Former Top Recruit Anthony Grimm No Longer Appears on Virginia’s Roster

Former top recruit Anthony Grimm‘s comeback attempt at the University of Virginia appears to have come to an anticlimactic conclusion.

Grimm, the No. 1 recruit in the high school class of 2021’s “way-too-early” rankings, no longer appears on the Cavalier men’s roster after not having competed for the squad so far this season. The former All-American still hasn’t raced since the 2022 NCAA Championships, when he posted personal-best times in the 50-yard freestyle (19.37, 30th place) and 100 back (45.44, 19th place) as a freshman season at the University of Texas.

In October of 2022, just a couple months into his sophomore year in Austin, Grimm announced his retirement from competitive swimming. But when the transfer window opened last March, the Fairfax native entered the portal with three years of NCAA eligibility and committed to Virginia a couple weeks later for a second chance at college swimming.

Now that opportunity appears to have vanished, though Grimm declined to comment on his departure. He was expected to be a potential asset this season as a backstroker on the Cavaliers’ 200 medley relay and freestyler on their 200 free relay. The Virginia men placed 4th at the 2023 ACC Championships with 946 points before going on to place 15th at NCAAs with 78 points.

Back in high school, Grimm became the first Virginia swimmer to finish the 50 free in under 20 seconds (19.67). His promising career was derailed in part by a stress fracture in his back during his junior year of high school.

Grimm grew up training with primarily the Mason Makos in the Washington DC area, aside from a couple of years at NCAP, and attended Oakton High School in northern Virginia. There he was a 6-time individual champion in Virginia’s Class 6A, winning titles in the 100 back, 100 breast, and 50 free across his high school career.