South African Age Group Record-Holder Kris Mihaylov Flips Commitment from UVA to Georgia

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South African Age Group Record-holder Kris Mihaylov has flipped his commitment from the University of Virginia to the University of Georgia for January 2026. Mihaylov, who is from Johannesburg, South Africa, had originally committed to UVA back in March.

Here is Mihaylov’s statement on his new commitment to UGA:

I’m excited to announce that I have flipped my committed to continue my academic and swimming journey at the University of Georgia! I’d like to sincerely thank the coaches and team at UVA for their time, support, and opportunity. I’m grateful for everyone who’s helped me get here and can’t wait to be alongside the bulldogs!🔴⚫️

Mihaylov was slated to join Virginia in January 2026, which is presumably when he’ll now join Georgia. The South African school year runs from January to December, so it is common for South African student-athletes to join U.S. college teams in January.

Mihaylov is a huge recruit for the Bulldogs. He’s a freestyle specialist, though he has some very solid IM and fly times to boot. He holds more than a dozen South African national age group records, all of which are in freestyle events.

The Bulldogs are coached by Georgia South African-born Neil Versfeld and have another one of South Africa’s top backstroker Ruard Van Renen on the roster as well as a rising senior.

Here’s a look at Mihaylov’s career bests in LCM:

Best LCM times:

• 100 free – 49.72
• 200 free – 1:48.19
• 400 free – 3:55.28
• 800 free – 8:09.32
• 1500 free – 15:33.16
• 400 IM – 4:24.61
• 100 fly – 54.43

Given his LCM times, Mihaylov has the potential to make an immediate impact in the NCAA. He’s a versatile freestyler, so it will be interesting to see where UGA wants to focus on developing him.

Mihaylov will be joining a large Georgia class of 2029 that features Tyler Grafmiller, Finn Wendland, Hayden Meyers, Luke Sandberg, Sascha Macht, Finn Hammer, Sean Green, Jayson Ross, and Wesley Ng. This is a UGA class that’s pretty loaded with freestylers. Green jumps off the page the most, holding careers bests in yards of 1:34 in the 200 free, 4:16 in the 500, and 14:49 in the 1650. Meanwhile, Ross has been 43.96 in the 100 free, Sandberg is 43.91 in the 100 and 1:36.04 in the 200, Macht is 44.10 in the 100 and 1:37.19 in the 200, and Grafmiller is 44.40 in the 100 and 1:38.19 in the 200. That gives UGA some very promising individual swimmers in this class, as well as a lot of potential relay contributors.

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