Ella Smoker from Cypress, Texas, has announced her intention to remain in-state to swim and study at Texas A&M University in the class of 2028.
“I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and swimming career at Texas A&M University! Thank you to my family, coaches, friends, and teammates for supporting me and helping me get here. Gig’em!!”
Smoker is a junior at Cypress Fairbanks High School in Houston. She swims year-round with Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club and specializes in breaststroke and IM. We named her to the “Best of the Rest” section of our Way Too Early list of top recruits in the class of 2024.
As a sophomore at the Texas UIL 6A State Swimming and Diving Championships last February, the then-sophomore was an A-finalist in both her events, placing third in the 100 breast (1:02.50) and sixth in the 200 IM (2:03.68). She had swum lifetime bests in both those events two weeks earlier at the Region 5-6A Championships.
In March, Smoker had a strong showing at College Station Sectionals, where she was an A-finalist in the 200 breast and a B-finalist in the 100 breast, and where she earned PBs in the 100 free and 500 free.
This summer, she competed at Speedo Sectionals in Austin and clocked a number of LCM bests, including the 50/100/200 breast (36.13/1:12.18/2:34.63) and 200/400 IM (2:21.05/4:59.76). She placed 4th in the 200 breast, 8th in the 400 IM, 9th in the 100 breast, and 10th in the 200 IM. She swam all four events at Summer Junior Nationals and, more recently, at Winter Juniors West.
Best SCY times:
- 200 breast – 2:12.90
- 100 breast – 1:02.26
- 200 IM – 2:02.76
- 400 IM – 4:23.85
- 200 free – 1:51.38
- 500 free – 4:56.26
Smoker will arrive in College Station just after the top Aggie breaststrokers –Bobbi Kennett, Charlotte Longbottom, and Desirae Mangaoang– will have graduated (barring fifth years). Smoker’s best 200 breast time would have scored in the C final at the 2022 SEC Championships. It took 1:01.54 in the 100 breast and 1:59.48/4:18.02 in the 200/400 IMs to get second swims.
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