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Aiden Hammer announced today via Instagram that he was flipping his verbal commitment to Texas after committing to Cal back in October. He also announced that he was reclassifying as the graduating class of 2025, rather than 2026, and that he will be attending classes and competing in the fall.
“After an immense amount of thought and reconsideration, I would like to announce my commitment to the University of Texas, Austin. With this I also announce that I will be reclassifying to the graduating class of 2025, and will be attending classes as well as training this fall. I thank Coach Erik, Coach Bowman, as well as Coach Maida at Texas for this opportunity, as well as my family and club coaching staff, Coach Reed and Coach Nowjack, for supporting me with this decision. Hook em 🤘”
Hammer currently swims in Washington as a member of King Aquatic Club and he attends Gig Harbor High School.
Last time we ranked graduating classes, Hammer was #15 in the class of 2026, due to his prowess in the mid-distance and distance freestyle events. In October, he announced his verbal commitment to Cal as a member of the 2026 recruiting class.
Since his last commitment article, Hammer has seen improvements across the board. At the West Winter Junior Nationals in December, Hammer saw a huge drop in his 500 freestyle going from the 4:19.10 he went in November to 4:14.21 to finish 2nd overall in the event. This marked an almost 10 second drop on the season for Hammer, whose best time coming in was 4:23.24.
He has seen a little improvement in his other freestyle events, but not as significant as his 500 drop. In the 1000 he went from 9:06.92 to 8:55.18 in January, and in the mile he dropped from 15:16.15 to 15:13.86, also in January. has also dropped almost two seconds in his 200 free, moving from 1:37.95 to 1:36.19.
Hammer’s Best SCY Times:
- 200 Free: 1:36.19
- 500 Free: 4:14.21
- 1000 Free: 8:55.18
- 1650 Free: 15:13.86
Hammer joins a very strong Texas program and recruiting class of 2025. This is Texas’ first year in the SEC, but the men finished their dual meet season entirely undefeated, and they are currently ranked 1st in the CSCAA Top 25 polls.
The distance program at Texas is currently very strong, with Texas holding four of the top 10 spots in the NCAA in the men’s 500 freestyle. This includes the current American Record holder in the event, Rex Maurer. Hammer would currently sit in 5th in the Texas rankings, behind Maurer, David Johnston, Coby Carrozza, and Luke Hobson, but everyone except Maurer is graduating at the end of this year, leaving Texas with a big hole in the event. His 500 free time would also currently rank him 14th in the NCAA this season.
His 1000 free ranks slightly higher at fourth, but again two of the three swimmers ahead of him are graduating at the end of this season.
Hammer’s 200 free and 1650 free are both out of the top-5 with plenty of returning swimmers ranking above him, but he still has a few months to get faster.
He is joining a small signing class with only three other swimmers having officially signed, Calvin Fry, Rafael Fente Damers, and Campbell McKean. The Longhorns have also signed diver Matej Nevescanin to the class. Polish National Swimmer Ksawery Masiuk was supposed to join Texas this spring, but pushed his arrival date back to the fall, so he is also slated to join the team in the fall
As a member of the SEC, Texas will have to abide by strict roster caps if the NCAA settlement is approved, meaning their team would not be allowed to exceed 22 athletes on the day of their first meet. Currently the Texas roster has 40 men listed, 8 of which are graduate students or seniors, leaving 32 men returning for next year and six coming in.
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What makes people think a recruit like this is getting a fat NIL deal? Arent there no longer scholarship limits so they can offer full rides to basically everyone?
Pretty sure that coupled with who the coach is and what they have going on makes it a very enticing option, without any NIL involved.
People keep slinging “NIL” around without any proof or evidence
Going to be interesting to see how the SEC roster cap impacts – suspect there will be quite a few transfers out to other programs.
There needs to be a salary cap.
There needs to be a governing body to actually enforce it, which will not be the NCAA
Time & again, for decades running, the NCAA has tried to be a substantive & legitimate governing body for collegiate athletics but it simply hasn’t all come together yet.
And I’m just kidding. The NCAA is a joke, completely devoid of all credibility now. It’s time for a structural change.
My guess is that he has set a goal to make the olympic team for 2028. If he goes class of 26 then he just has 1.5 years to prepare under a new coach and program.
Obviously some risk of missing out on a texas roster spot, but im guessing Bob is excited to work with someone thst wants to swing for the fences
nobody mentioning how Texas gotta be SLANGIN the NIL money to get this kid to flip schools
Well Texas did have the largest operating budget ever in 2024 and announced its goal of a $7B endowment in 2022 so if anyone does, they’ve got the cash to do it.
Best of luck young man.
I wonder how much NIL money he got.
Probably not much
I’d doubt anything meaningful, if any. I know well the family of two comparable male swimmers, one a NCAA finalist in multiple events and one late in high school fast enough to be in the “best of rankings”.
Swimswam had an article a few months back with some hard numbers. Only people cracking $10,000 were the Olympians if memory serves.
Chris Giuliano got 100k
$100k pesos
None
Bowman living up to the Chinese Lunar calendar. The Year of the Snake.
That is indeed his sign