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World Cup qualifier Julian Tucker has announced his verbal commitment to swim for Saint Mary’s College of California beginning in the fall of 2026. He publicized the news in an email to SwimSwam, writing:
I am excited to announce that I am officially committed to Saint Mary’s College to continue my academic and swimming career. I am very grateful for the support of my family, Coach Billy and Coach Brian, my teammates, other coaches that coached me, and everyone else who helped me reach this point. Furthermore, I am grateful for Coach Ellie for giving me this opportunity. I am very excited to swim at a D1 level and compete with the bests. I also can’t wait to contribute to this team and take this next step toward achieving new goals!
The California native is wrapping up his senior year at Davis Senior High School, where he swam for the varsity swimming and diving team all four years. Tucker also trains year-round with DART Swimming, where he primarily specializes in breaststroke and IM.
A two-time Winter Juniors qualifier, Tucker finished 41st in the 200 breast (2:01.76), 49th in the 100 breast (55.99), 54th in the 400 IM (3:59.13), and 64th in the 200 IM (1:50.97) this past December. His times in the IMs remain his current personal bests, while his 100 breast was a new PB at the time. His best-ever placement at the meet came a year prior, when he touched 34th in the 200 breast (2:01.82), his only other top-80 finish before this season.
Tucker’s best meet of the season was the Sierra Nevada Winter Championships last month, where he swam his current personal bests in the breaststroke events. He won the 200 breast (2:00.31) and took fourth in the 100 breast (55.95), in addition to dabbling in some off events.
On the high school scene, Tucker qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Championships for the first time last May, where he took 18th in the 100 breast (56.45).
Tucker also took on two high-level meets outside of SCY this past year, starting with Junior Nationals in August. In his first time swimming at the meet, he placed 44th in the 200 breast (2:21.15), 92nd in the 100 breast (1:05.60), 117th in the 50 breast (30.44), and 166th in the 50 fly (27.43). His time in the 50 fly was a new lifetime best, while he was a bit off the 1:04.79, 2:20.63, and 30.16 breast PBs he had produced at local meets earlier in the summer.
At the Indianapolis leg of the 2025 World Cup circuit in October, his first time competing in short course meters, he placed 26th in the 100 IM (58.20), 29th in the 100 breast (1:03.19), 30th in the 200 IM (2:06.06), and 40th in the 50 breast (29.61).
Over the past year, Tucker has dropped nearly a full second in the 100 breast, a second and a half in the 200 breast, two and a half seconds in the 200 IM, and nearly four seconds in the 400 IM in SCY, a promising sign as he sets his sights on college swimming.
Top SCY Times:
- 100 Breaststroke: 55.95
- 200 Breaststroke: 2:00.31
- 200 IM: 1:50.97
- 400 IM: 3:59.13
Saint Mary’s will launch men’s and women’s swimming alongside men’s and women’s water polo in the 2026–27 academic year, with all four programs set to compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Known primarily for basketball, the school announced the launch of the four new teams back in September of 2025 and will be led by men’s and women’s head coach Ellie Monobe, who guided the Pepperdine women to an MPSF championship in 2025.
Based on the results from the 2026 MPSF Championships a few weeks ago, Tucker would have landed in the ‘B’ finals of the 200 breast, 200 IM, and 400 IM, and the ‘C’ final of the 100 breast, putting him in a position to be a valuable contributor right from the start.
Currently set to join Tucker in the pool this fall are fellow breaststrokers Lucas Tompkins (55.79/2:01.74) and Ilija Sosic (1:01.1/2:12.1 SCM), as well as sprint freestylers Sawyer Jones, Tobin Reed, Olivier Petre, and Giorgio Sportaro, who should all make for strong training partners during their time together.
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