Alex Walsh is soaking in her season of lasts with her Virginia Cavaliers as the 5th-year nears the end of her legendary NCAA career. Walsh is a 19x NCAA Champion and 27x NCAA All-American, with heavy potential to add 5-7 honors to both of those lists come March. If/when that happens, Walsh will become the most decorated athlete in NCAA history.
One thing that has stood out about Walsh throughout her NCAA career is her versatility, contributing blazing 50 splits in breaststroke and freestyle in sprint relays while also being the 2x NCAA champion in the 400 IM. Walsh has swam 5 different individual events over her 4 NCAAs and looks to add a 6th. The reigning champ says she most likely won’t be competing in the 400 IM and signs in her training are pointing to her swimming the 100 breast on Day 3 of NCAAs.
Looking past NCAAs, Walsh says she will pursue a pro career and is excited for the opportunities that will bring. However, she looks to take that year-by-year and isn’t yet committed to swimming up until 2028. The 2x Olympian notes that it being a home Games is the only factor that would keep her in the competitive waters that long.
I knew it all along.
Event #3 for Alex at NCAAs 2025 = Platform Diving.
Tricky double with the 200 Breast on the same day, but Walshes are just built differently.
SwimSwam should do a poll “Will Gretchen break 20 in the 50 free on a flat start?” like the week before NCAAs
No
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Still cant get over those NCAA stats… and future stats to come in March. Congrats Alex !
I don’t get it. Aren’t 2028 a no-brained for US Athletes? Home Olympic is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity for most and not even possible for some and something even the greats like Phelps and Lochte couldn’t do… Honestly wouldn’t think twice…
It’s a lot to mortgage 4 years of your life into something that is not a guarantee and which you’ve already put 13+ years into.
Swimming is hard. I love the approach Alex is taking. I think taking things year-by-year is a great way to preserve your mental health and love of sport. To me, this seems the most likely path for her to continue until 2028.
Well, three years.
Delaying your life for 3 years is a an enormous opportunity cost. That’s 3 years of progression in a professional career. Walsh has a undergrad degree in CS and what looks like further Masters education in Cybersecurity and Quant data analytics. That’s probably a 120- 150k+ job lined up whenever she wants. Maybe she wants to travel. Maybe she wants a family. She’s been swimming since she was a probably a preschooler. It’s alright to want other things in life.
The 9-5 will be available to her for decades…. and spoiler alert…she will probably find it much less exciting than swimming after the novelty wears off.
I strongly suspect that she will make more than 150k/year via sponsorship and prize money over the next 3 years
Ella Eastin has a sigh of relief watching this but maybe Grimes could break the record
Grimes has four years and a pretty good breaststroke coach, I say her chances are looking good
Most decorated until… her sister graduates. 😀
This is also Gretchen’s Last NCAA season…
They’re both on their last year so it’ll come down to what happens on March to determine who’s more decorated. Alex has 19 titles compared to Gretchen’s 18, but Gretchen is pretty much a lock for 7 more this year. I would say Alex is a lock for at least 5, but if she’s doing the 100 breast and 800 free relay, it’s hard to say if her/UVA will win those right now
Alex also will have had 5 championships to Gretchen’s 4.
GW will have one less NCAAs. Alex being fantastically good and also having 5 NCAAs puts her in a unique spot
UVA should be unstoppable in the 400 medley relay. I think they should go Curzan Walsh Walsh Moesch instead of Walsh Walsh Curzan Moesch
Oh for sure. Curzan goes 49-low in both, but Gretchen is almost a second faster in fly. No brainer
I could maybe see them going the other way at ACCs to give Gretchen a chance at going 47, but yeah no other reason they wouldn’t put her fly.