Courtesy: Nevada Athletics
RENO, Nev. – Ahead of the start of the 2024-25 academic and athletic year, Nevada Swimming and Diving will welcome seven newcomers and two returning redshirts to the program.
The Wolf Pack is coming off of a season in which it finished fifth at the 2024 Mountain West Championships and qualified a conference-best three members to the NCAA Championships.
The newest members of the Wolf Pack include two international student-athletes, among them a two-time Olympian in Mongolia’s Enkhkhuslen “Huska” Batbayar, three Division I transfers using their final season of eligibility at Nevada, and an in-state incoming freshman.
Making up the group are Enkhkhuslen “Huska” Batbayar (Mongolia), Louise Jones (Wolverhampton, England), Charlotte Berndt (Henderson, Nev. / Foothill HS), Noelle Harvey (Carlsbad, Calif. / Washington State), Riley Parker (Greer, S.C. / South Carolina), and Abby Parks (Matthews, N.C. / UNC Asheville).
Also returning off of 2023-24 redshirt seasons are diver Bailey Heydra and swimmer Keira Allott. Heydra, a multiple-time All-Mountain West diver who represents South Africa on the international stage, returns to collegiate action in 2024-25 after spending the last season competing at the 2024 World Championships and pursuing a bid to the 2024 Olympics.
2024-25 Nevada Swimming & Diving Newcomers & Returning Redshirts
Bailey Heydra (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Bailey Heydra, who earned All-Mountain West honors with three top-five finishes at the 2023 conference meet, returns to action for the Wolf Pack after competing internationally in 2023-24. Heydra spent last season competing at the 2024 World Championships then pursuing a bid to the 2024 Paris Games at South Africa’s Olympic trials. As a freshman in 2022, Heydra claimed Mountain West gold on 1-Meter Springboard.
Keira-Lee Allott (Tauranga, New Zealand)
Keira-Lee Allott makes her Nevada debut in 2024-25 after redshirting her true freshman season. Keira will be starting her freshman year after achieving times in New Zealand of 2:01.99 (SCM 200 Free), 4:14.38 (SCM 400 Free), 8:48.19 (SCM 800 Free) and 16:47.63 (SCM 1500 Free). Prior to her collegiate career, Allott broke the national record for the 1,500 freestyle short course meters in the 16-year-old age category with a time of 16:33.37 in 2021. She was also named Tauranga Girls College Sportswoman of the Year.
Enkhkhuslen Batbayar (Mongolia)
Enkhkhuslen “Huska” Batbayar is a two-time Olympian (2021, 2024) from Mongolia who most recently placed 18th in the 200-meter freestyle at the Paris Games. Batbayar set a Mongolian record with her 200-meter time of 1:59.94 July 28 in Paris, and swam the 50-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.
- 100 Free 55.59 SCM
- 200 Free 1:56.46 SCM
- 400 Free 4:13.77 SCM
- 200 IM 2:15.62 SCM
- 200 Free 1:59.94 LCM
Head Coach Brendon Bray on Batbayar: “Huska is one of the highest-level swimmers ever recruited to Nevada. We are so proud of her performance in these past Olympic Games. She will follow other great middle-distance freestylers who have represented our program and bring a great attitude and work ethic to our team. We can’t wait to get started working with her.”
Louise Jones (Wolverhampton, England)
Louise Jones is a rapidly improving swimmer from Wolverhampton, England, who will have a quick impact Nevada’s medley relays. Among Jones’ top times in the breaststroke events was with a first-place finish in the 100 breast (1:08.93) at the 2022 Swim Wales Winter Championship. She has also proven a capable 200 IM swimmer, boasting a top time of 2:14.99.
- 200 IM 2:14.99 SCM
- 100 Breast 1:08.93 SCM
- 200 Breast 2:28.82 SCM
Head Coach Brendon Bray on Jones: “Louise has great potential to make an impact right away. Louise is strong and athletic and has the potential to help us in the IM and specifically breastroke events from the first day she arrives on campus. We are excited for Louise to follow the footsteps of previous UK athletes joining Nevada! I am most excited about her development as a person both academically and athletically over the next four years.”
Abby Parks (Matthews, N.C. / UNC Asheville)
Abby Parks is one of three transfers to join Nevada for the 2024-25 campaign. Parks, who will use her COVID bonus season at Nevada, spent the first four years of her career at UNC Asheville, where she was a team captain, and a sprint freestyle and breaststroke specialist. Parks earned numerous all-conference honors with UNC Asheville, as the team competed in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association until 2023, and in the ASUN in 2023-24. Parks earned two all-conference nods in the 50 free, and was a multiple-time honoree with the 200 and 400 free relays and 200 and 400 medley relays. A 2023-24 CSC Academic All-District selection, Parks earned her bachelor’s degree from UNC Asheville and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in economics at Nevada.
- 50 Free: 22.65
- 100 Free: 49.72
- 100 breast 1:02.98
Head Coach Brendon Bray on Parks: “Abby comes to us from UNC-Ashville after statistically her best year of swimming. She will be a rock for us in the sprint freestyle events and play a big role in our relays. After previously serving as a team captain we expect Abby to provide great leadership for our developing team and we strive to send her out of her swimming career with lifetime best times. Like others in this class Abby is a great student and has a wonderful family and we are honored she choose to join us at Nevada.”
Riley Parker (Greer, S.C. / South Carolina)
One of the three transfers to join Nevada in 2024-25, Riley Parker comes to Reno after four seasons swimming at South Carolina. A freestyle and backstroke swimmer, Parker posted four top-10 times in the South Carolina record book during her time in Columbia—holding the seventh-fastest time in the 100 back and being part of an 800 free relay which currently holds the fifth-fastest time in school history. Parker, a three-time selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll, plans to pursue her MBA while at Nevada.
- 100 Free 50.37
- 200 Free 1:46.69
- 100 Back 53.72
- 200 Back 1:57.59
Head Coach Brendon Bray on Parker: “Riley had a great career at South Carolina and we are so excited that she choose to continue as a grad student with us. We think at the Mountain West level she is going to make a huge impact and be a great asset for us in mostly the freestyle and backstroke events. Riley is a determined, hard-working young lady and we expect that to rub off on our young and eager team. I can’t wait to get her on campus!”
Charlotte Berndt (Henderson, Nev. / Foothill HS)
Henderson native Charlotte Berndt will join Nevada’s distance swimming group as she embarks on her collegiate career in 2024-25. Swimming for one of the state’s top clubs, Team Rebel Aquatics, Berndt most recently showed her versatility in other events, finishing fourth in the 200 back finals at the Speedo Sectionals in Fullerton, Calif., in July.
- 1650 Free: 17:13.81
- 400 IM: 4:30.57
- 200 Back 2:03.54
Head Coach Brendon Bray on Berndt: “We love in-state athletes and are so happy that Charlotte chose to come north and swim at the University of Nevada. She comes from a great club program at Team Rebel Aquatics and she will slot in right away to make an impact in the distance freestyle events but she can also help our team in the IM and backstroke. She is a wonderful young lady and I know she will have an amazing four years with us.”
Noelle Harvey (Carlsbad, Calif. / Washington State)
Noelle Harvey is among the trio of transfers coming to Nevada for the 2024-25 season. Harvey spent her first three seasons at Washington State, where she qualified for the CSCAA National Invitational Championships in 2023. During that season, Harvey was part of three school record-setting relays (200, 400, and 800 frees), posted school top-10 times in four individual events: the 100 back (third), 500 free (third), 200 free (fourth), and 50 free (sixth), and hit two NCAA “B” cuts (500 free, 200 back). Harvey went on to be selected to compete for Team USA at the 2023 World University Games in Chengdu, China.
- 100 Free 49.74
- 200 Free 1:47.62
- 500 Free, 4:47.15
- 1650 Free 16:43.00
- 100 Back, 54.03
- 200 Back 1:56.71
Head Coach Brendon Bray on Harvey: “Like Abby, Noelle joins our team after serving as a team captain at Washington State. Noelle is incredibly talented in a range of events and we expect her to be one of the top performers in the Mountain West. She is as hard working as anyone else on the team and she is a great student. We are lucky she chose to transfer to Nevada and we want her to end her career on top!”
Let’s go Pack!