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Carter Cox of Bainbridge Island, Washington has announced his commitment to swim and study at Xavier University, starting in the fall of 2026. He trains year-round with King Aquatic Club and attends Bainbridge High School.
Cox made the announcement on Instagram, writing:
I am incredibly excited to announce my verbal commitment to my academic and athletic career at Xavier University. I would love to thank my coaches, friends, and family for all of their amazing support as well as Coach Lindsey and the entire Xavier coaching staff for this amazing opportunity! Go Musketeers!
The future Musketeer is a backstroke and butterfly specialist who has improved in all of his primary events every season of his high school career.
At the Winter Junior Championships – West, held in December, Cox clocked best times in the 100 fly and both backstrokes. He notched 1:48.56 for 33rd in the 200 back, 49.66 for 76th in the 100 fly, and 51.21 for 78th in the 100 back.
Cox headed to the Washington Senior State Championships a week later, where he logged his current personal best of 1:47.47 en route to gold in the 200 back. He also secured 16th in the 100 fly (51.38) and 17th in the 200 fly (1:54.85), with his time in the latter marking a career best.
He capped off his season at the Speedo Sectionals in Boise at the end of March, where he picked up sixth in the 100 back (51.02) and ninth in the 200 fly (1:53.54), which stand as his current lifetime bests. He also stopped the clock at 1:48.97 for fourth in the 200 back, but was a bit off his mark from a few months prior.
Top SCY Times:
- 100 Backstroke: 51.02
- 200 Backstroke: 1:47.47
- 100 Butterfly: 49.66
- 200 Butterfly: 1:53.54
The Musketeers are led by head coach Lindsey Niergarth, who is in her second season at the helm of the program. The men placed third out of five teams at the 2025 Big East Championships, finishing just 21 points shy of second-place Seton Hall.
Cox will have an immediate impact for Xavier once he arrives on campus. At the conference meet, where ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C’ finals are scored, Cox’s bests would have slotted him into the ‘A’ final of the 200 back, ‘B’ finals of the 100 fly and 200 fly, and the ‘C’ final of the 100 back.
On the team’s 2024-25 depth chart, Cox would have topped the 200 back standings, sat fourth in both fly events, and ranked fifth in the 100 back. Junior Aiden Leamer led the way in both fly distances with times of 46.52 and 1:43.48, while sophomore Matt Fralic (48.55) and freshman Nate Finnegan (1:47.66) were the Musketeers’ best backstrokers.
Cox is the only publicized commit in Xavier’s class of 2030.
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].
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