Florida All-American Kacper Stokowski Announces Plan to Transfer

Polish swimmer Kacper Stokowski has become the 3rd NCAA qualifier to announce a transfer out of the University of Florida this offseason, doing so after just one season in Gainesville. He joins Turkey’s Erge Gezmis and American Maxine Rooney.

Stokowski says that he will sit out the 2019-2020 season while training for the Olympic Games at home in Poland before returning with a new program in the fall of 2020. Unlike Gezmis (NC State) and Rooney (Texas), Stokowski has not yet decided on his landing spot.

Individually, Stokowski finished 9th in the 100 back (44.90) and 35th in the 200 back (1:44.26) at NCAAs last year. He scratched the 100 fly where a season-best time would have put him right on the verge of scoring points.

He also swam on 3 Gator relays at NCAAs: on the prelims of the 200 free relay, as the backstroke leg of their 8th-place 400 medley relay, and as the backstroke leg of their 10th-place 200 medley relay. Only 1 member of the Florida All-America 400 medley relay, their 2nd-best relay at NCAAs, will return next season: rising senior breaststroker Marco Guarante (52.22 split in the NCAA final).

He also scored 76 points individually at the SEC Championships, including a runner-up placement in the 100 back – about half-a-second behind Alabama’s Zane Waddell. Between the 3 All-American transfers alone (Rooney – 87 Gezmis – 43), the Gators have lost 206 points this offseason. The 7-time defending conference champion Gators did have some cushion, though: they return 794.5 pints next season, which is roughly 274.5 more points than the next-closest team, Missouri, returns. With young A&M and Georgia teams not far behind that, though, this should make for a very interesting season of SEC swimming.

He is currently listed in the NCAA transfers database with a “do not contact” label for other programs.

Yards Bests:

  • 50 free – 20.14
  • 100 free – 44.30
  • 200 free – 1:38.55
  • 100 back – 44.90
  • 200 back – 1:41.31
  • 100 fly – 45.72

LCM Bests:

  • 50 free – 23.20
  • 100 free – 50.03
  • 200 free – 1:48.51
  • 100 back – 53.82
  • 100 fly – 54.07

Stokowski represented Poland at the 2019 Summer Universiade (World University Games), where his best finish was 12th in the semi-finals of the 100 back (55.08), which was over a second short of his lifetime best set in May of 2018 while he was still training in Poland.

Florida finished 6th at the 2019 NCAA Championship meet.

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wolfensf
4 years ago

And they don’t have any big guns coming in. 🙁

Aquajosh
Reply to  wolfensf
4 years ago

They have the German butterflier. Remember, they didn’t have Michael Taylor last year, so if he’s back from medical redshirt, it could easily plug this hole.

LilFlyer
Reply to  Aquajosh
4 years ago

yeah, he should throw down some 44 highs after 6 surgeries and a year off the pool, c’mon at least be realistic

Swimfan
4 years ago

Ouch.

GrantJ
4 years ago

Perhaps a good fit w/NC State? Consistently turning out good BK/FLers, Gezmis starts in 2020 and fellow countryman Rafal Kusto is there.

Plainjane
4 years ago

What has become clear is no one trusts Nesty as a head coach.

SpeedRacer
Reply to  Plainjane
4 years ago

New coach usually equals new rules so it is possible there might be some cleaning out of those that can not follow the rules.

AuntieM
4 years ago

The big question is will the Women’s SEC meet be faster than the Men’s?

Oldbay
4 years ago

Would be cool to see his join Pawel Sendyk at Cal

Snarky
Reply to  Oldbay
4 years ago

Where’s the money going to come from. I dont think Cal has much cash to offer.

Enjoyswimming
Reply to  Snarky
4 years ago

Cal can actually go for him. However, it depends on their men’s roster capacity. From what I understand, their school policy allows for a certain number of men and women swimmers.

DMacNCheez
4 years ago

Wow with all these transfers, it’s abundantly clear that something bad is going on in Gainesville. Wait I mean Bloomington. No, Tempe!

Shoot, maybe swimmers just transfer from top schools and we shouldn’t make such a huge deal of it.

Articuno
Reply to  DMacNCheez
4 years ago

Looze’s coaching style is well known… Arizona has been a clown fiesta since Hansen… Florida has been much quieter the last 5-8 years, that’s why this seems odd. Especially since a couple of these kids were brought in by Nesty and had decent success.

JP input is too short
Reply to  Articuno
4 years ago

I suspect that by “Tempe” they mean Arizona State.

Muddy Canary
Reply to  JP input is too short
4 years ago

Touche… Always get the two cities mixed up, my northern ignorance.

Raiders
4 years ago

Santiago Corredor also transferred from Florida this year. Heading to USC.

Hmmm
Reply to  Raiders
4 years ago

Based on the above comment I thought this was a joke name for santo conderelli for a second,

Jimbo
Reply to  Hmmm
4 years ago

Got to watch him swim this past weekend. It was fun

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