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Breaststroke specialist Kate Stevenson has announced her commitment to swim at the University of California, Davis, beginning in the fall of 2025. Stevenson recently graduated from Woodside High School in Woodside, California, and competes year-round for Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics.
Stevenson made the original announcement on social media, writing:
I am thrilled to announce my commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at UC Davis. I am beyond grateful to my teammates, parents, and Coach Scott for believing in me and supporting me in this journey. Thank you to Coach Matt and Coach Carl for giving me this incredible opportunity. I never believed I would have a chance like this and am forever grateful to God and the people in my life for giving me the strength to succeed. Go Ags!!
Reflecting on her decision a little further, Stevenson told SwimSwam, “I chose UC Davis because it is a great academic fit and I felt very welcomed by the coaches and athletes.”
Stevenson has showcased significant time drops across the breaststroke events over the past year. She only began swimming seriously in early 2024 and had never competed in the long course pool before then.
In January of 2024, she posted a time of 2:31.43 in the 200-yard breast. Just over a year later, she cut that time down to 2:17.11 at the Speedo Sectionals this past February. Her progress in the 100 breast is equally impressive. At the end of her sophomore season with Woodside, she owned a lifetime best of 1:12.55. Less than two years later, she lowered her best time to 1:03.57.
“If you had asked my sophomore year self if I ever thought I would be representing a Division I school for swimming, I never would have believed you,” Stevenson shared. “It is because of the confidence my teammates and coaches have had in me that I have been able to achieve my goals and more.”
Top SCY Times:
- 100 Breaststroke: 1:03.57
- 200 Breaststroke: 2:17.11
- 200 IM: 2:09.28
Stevenson’s arrival at UC Davis comes at a key time, as the team’s top breaststroker, Sam Rhodes, graduated at the end of this past season. Rhodes led the Aggies with times of 1:02.84 in the 100 breast and 2:15.79 in the 200—slightly ahead of Stevenson’s personal bests—but with four years of development ahead, Stevenson appears well-positioned to take over as the program’s top breaststroker.
Without Rhodes, Stevenson is slated to be the team’s top performer in both distances; Paige Dailey was the team’s second-fastest 100 breaststroker last season at 1:04.01, while Hailey Hoefer was second in the 200 with a time of 2:17.93.
At the Big West Championships last season, the conference in which UC Davis competes, making the ‘A’ final required times of 1:02.75 in the 100 breast and 2:17.09 in the 200 breast, meaning Stevenson’s 200 time was just two hundredths of a second off, and her 100 time was about eight-tenths slower. Her 100 best would have placed her 12th in prelims, earning a spot in the middle of the ‘B’ final.
UC Davis, led by fourth-year head coach Matt Macedo, finished fourth out of six teams at the 2025 conference championships.
Stevenson joins a fall 2025 recruiting class that includes Zoe Childers, Angelina Komashko, Ella Ackerman, and Elise Ramsden.
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