup for the Badger women, who are very good in a few events, but not very deep. Between Valley and senior Ivy Martin, the team now has outstanding threats in every freestyling distance.
Valley’s Top Times
- 1000 free: 9:29.19
- 500 free: 4:38.79
- 1650 free: 15:53.94
- 400 IM: 4:10.00
Head coach Whitney Hite said the program was very excited about its new pickup:
“We are thrilled to have Danielle on the team and help her pursue her academic and athletic dreams,” Hite said.
The Badgers are slated to take on USC in a prime-time, Friday night showdown where Valley is set to make her debut in Badger red.