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Idaho’s Maddie Johnson and Southern California’s Rachel Forbes are the latest to give verbal commitments to the University of California, Santa Barbara’s class of 2020.
Madelyn Johnson
Maddie Johnson is the first non-Californian to make a verbal commitment to the Gauchos this recruiting season. Johnson hails from Hailey, Idaho, where she swims for Wood River High School and Sun Valley 5B-Y. She is a two-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-America Team member.
“I love how close the coaching staff are. Santa Barbara is the perfect place for me to pursue my academic interests and athletic goals for the future. Go Gauchos!”
Johnson’s strongest event is the 200 fly and she has Winter Juniors cuts in both the 100 and 200 distances, but she is a versatile athlete who also has solid times in IM, backstroke, and freestyle events. Her top times include:
| SCY | LCM | |
| 200 fly | 2:01.06 | 2:17.78 |
| 100 fly | 56.47 | 1:03.23 |
| 400 IM | 4:26.21 | 5:07.22 |
| 200 IM | 2:07.14 | 2:26.48 |
| 200 back | 2:03.97 |
Johnson will make an immediate impact on the Gauchos with her 200 fly, notably; she would have placed second at the 2015 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference championships, the fastest Santa Barbara 200 flyer in the meet. Her 400 IM would have made the “A” final as well, and her 100 fly would have been on the B/C-final bubble.
Rachel Forbes
Upland, California’s Rachel Forbes is a senior at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga. She specializes in mid-distance freestyle and was a consolation finalist in both the 200 free (1:53.44) and 500 free (5:08.95) at the 2015 CIF-Southern Section Division II championships in May. She swims club for Rose Bowl Aquatics, and her best times are:
| SCY | LCM | |
| 1650/1500 | 17:34.53 | 17:50.61 |
| 1000/800 | 10:25.90 | 9:22.93 |
| 500/400 | 5:02.20 | 4:32.22 |
| 200 free | 1:53.44 | 2:09.30 |
| 100 free | 53.54 | 1:00.46 |
Forbes would have scored in the top-16 of the 1650 at 2015 MPSF Championships, and her 500 and 200 free times would have qualified her for the respective “C” finals.
Johnson and Forbes join fellow-commits:
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