World Champs Finalist, Dutch Record Holder Koen de Groot Commits to Florida (Spring of 2026)

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Koen de Groot of Eindhoven, Netherlands, has committed to join the University of Florida starting in the Spring of the 2025-26 season. The breaststroke specialist joins the Gators with extensive international racing experience and as a Dutch record holder.

Very excited to announce that I will be joining @gatorsswimdv for the spring semester of 2026!
Grateful for the opportunity to represent such a legendary program.
Thank you to everyone who helped making this happen.
#gogators 🐊🔵🟠

De Groot placed 7th at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore. He set a new Dutch record in the semifinal heats of the 50m breaststroke (26.71), before placing 7th overall in the final (26.81).

At the 2024 Dutch Short Course Championships, de Groot claimed both the 50 breast (26.29) and 100 breast (56.86) titles. In January, at the long course nationals, de Groot placed first in the 50 breast (27.39), second in the 100 breast (1:00.30), and third in the 50 freestyle (22.83).

De Groot’s 2023 campaign included a pair of silver medals in both the 50 and 100 breast at the LEN European U23. He added a fourth-place finish at the European Short Course Championships in the 50 breast as well.

Koen de Groot’s Lifetime Bests with SCY Conversions:

De Groot brings plenty of firepower in the sprint breaststroke events. Meanwhile, his 200 breast lifetime best sits at a 2:23.32 LCM (2:05.51 converted to SCY) from 2023, which may show that he will likely focus primarily on the shorter races.

The Gators placed 2nd out of 10 teams at the 2025 SEC Championships. Based on converted times, de Groot’s 100 breast would have placed him 4 in the championship final at SEC. His 50 breast converted time translates to elite-level speed that could contend on medley relays.

His 51.22 100 breast conversion would have made him the 17th fastest performer in the nation last season in Division I.

With the departure of NCAA champion breaststroker Julian Smith, de Groot will help replenish Florida’s depth in the sprint breaststroke events. Training alongside Lithuanian senior Aleksas Savickas—Florida’s top returning sprint breaststroker—will give de Groot a strong platform to develop and make an immediate impact in the SEC.

Aleksas Savickas and Koen de Groot Comparison:

Looking back on breaststrokers at Florida last season, de Groot’s converted times sit just .01 seconds off of Savickas’s best 50 breast split in the relay of 23.67(meaning de Groot would have been the 3rd fastest performer behind Smith and Savickas). Additionally, his 100 breast would have slotted him as the 3rd fastest performer, just two tenths behind Savickas.

De Groot is the latest addition to Florida’s growing 2025-26 class, joining fellow signees Nil Cadevall, Alex Cohoon, Charlie Hustison, Jordan Willis, and Marvin Johnson.

De Groot joins a strong group of breaststroke specialists in Florida’s 2025 class, including Cohoon, Cadevall, and Willis—all of whom bring international experience and will add valuable depth to the Gators’ already well-established breaststroke group.

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