Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.
British breaststroker Oscar Bilbao is bolstering the Arizona State men’s roster this season as the Sun Devils seek to defend their first-ever NCAA crown in 2024-25.
Bilbao grew up in England before moving to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he trained with Hamilton Aquatics Dubai. He had a huge performance for Team England at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, winning four gold medals in the 50 breast (28.60), 100 breast (1:03.12), 200 breast (2:15.57), and 4×100 mixed medley relay (1:02.56 breast split). It was a historic sweep as only one other British athlete, cyclist Hannah Barnes (Pune 2008), had ever tallied four titles at the event.
At last year’s European Junior Championships, Bilbao made semifinals in the 50 breast (28.85, 11th place), 100 breast (1:03.09, 9th place), and 200 breast (2:18.42, 11th place). He also competed at the 2022 European Junior Championships, placing 11th in the 200 breast (2:18.13), 19th in the 100 breast (1:03.63), and 34th in the 50 breast (29.58).
Best LCM Times (Converted to SCY)
- 50 breast – 28.55 (24.81)
- 100 breast – 1:02.46 (54.46)
- 200 breast – 2:15.57 (1:58.53)
- 200 IM – 2:05.07 (1:49.79)
Bilbao’s best converted times would have placed 7th in the 200 breast, 8th in the 100 breast, and made the C-final of 200 IM at last season’s Big 12 Championships. The conference will look a lot different this season with powerhouse Texas leaving the Big 12 and Arizona State, Arizona, and Utah joining from the Pac-12.
The Sun Devils are entering their first season under head coach Herbie Behm after Bob Bowman left to replace Eddie Reese at Texas right after winning the NCAA title in late March. The ASU men return big names like two-time Olympic bronze medalist Ilya Kharun, but they’ll be without stars such as Leon Marchand, Hubert Kos, and Owen McDonald this season.
Bilbao is one of 11 freshmen arriving in Tempe this fall along with diver Carson Christiansen, Isaac Fleig, Michael Hochwalt, Brady Johnson, Finn Kemp, Jacob Pins, Quin Seider, Lucien Vergnes, Leo Verschooten, and David Young.
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].
About the Fitter and Faster Swim Tour
Fitter & Faster Swim Camps feature the most innovative teaching platforms for competitive swimmers of all levels. Camps are produced year-round throughout the USA and Canada. All camps are led by elite swimmers and coaches. Visit fitterandfaster.com to find or request a swim camp near you.
FFT SOCIAL
Instagram – @fitterandfasterswimtour
Facebook – @fitterandfastertour
Twitter – @fitterandfaster
FFT is a SwimSwam partner.
People don’t want to say it but age group coaches talk about this all the time. College coaches cherry picking from other countries rather than developing our own talent. A 17 year old boy cannot compete w 20 year olds but they are both being recruited as incoming freshmen. Why not limit the number of foreigners on a NCAA team?
Good for Oscar but when are we going to put a cap on foreign swimmers on NCAA teams. Should be one per team. It is hurting the development opportunities for US swimmers. Many great 17 year old boys never have a chance to develop to their potential because there aren’t spots on great NCAA teams. Too many spots given to foreign athletes especially in top 20 NCAA teams.
There are no Team USA-caliber swimmers who aren’t getting spots on college teams.
They picked up a 53 LCM backstroker too, should be swimming this fall I think
only converts to 48, might make the conference “c” final…
for me, it said that 53.5 LCM converts to a 47.1
was making a joke, but the point still stands
On the SwimSwam chart, :53.50LCM converts to :44.68SCY.
I try to stay up fairly well on ASU’s recruiting, but I’m unaware of such an addition. Just today they updated their online roster for 2024-25, which doesn’t include any :53+ names. I know they lost a :53.1 fellow that broke into the 52s this summer, and won Gold in the 200(Kos to Texas), and also lost a :54.51LCM(:44.25 SCY – McDonald to Indiana).
But they fight back with additions in other ways, such as improvements from guys already on the roster. For example, Quinlan Gould, a sophomore out of Oregon, was :56.78 at ’23 Jrs. and qualified for Trials this summer at :54.83. A ways to go yet, but pretty… Read more »
Jonothan/Jonno Adams is the recruit, not sure if he’s 2024 or 2025.
There is a ‘Jono Adam’ from Great Britain who has been sub :54.00 6 times between 12/22 and 12/23 (PB :53.45). At the British Trials he had :54.68P and :54.88 in final for 7th. After being 53+ so consistently the year prior, it sounds like possible injury or other health issues.
He did his :53.45 leading off a relay at the U23 European Championships(8/23) (wasn’t in individual 100 Bk) where a group of Americans was allowed to participate including ASU’s Patrick Sammon.
Might they have met there? I’m just spit-ballin’ here, but it would be interesting if he were added to an already deep Sun Devil squad.
Those conversions aren’t honest to what I think he could actually go, depending on how his turns are. If he has decent turns and pullouts I’d watch out for him in the future
2:15 is way better than1:58
Those conversions are awful
If a person has Short Course Meters times, I think they are more appropriate to convert as the number of turns and underwater are closely related to yards