The Naval Academy has landed another big recruit in the class of 2012 in Jonathan Debaugh out of The Woodlands Swim Team in the Houston area (the same program that produced Stanford commit Gray Umbach, among others).
Debaugh is a butterfly specialist with bests of 48.9/1:47.0 in the 100 and 200. Those times will immediately make him close-to the best on the Navy squad. In the long-term, his 1:41.0 in the 200 free will make him a relay participant as well.
The Academies (Air Force, Army, Navy) always have strong Texas presences, so this signing is no big surprise. The current Navy roster actually has 6 Texans on it, which is more than any other state besides Pennsylvania. This includes sophomore Gage Trotter, who as a freshman last year set the school record in the 100 back, that hails from the same high school and club programs as Debaugh.
Navy usually grabs pretty decent talent every year (they’re the best of the service academies) but even by their standards this is a banner year for recruiting. Besides Debaugh, they’ve earned pledges from 2:01 200 breaststroker Bill Young and 15:23 miler Noah Martin.