Harvard Earns First 2023 Verbal Commitment from #16 Sonny Wang

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Sonny Wang, a junior at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas, has made a verbal commitment to the application process* at Harvard University for the 2023-24 school year.

“I am extremely thrilled to announce my verbal commitment to swim and continue my academic career at Harvard University. I am deeply grateful and want to give a special shout-out to my family, friends, and coaches for shaping me into the athlete that I am. Lastly I would like to thank Coach Kevin and Coach Sam who have made this opportunity possible! See y’all at NCAAs. Go Crimson!”

Wang ranks #16 on our Way Too Early list of top recruits from the class of 2023. He specializes in sprints –mainly free, fly, and breast– and is a two-time Texas High School UIL 6A state swimming and diving champion. He won the 50 free as a sophomore in 2021 with 20.56 (and was runner-up in the 100 free, 44.38) and he won the 100 free at the 2022 state meet with 43.38 (and was runner-up in the 50 free, 20.05).

In addition to his sprint free times, which have improved by .3 in the 50 and .9 in the 100, Wang has made a ton of progress in his 100 fly, taking it from 50.0 a year ago to 47.5 at College Station Sectionals last month. Competing with his club team, Waterloo Swimming, he placed 11th in the 50 free (20.25), third in the 100 free (44.10) and ninth in the 100 fly (47.58). He finaled in those same three events at 2021 Winter Juniors West (17th in the 50, 5th in the 100 free, 17th in the 100 fly).

Wang swam the same lineup at West Fargo Futures last summer, coming in second place in the 50 free (23.72) and 100 free (51.90) and touching ninth in the fly (55.93). His strongest LCM performances came a week earlier, though, at Austin Sectionals when he notched PBs in the 50 free (23.70), 100 free (51.89), 200 free (2:02.03), 100 fly (55.18), 100 breast (1:07.76), and 100 back (1:00.24).

Best SCY times:

• 50 free – 19.99
• 100 free – 43.38
• 200 free – 1:38.08
• 100 fly – 47.58
• 200 fly – 1:48.03
• 100 back – 50.58
• 100 breast – 57.58

Wang will be an immediate contributor to the Crimson when he arrives in the fall of 2023. Already, he would have scored in the A final of the 100 free and the B finals of the 50/200 free and 100 fly at 2022 Ivy League Men’s Championships. Harvard placed four swimmers in the A final of the 100 free but three of them were seniors (Mahlon Reihman, Dean Farris, and Raphael Marcoux); the fourth, Marcus Holmquist, will be a senior when Wang arrives. Riehman and Marcoux were also A-finalists in the 50 free and 100 fly, as was Umit Gures (a junior in 2021-22), so Wang will fill several holes when he arrives in Cambridge.

*Note: A verbal commitment between an Ivy League coach and a prospective student-athlete is not an offer of admission, as only the Admission Office has that authority. The coach can only commit his or her support in the admission process. Ivy League Admission Offices do not issue “Likely Letters” before October 1 of the prospective student-athlete’s senior year of high school. The Likely Letter, while issued after an initial read of the student’s application, is not an offer of admission to the university.

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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