Allen Joseph (“A.J.”) Ross has announced his verbal commitment to swim for the South Carolina Gamecocks for the 2017-2018 season. He made his announcement via Twitter:
I'm blessed to announce my verbal commitment to swim at the University of South Carolina! I owe it all to my coaches, family, & teammates! pic.twitter.com/dHGl52Z4ov
— AJ (@AJRoss1020) October 1, 2016
Ross is primarily a freestyle sprinter from Northern Virginia who competes for National’s Capital Swim Club, which is the club team of Olympic Gold Medalist Katie Ledecky. He also swims for Patriot High School. Ross currently has four junior national cuts in the 50 free (both yards and meters), the 100 meter free and the 200 meter free.
His best times are:
| Event | Time (SCY) | Time (LCM) |
| 50 Free | 20.99 | 23.96 |
| 100 Free | 46.30 | 52.69 |
| 200 Free | 1:41.06 | 1:56.13 |
| 100 Fly | 51:54 | 58.05 |
All of those best times have come in the last few months, so Ross could very well arrive on campus in Columbia as a much more valuable recruit. His three most recent long course junior national cuts were achieved this past August. If he can continue trending upward during his final high school season, Ross has a great chance of landing a spot on the Gamecocks’ 200 free A relay as a freshman.
Even with his current best times, Ross would have ranked 3rd in the 50 free and 5th in the 100 free for the Gamecocks on their list of top performers for the 2015-2016 season. By the time Ross joins the team, the Gamecocks will have graduated their top men’s freestyle sprinter, OT Qualifier Jonathan Boland. Patrick McCrillis, however, their second-fastest from last season, will be entering his senior and can train alongside Ross.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email to [email protected].