Diggory Dillingham, the fastest 50 freestyler in the high school class of 2023, will take a gap year before beginning his collegiate career at USC.
Dillingham announced his commitment to USC on Thursday. He tells SwimSwam that he plans to begin his college career there in the 2024-2025 season.
“I decided to take a gap year to have a consistency of coaching going into the Olympic year so I can hopefully make the 2024 team,” Dillingham said. “I’ll also be taking some community college courses to get a little bit smaller load for my 4 college years.”
The community college classes will only begin his 5-year clock to use 4 seasons of NCAA eligibility if he enrolls as a full-time student.
Dillingham trains with the Bend Swim Club in Bend, Oregon, where his mom Megan Oesting is his primary coach.
In April, Dillingham swam one event at the US International Team Trials, finishing in 11th place in the 50 meter free with a 22.53 in prelims and 22.48 in finals. The 22.48 was a best time for him.
It took a time of 21.45 (Michael Andrew) to qualify individually in the 50 free for the US World Championship team.
Dillingham says that all the college coaches he spoke with supported his plan.
Taking a gap year before starting collegiate swimming is unusual, but not unheard-of. Among other high-profile cases include Ryan King, who dropped a minute in his 1650 free in his year off before committing to Arizona State, collegiate All-American Harry Homans, Coleman McCreery, and Olympians Abbey Weitzeil, Regan Smith, Katie Ledecky, Emma Weyant, and Erica Sullivan.
The reasons for these gap years vary widely. Some, like Smith, Weyant, Ledecky, and Sullivan, took gap years to prepare for the Olympic Games in Tokyo (where both won medals). Others did so for personal reasons, or to give themselves more time to develop to get better offers. McCreery’s was a unique case where he committed to two programs, East Carolina and Michigan State, that ultimately cut their men’s swim teams before he arrived.
Go for it Diggs
None of the reasons in the comments are the reason he is taking a gap year and it’s no one’s business. He’s going to do great things. Great kid and coach, I wish him the best!!!
This kid is undoubtedly faster than you and he is going for it against stacked odds. Sounds like a dream year.
Respect.
Diggory Dillingham is the type of name you put on a fake id
It was either that or muhammad
Take off that vest. You look like Aladdin.
Muhammad is the most common name on earth jesus read a book
Legendary references everyone
Day to day at USC while enrolling and experiencing with your same-age peers, and you demote that in favor of 21 or 22 seconds.
Big picture whiff
To be fair, it’s a difference of one year. As a freshman in college, it’s not completely crazy to have other freshman be a year older than me.
this comment is so incredibly ignorant
Swimming reasons aside (which are legitimate) – an extra year of maturity before leaving home and starting college can be invaluable. Probably more kids should do it.
I think a big factor here is that he’s not just staying with the same coaching, he’s staying with his MOM as his coach. He may not have a shot at top 2 but he could maybe make semi finals. That’s a big deal for her and the club to have an athlete place like that, wearing the club cap and not USC. It’s not just a decision that’s in his best interest, but hers too.
McCreery did not take a gap year
Dressel, Andrew, Curtis, King, Curry, Held, Ress… Goodluck bud
Yeah he’s getting bad advice if someone is telling him has a chance. He has to go 21.5 in about 18 months
The competition is definitely tight, but the guy has been on a wild improvement curve so he could still do something big at Trials even if its not making the Team.
Personally, I think this decision makes a lot of long term sense – puts him fresh off of 4 years of college training for 2028 trials. If he went right in, he would have to transition to being a pro etc. for a year first.
He must looking at Popovichi’s improvement and thinking he has a chance. Maybe if drops down to 19.0 in the next few months.
Also plenty of kids take a gap year for plenty of reasons and end up just fine. He could have no shot at the olympics and still be valid in wanting another year of familiar long course training. It’s not like a gap year is going to ruin him.
No he doesn’t he just has to finish before the others