18.92, 41.25 NCAA Division II Freestyler Karol Ostrowski Enters Transfer Portal

NCAA Division II swimming star Karol Ostrowski from Drury has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Last season, at the NCAA Division II National Championship meet, Ostrowski became the first college swimmer from outside of Division I to go under 19 seconds in the 50 yard freestyle.

He swam 18.92 leading off Drury’s 200 free relay, the fastest time in D2 history, and won the 50 free (19.12), 100 free (41.25), and 200 free (1:33.29) at that meet as well.

Best Times in Yards:

  • 50 free – 18.92
  • 100 free – 41.25
  • 200 free – 1:33.29
  • 100 back – 46.55
  • 100 fly – 48.09

Ostrowski’s 50 free time ranked him 7th among collegiate swimmers of all divisions last season.

  1. Ryan Hoffer, Cal – 18.33 (graduated)
  2. Bjorn Seeliger, Cal – 18.71
  3. Adam Chaney, Florida – 18.76
  4. (TIE) Dillon Downing, Georgia/Matt Brownstead, Virginia – 18.88
  5. Eric Friese, Florida – 18.90
  6. Karol Ostrowski, Drury – 18.92
  7. Youssef Ramadan, Virginia Tech – 18.95
  8. Matt King, Alabama – 18.96
  9. Brooks Curry, LSU – 18.97

His time of 41.25 also ranked him as the #2 collegiate swimmer in the country in the 100 free, behind only Cal’s Ryan Hoffer. That makes Ostrowski the fastest-returning 100 freestyler in collegiate swimming this season, and that swim is also an NCAA DII record.

And that was as just a freshman.

Ostrowski is from Strachoci, Poland and represented his country as the leadoff leg of the 400 free relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He split 48.67 and the team finished 11th in a new National Record.

He originally committed to Florida State in 2017, while he was still a teenager, before eventually emerging at Drury several years later.

Last year was his first year of college swimming. While Drury lists him as a sophomore this season, Division II and Division I have different eligibility rules – so if he winds up in Division I, at 22 years old, there’s no guarantee that he would get 4 more years (including the COVID-19 waiver year) of eligibility.

He’s the second 18-point freestyler to change teams in the last 6 months – Alabama’s 2020-2021 freshman Matt King transferred to Virginia.

This is also part of an exodus of Division II talent. McKendree’s Fabio Dalu, who was the NCAA D2 Swimmer of the Year last season ahead of Ostrowski, transferred to Ohio State; and UIndy’s Landon Driggers, who was the 400 IM runner-up at NCAAs as a freshman, is also in the transfer portal.

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save me a seat
2 years ago

I noticed a swimmer of the same last name on the Drury Women’s records… coincidence??

Max Polianski
2 years ago

Great guy, had the pleasure of meeting him during his trip to FSU! Good luck, Karol!

Inside info
2 years ago

He didn’t originally go to FSU due to not speaking English

Wuuuuuutttt?
Reply to  Inside info
2 years ago

So they don’t speak English at his previous college?

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Inside info
2 years ago

They don’t speak English there. They speak Panhandle.

Tomek
2 years ago

Hey Karol, przejdz do Texas! Najlepszy stan w USA! Powodzenia w Division I.

PFA
2 years ago

What’s the likelyhood that he’s going to an ACC school?

mom Swim
Reply to  PFA
2 years ago

Likely

geo
2 years ago

It will be very interesting to see how his eligibility plays out. According to the NCAA, there is no set age limit for any athletes. However, Division I athletes are required to enroll in school one calendar year after high school graduation and then have just five years to complete a typical four-year degree.

Mr Piano
2 years ago

Dean Farris vibes

samuli
2 years ago

time to go shopping

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Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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