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A distance freestyle/breaststroke hybrid, Rhett Walker has announced his verbal commitment to swim and study at New York University beginning in the fall of 2027. He publicized the news on SwimCloud, writing:
I’m extremely excited to announce my commitment to the admissions process at New York University! I’d like to thank my family, friends, and teammates for supporting me both in and out of the pool. I’d also like to thank my first coach in Sitka, Alaska, Kevin Knox, beginning this journey. And, Coaches Reb and Andrew at the Naval Academy Aquatic Club for helping me improve along the way. Also, thank you to Coach Rob for your continued training and guidance. Finally, thank you Coach Trevor for this incredible opportunity! Go Violets!
The Annapolis, Maryland-based rising high school senior does his year-round training with the Naval Academy Aquatic Club, where he’s coming off a breakthrough 2025-26 season that saw him drop nearly a minute in the 1650 free, over 14 seconds in the 500 free, six and a half seconds in the 200 free, about four seconds in the 200 breast, and just under two seconds in the 100 breast. His current top times, all set at various club meets throughout the season, stand at 1:41.81 in the 200 free, 4:35.41 in the 500 free, 15:59.44 in the 1650 free, 58.31 in the 100 breast, and 2:06.21 in the 200 breast.
Top SCY Times:
- 200 Freestyle: 1:41.81
- 500 Freestyle: 4:35.41
- 1650 Freestyle: 15:59.44
- 100 Breaststroke: 58.31
- 200 Breaststroke: 2:06.21
A Division III program, NYU competes in the University Athletic Association against fellow DIII powerhouses of Chicago and Emory. The Violets were the runner-ups at both the UAA Conference Championships and the NCAA Division III Championships this past season.
To score at UAAs, his current PBs would have placed ninth in the timed final of the 1650 free and qualified for the ‘C’ final in the 500 free, 100 breast, and 200 breast. He wasn’t too far off the 1:41.53 required to earn a second swim in the 200 free, and he still has two full seasons of training to go before lining up for the Violets at the meet.
To qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships, times of 1:38.05, 4:27.21, and 15:36.67 were needed in the 200, 500, and 1650 free, and 54.46 and 1:59.71 in the 100 and 200 breast, for reference.
Walker joins Jeffrey Chang and Christian Perez in committing to NYU’s class of 2031 so far.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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