2024 SEC Champion in the 1650 freestyle Andrew Taylor has entered the transfer portal after roster cuts at the University of Florida. Taylor has been battling injuries.
Taylor just finished his sophomore season and originally is from Clearwater, Florida. As a freshman, Taylor captured the SEC title in the 1650 free with a 14:38.41. He also was 7th in the 500 free with a 4:13.81 to help the Florida men win the 2024 SEC team title.
He went on to swim even faster at 2024 NCAAs as he finished 3rd in the 1650 free in a lifetime best 14:37.80. He also swam a personal best 4:13.10 in the 500 free, and was just off making the final as he was 17th. It took a 4:13.00 to make it back. His 16 individual points from the 1650 free made him the 6th highest individual scorer for the Gators as they swam to a 3rd place team finish.
Taylor has been battling injuries and did not make NCAAs this past season. He swam his season best of a 15:01.05 at the SEC Championships for 22nd. He did not score in the 500 free as he was 27th. He did score in the 400 IM as he swam a lifetime best 3:44.70 for 20th. After SECs, he swam at the Florida Invite as he touched in a 4:19.42 in the 500 free.
Taylor is one of the biggest names to enter the portal on the men’s side so far. Another big name includes NCAA All-American Baylor Nelson who has already announced his transfer from Texas A&M to Texas.
This is a prime example of how certain schools are making decisions and not standing behind their swimmers. Are we to believe that during a 4 year period college age kids won’t have bumps along the road? Andrew had one bad year due to illness and is cut? This should give serious pause to parents or at least force them to look at programs and how they support swimmers. Andrew, chin up… you will land somewhere you will even be happier!
Grant House is a legend
Andrew is one of the hardest workers and one of the greatest teammates I’ve ever had. Always such a genuine and charismatic guy throughout his career. I’m wishing him nothing but the best in the future.
When Florida cuts the men’s roster down to 10. That’s not just NIL…. Blindsiding kids off the roster is not the greatest way to do this.
Based on what’s been shared I think some schools are doing a much better job with the new roster limits than others. Too many heart broken kids, none of this is good.
Exactly! Florida is only focusing on the international swimmers. Taking on swimmers who are on a ban for example, and cutting kids from the US. The judge waited too long, programs made cuts and these kids have no interest in swimming for a program who showed them no loyalty or support. How is USA Swim supposed to grow when OUR swimmers are not being properly developed beyond age group levels. Florida cut these kids and offered no support. Nesty is a joke.
This is the saddest example of how roster cuts truly suck. Taylor is a guy Florida developed from a 15:08 to a 14:37 and an SEC Champion/NCAA finalist in one year’s time. Roster limits don’t leave room for reserves coming back from injury, especially for distance swimmers with limited relay potential, so the team that developed him into a beast now has to cut him, and the real irony is that in today’s NCAA climate, he would have never had the chance to come at all with a 15:08.
This is tragic! Look at Liam Bell. Awesome freshman year. Plagued with injuries. Had surgery after NCAAs his senior year, then came back for his Covid year, broke the NCAA and American records, and won the 100 breast. I am sure Taylor will make a remarkable comeback, but not at the school that developed him.
This House vs NCAA BS makes athletes nothing but commodities. Andrew was a superstar in FL age group swimming and is a class act (my kids were his teammates). He turned himself inside out for Nesty and this is the thanks he gets. Meanwhile, FL will carry 100-110 football players on (85 on scholarship for now) the roster, probably 50% or more will never play a down.
Whoever picks up Andrew Taylor will be glad they did.
LMAO, “superstar in FL age group swimming”? Bro, half the state has 12-year-olds dropping 4:30 500 frees these days. Being decent as a kid doesn’t mean you’re owed lifelong stardom. Andrew Taylor “turned himself inside out”? What does that even mean — he practiced hard? Congrats, so does everyone else in D1.
Huh?
you being paid by nesty and the coaching staff?
wake up to how the swimmers are being treated ffs
Considering your username I can already tell you clearly know nothing about Andrew’s work ethic and character. I swam with him for 5+ years and I can confidently say I’ve never swam with anyone who’s worked harder. He gave his all to UF and Nesty to earn a spot. The point isn’t “he’s a good kid he deserves a spot” the point is that college swimming is losing its integrity. Strictly times matter now, not your impact on the team culture or your passion for the sport. I can say that everyone on our club team thought extremely highly of him and I’m sure his UF teammates feel the same way. Don’t be a jerk when you clearly don’t know… Read more »
Not sure where you got your info but you are so off base on Andrew and you obviously don’t know him. He put his whole heart and has amazing work ethic that not all do. He is deserves all he has accomplished. Maybe the problem is you are jealous. Also, why are you using a name for a team you aren’t a part of? How about you use your real name if you know so much. Try raising swimmers up and not tearing them down for hard work and accomplishments.
How many on the remaining roster are foreigners? American kids getting cut is not good for our interests as a nation. This must be remedied.
If I have read things correctly and interpreted things correctly, the SEC choose to use lower limits for some sports and part of the reason was to give football the maximum and still be compliant with title IX. Part of the reason for this is that the SEC sponsor A LOT FEWER sports than any of the other big conferences.
I wonder how they came up with 22 since that is about 27% below the maximum – did they do all other male sports at 27% below maximum or was swimming hit the hardest?
I feel this is insane with a limit of 22, that is the same limit as the SEC has allowed at their championship meet… Read more »
From what I understand, it initially developed by basically going around and asking the ADs in the conference (who asked the swim coaches) “what’s the lowest number we can survive on?”
That’s totally un-confirmed and will never be confirmed, but that’s what I hear.
In my opinion, the SEC has been the best men’s swimming conference and the SEC has been the best overall (combined) swimming conference for the last few years and for this I look beyond just the Top 3 in each event, I look at least as far down as scoring goes (24 spots). I do believe that will come to an end now assuming the settlement goes through. My believes are that the SEC will fall to 3rd within 3 years.
I do think that a lot of people look at top 3 to form their opinion with regards to which conference is the best.
The best conference(s) will be the ones with the most money, which will still be the SEC.
The “most money” alone isn’t enough, but the willingness to spend it on swimming. I agree with Dan, unless other schools are willing to invest in swimming (funding all 22/30 scholarships, plus NIL) the SEC is going to be Texas and then a big drop off
Big 10 generated the most revenue in 2023… Where are you getting numbers for 2024?
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-remains-power-five-revenue-leader-with-880-million-haul-for-2023-fiscal-year-per-report/
The SEC lags at the back end, with schools like Ole Miss and Miss St. (which don’t have swimming programs). The Big Ten also has more schools (18 vs. 16), and per capita the SEC has more revenue (though the Big Ten did distribute more to each school).
Besides which – conferences aren’t weighted by what’s happening at the back-end, at least not in swimming. Of the top 10 revenue schools for 2023, three are currently Big Ten, while seven are currently SEC (which includes Oklahoma, with no swim program, at #10).
The issue is as soon as you have a bad year you can’t build back up. Yeah schools like Texas, Tennessee, and Florida can still recruit at a high level for the next couple of years, but as soon as you have a down year or two you’re screwed because then not only can you not recruit the elite, proven talent that you have to have on such a limited roster, but you don’t have the roster space to develop good swimmers into elite, NCAA scoring talent.
What if you have half-a-million dollars in NIL money to offer? Can you build back then?
Who are all the teams that are capable of doing this? Not only capable, but have come out and publically stated they will do do so
Not really relevant to Taylor, but isn’t it likely we’ll see more top U.S. swimmers (especially the recruits, say, #11-50) taking a gap year or two?
Didn’t even consider this. If you’re developing later in high school and on a strong trajectory. Why not stay with your club team for a year, get all you can out of it, then be a higher ranked recruit.
To me Gap years are not going to be relevant and won’t help. Even if you are a top recruit and recruited to top schools still cut. No way are you able to get fast enough to compete against full grown 22 year Olympians from other countries and why would you want to put yourself in that position and culture of constantly worrying if your going to be cut. Go be a big fish in a small pond and be valued now.
Why? #11-#50 would still have a pretty prime P4 spot available to them somewhere. Taking a gap year just delays the income potential on the backend (i.e. post graduation). Is that worth not starting school for a year for swimming? Almost never….
well sure it’s not ideal for maximizing lifetime income, but aside from general benefits (IMO most seniors, athletes or not, would benefit from a gap year or two)… if you want to prioritize your swimming career, waiting a year or two would put you in better position for scholarship money, roster spots, NC points, etc. In the big picture it may be a pretty narrow group that changes up… the very top recruits will still get picked up for all 4 years at top schools, and since swimming isn’t a sport to earn a living in the future, most great but not top-tier recruits will just shift down to less prestigious schools… former Texas recruits will go to Michigan; former… Read more »
With the new juco rules not counting against NCAA eligibility, late bloomers would be wise to use 2 years at the juco level to develop and still have 4 years of eligibility.
This is how it works in D1 ice hockey. Most elites play 1 or 2 years in USHL or other high level Jr. hockey, so they start college at age 20. While pro hockey is way more lucrative than swimming, most of those D1 players won’t make NHL. Transfer portal is also super active in hockey, with teams replenishing -50% through. Guessing only 50% of players will do 4 years at one school. Sad.
I believe once you start your NCAA eligibility clock, there’s no stopping it. So, a gap year would be giving up a year of eligibility. But, all things considered, Maybe that would be okay in these hectic changes.
No, it doesn’t. You can take a gap year and it won’t affect your 5 year clock. Clock starts when you register for a school. Technically you could also take an Olympic gap year after you start, from what I understand.
I think the difference is: American swimmers don’t want to stay home at 18 and train with their club coach for 1 year+ when their friends and teammates are already in loving it up in college.
In the 90s, most kids couldn’t wait to get out of club swimming and the 10k-yard workouts, missing proms and the same 30 kids they’ve known for a decade.
I’ve read a lot of European students don’t graduate them til… Read more »