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Thomas Kalka will be sticking close to home next fall, as he has shared his verbal commitment to swim for Loyola University Maryland beginning in the fall of 2026. He made the announcement on Instagram, writing:
“I am incredibly excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at Loyola University Maryland! I would like to thank my parents, family, teammates, and friends for all of their support. I can’t go without also thanking the best coaches in the sport, Coach Jess, Coach Shannon, Coach Kim, and Coach Sammy for guiding me to achieve my dream of swimming at the Division 1 level. Lastly, I am extremely thankful to Coach Loeffler and Coach Venit for giving me this amazing opportunity. GO GREYHOUNDS!!
The Virginia native is a senior at Potomac Falls High School just outside Sterling, where he has been a member of the varsity swimming and diving team since his freshman year. Kalka also currently trains year-round with Nation’s Capital Swim Club; a middle-distance swimmer, he excels at backstroke and the 200 IM.
Kalka’s focus has been almost fully on the backstrokes as of late; he’s set both of his current PBs within the past two months. He swam 1:51.87 in the 200 at the Katie Ledecky Invitational in mid-November before most recently clocking 50.03 in the 100 at the Briar Woods Invitational just two weeks ago. His lifetime-best 1:58.78 in the 200 IM dates back to February 2024’s Presidents’ Day Classic, though he seems to favor the backstrokes much more, given he’s only swum the event on three occasions since producing his personal best.
While he didn’t rest on his laurels in 2025, Kalka made his biggest backstroke time drops in 2024, going from 54.43 to 50.26 in the 100 and from 1:56.13 to 1:53.50 in the 200.
While most of his career bests come from invitational meets, Kalka has been a consistent presence at the Virginia High School League State Championships. As a junior last February, he placed sixth in the 100 back (50.83) and eighth in the 100 fly (51.98), after touching 11th in both events as a sophomore. As a freshman, he only qualified in the 100 back, where he settled for 25th overall and out of a finals position.
Top SCY Times:
- 100 Backstroke: 50.03
- 200 Backstroke: 1:51.87
- 200 IM: 1:58.78
The Loyola men, led by head coach Brian Loeffler, placed third out of 10 teams at the 2025 Patriot League Championships. The conference meet scores ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C’ finals, and Kalka is slated to have an immediate impact for the Greyhounds. His best times in the backstrokes would put him into the ‘C’ finals, while he needs to drop nearly six seconds to contend for a second swim in the 200 IM.
On the team’s 2024-25 depth chart, Kalka would have ranked seventh in the 100 back, eighth in the 200 back, and 19th in the 200 IM. He will overlap one season with the team’s best backstroker, Joseph Hayburn (46.06/1:42.04), who finished runner-up in the 200 back and third in the 100 back at last year’s Patriot League meet, giving him a strong training partner as he transitions into collegiate swimming.
Kalka joins fellow backstroker Court Barrett (51.26/1:52.33), Mason Keith, Cristian Pong, Ben Tungate, Jack Hamilton, LJ Conlin, Max Anderson, and Tim Hanway in committing to the Greyhounds’ class of 2030.
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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