NCAA ‘A’ Finalist Olivia Bray Returning To Texas For 5th Year

2024 NCAA ‘A’ finalist Olivia Bray will return to Texas for her COVID-19 fifth year, she confirmed to SwimSwam on Monday.

Bray spent the last four years as an undergrad with Texas, consistently making an impact at the conference and NCAA level. As a freshman, she finished 2nd in the 200 fly at NCAAs, swimming a 1:52.87 to finish only behind Michigan’s Olivia Carter. Bray also finished 7th in the 100 fly and 16th in the 100 back to score a total of 30 individual points, the 4th most for the Texas women.

She kept her lineup the same for 2022 NCAAs, making the ‘A’ final in all three events. She finished 7th in the 100 fly, 8th in the 200 fly, and 8th in the 100 back. She scored a total of 34 individual points, the 2nd most for the team.

In a big switch, Bray opted for a lineup change at 2023 NCAAs, swimming the 500 free, 100 back, and 200 back instead. This allowed her to avoid the double of events such as the 100 back and 100 fly or 200 back and 200 fly. She finished 3rd in the 500 free, 5th in the 100 back, and 7th in the 200 back. She scored a total of 42 individual points, the 2nd most on the team.

This past season, she switched her lineup back. She finished 3rd in the 100 fly, 5th in the 200 fly, and 11th in the 200 back. She scored a total of 36 individual points, the 3rd most on the roster.

In addition to her individual impact, Bray also swam on the 400 free and 800 free relays this past season at NCAAs. The 800 free finished 7th while the 400 free was 10th.

Bray keeps the Texas roster loaded for the upcoming season as NCAA 200 fly champion Emma Sticklen also returns for her 5th year along with Grace Cooper. The team notably loses the highest scorer from 2024 NCAAs, Kelly Pash as she finished her eligibility this past season. Anna Elendt had the 5th highest individual points total at 2024 NCAAs with 26 and confirmed to SwimSwam she will not be swimming for Texas this upcoming season.