“Best of the Rest” Breaststroker Finnley Conklin Verbally Commits to Auburn for 2025-26

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Finnley Conklin, a junior at Oregon High School in Oregon, Wisconsin, has announced his verbal commitment to Auburn University for the fall of 2025.

“I am honored to announce that I will be continuing my swimming and academic career at Auburn University. I would like to thank my coaches, friends and family. Huge thanks to auburn coaches and staff for this opportunity. War eagle 🦅!!”

Conklin represented Oregon Community Swim Club through the summer of 2023 but currently swims for Madison Aquatic Club. He is one of the top breaststrokers in the class of 2025, for which we honored him with “Best of the Rest” status on our Way Too Early list of top recruits from the cohort.

Conklin had a big meet at Winter Juniors West, where he cracked 2:00 for the first time in the 200 breast and earned a spot in the A final. He ended up finishing in 8th place in the 200 and 14th in the 100 breast and picked up best times in the 50 free, 100/200 breast, and 200 IM. Two months later, at the Wisconsin High School Division 1 State Championships, he took 3rd in the 100 breast (54.38) and 7th in the 100 free (45.98), earning PBs in both events.

He had an outstanding long course season, culminating in an Olympic Trials cut in the 100 breast at Summer Junior Nationals in Irvine. There, he competed in the 100 free and 100/200 breast, notching PBs in all three events. He came in 57th in prelims of the 100 free (51.98), 18th in the 100 breast (1:02.33), and 19th in the 200 breast (2:17.29). But then he time trialed the 100 breast and dropped another four-tenths to punch his ticket to Trials with 1:01.97.

Best SCY times:

  • 100 breast – 54.38
  • 200 breast – 1:59.02
  • 200 IM – 1:52.77
  • 50 free – 21.39
  • 100 free – 45.98
  • 200 free – 1:44.08

Conklin will suit up for the Tigers in the fall of 2025 with #16 Luke Bedsole. Auburn men finished 2nd to Florida last year at the 2023 SEC Championships. Conklin will arrive after the graduation of top Auburn breaststrokers Henry Bethel, Alejandro Flores, and Jacques Rathle but he’ll overlap with Liam Heary, who is off to a strong start in his freshman season.

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About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently …

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