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Marley Barnard, a summer Junior Nationals qualifier, is headed to the U.S. Naval Academy where she will compete for the Midshipmen beginning in the fall of 2025.
“I am blessed to announce my verbal commitment to further my academic and athletic career at the United States Naval Academy! I would like to thank God, my family, coaches, and teammates for helping me along this journey and supporting me through this process. Thank you to @navywomenswimdive for this opportunity, and can’t wait to see what God has in store for this next chapter of my life!! Go Navy, Beat Army!!”
A Texas native, Barnard trains year-round with Katy Aquatics, where she specializes in breaststroke and IM and has racked up a number of top times. She is entering her senior season swimming for the Cinco Ranch High School swim and dive team.
Back in February, Barnard competed at the Texas UIL 6A State Championship. She turned in a 7th-place finish in the 100-yard breast with a time of 1:03.53, narrowly off of her lifetime best 1:02.68 that she set just two weeks prior. Barnard also finished 19th in the 200 IM with a time of 2:08.97.
At the 2023 Futures Championship, Barnard posted a series of top times and earned second swims in several of her races. Her best performance came in the 100 breast, where she placed 5th overall and turned in a lifetime best time of 1:12.89, landing a Juniors cut. Barnard also placed 10th in the 200-meter breast (2:41.14) and 27th in the 400 IM (5:10.56 – PB).
In addition to her performances in the pool, Barnard has earned Scholastic All-American honors and high school All-American consideration.
Best Times SCY
- 100 breast – 1:02.68
- 200 breast – 2:16.63
- 200 IM – 2:03.81
- 400 IM – 4:27.10
A Division I Mid-Major program, the Naval Academy competes in the Patriot League. The Navy women are 12-time defending champions, having won every Patriot League Championship since 2012.
Based on the results from the 2024 championships, Barnard’s times would have landed her in the ‘A’ final in the 100 breast and 200 breast and the ‘B’ final in the 200 IM and 400 IM, putting her in a position to be a key contributor right away.
Navy has already put together a strong roster to join the class of 2029; the full list of commits so far includes Barnard, Corinne Warriner, Blair Wehman, Lena Syers, Caroline Powell, Chloe Shaw, Kaitlyn Landers, Addison Herl and Sidney Brann.
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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