NCAA Division III Runner-Up Liam McDonnell Transferring to Notre Dame for 5th Year

2023 Division III runner-up in the 100 backstroke Liam McDonnell has announced on Instagram that he will be transferring to Notre Dame to use his COVID-19 fifth year.

Pumped to announce I will be heading to South Bend to further my academic and athletic careers! Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way. Go Irish! ☘️

McDonnell, originally from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, spent his first four years at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. As the 2020 and 2021 NCAA Championships did not occur, McDonnell made an NCAA A final in his junior year. At 2022 NCAAs, McDonnell was third in the 100 fly (47.13), ninth in the 100 back (47.53), and 12th in the 100 free (44.60). He also was on four of John Carroll’s relays and was highlighted by a fifth place finish in the 200 medley relay. McDonnell led that relay off in a 21.45, the fastest in the field by over half a second.

As a senior, McDonnell made two NCAA A finals as he finished second in the 100 back (46.59) and fourth in the 100 fly (46.92). Once again, McDonnell led off John Carroll’s 200 medley relay in a 21.03, the fastest of the field.

McDonnell’s best SCY times are:

  • 50 free: 19.87
  • 100 free: 43.69
  • 200 free: 1:37.12
  • 100 back: 46.59
  • 200 back: 1:50.12
  • 100 fly: 46.92

With the addition of McDonnell, Notre Dame now has the arrival of two of the best Division III backstrokers this fall as Tanner Filion (who won the 100 and 200 backstrokes this year) has already announced his transfer. In addition, sprint freestyle Abdelrahman Elaraby is also joining the Fighting Irish this fall.

In addition to making an impact in backstroke, McDonnell’s best 50 and 100 free times would have been top four on Notre Dame’s roster this past season, which could potentially boost their free relays.

McDonnell told SwimSwam that he plans on working towards a Master’s in Business Analytics.

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Brownswim
1 year ago

Congrats Liam ☘️

Ice Golem
1 year ago

Big if true

THEO
1 year ago

His 50 back time is actually even faster than Janton went last year by .01. Big pickup. excited to see how these two do in d1!

Guy
1 year ago

Could Notre Dame crack a top 10 finish next year? I think so

Andrew
Reply to  Guy
1 year ago

top 15 would be a huge step. top 10 is highly ambitious and kind of unrealistic

anything better than a top 15 finish for Notre Dame should be celebrated

Taa
Reply to  Andrew
1 year ago

top 10-15 finish is earned by relay scoring mostly. Seems possible with Elaraby coming in to bolster them.

About Anya Pelshaw

Anya Pelshaw

Anya has been with SwimSwam since June 2021 as both a writer and social media coordinator. She was in attendance at the 2022, 2023, and 2024 Women's NCAA Championships writing and doing social media for SwimSwam. She also attended 2023 US Summer Nationals as well as the 2024 European Championships …

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