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Ryan King of Gilbert, Arizona has announced his commitment to Arizona State University beginning in fall 2022.
“I chose ASU for its excellent business school as well as its stellar coaching staff and team. An elite swim program that is only getting better every year!”
King graduated from Campo Verde High School in 2021 but has taken a gap year. During this gap year, he has competed for Gold Medal Swim Club out of Chandler, AZ. He most recently competed at Austin Sectionals where he earned best times in the 500, 1000, and 1650 freestyles. He earned third-place finishes in both the 1000 (9:19.88) and 1650 (15:34.67). Those times also earned him his first Winter Juniors Cuts. In addition, he finished seventh in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:31.79.
King told SwimSwam that he took his gap year to help grow as he was only 5’3″ entering his senior year. He hit his growth spurt towards the end of his senior year, and during his gap year, he has dropped over 1 minute and 12 seconds in the 1650 freestyle as well as 19 seconds in the 500 freestyle.
Time Progression During Gap Year:
| March 2021 | March 2022 | |
| 1650 Free | 16:47.23 | 15:34.67 |
| 1000 Free | N/A | 9:19.88 |
| 500 Free | 4:51.49 | 4:31.79 |
All three of his times from March 2022 are best times. In addition to these events, he also dropped from a 4:12.87 in March 2021 to a 4:04.63 in December 2021 in the 400 IM.
Arizona State is a public university located in Tempe, AZ. The Sun Devil men finished third out of six teams at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships. That was an improvement from their fourth place finish from 2020 Pac-12s (the team redshirted the 2020-2021 season so they did not compete at the 2021 Pac-12 Championships).
They also finished sixth at the 2022 Men’s NCAA Championships highlighted by wins from freshman Leon Marchand in the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke.
Although King is still off of what it took to score at Pac-12s, if he continues with his projectory that he has been on recently, he he has the potential to score soon. It took a 15:26.22 to score in the 1650 freestyle and a 4:26.18 to make the final in the 500 freestyle at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships.
King told SwimSwam that he will be the first Arizona State swim team member to be a second-generation swimmer. His dad, Doug King, swam under Coach Ron Johnson back in the 90s. His dad participated in the 1993 NCAA Championships for ASU. There Doug King finished 18th in the 100 backstroke with a time of 48.94 and 20th in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:46.62.
Ryan King will arrive on campus this fall as a member of the class of 2026 along with Cale Marterr, Jake Mason, Matthew Duren, Evan Nail, Owen McDonald, and Jonny Kulow.
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Dad Doug wasn’t just ANY previous generation Sun Devil, he was a 1992 All-American in the 100 Backstroke and the ASU school record holder in the 100 back (:48.26) for 4-5 years. He was also an important key in the group that mobilized to get ASU Men’s Swimming re-instated at ASU when it was dropped a bit over a decade ago.
Doug had been a key part of the Mesa Dobson High team that in his Senior year (1988) won the Arizona High School Team Championship and was the last team to beat Brophy Prep until a string of 30+ Brophy wins was ended when they sat out a few years ago due to a Covid infection.
Not… Read more »
Ummmm… MDS – I’m going to need you at my funeral in 40 years to tell everyone that I was a relevant swimmer at one point in my life! HA! Thanks for the kudos and a trip down Memory Lane! I really do think that Ryan has a lot more to improve. At only 138 lbs right now, he’s going to put on a good amount of muscle so that he can “sprint” the 500 one day and hold 50’s! And his endocrinologist thinks he’s got a few more inches to grow. He truly has a beautiful stroke, not to mention a crazy work ethic, so it’ll be fun to watch him blossom these next 4 years. GO DEVILS!!! I’ll… Read more »
This is probably the craziest headline i’ve seen on this website lmao
This happens more often than you realize. I was also a late developer and dropped 18 seconds in the 500 and :58 in the 1650 between my senior year in HS and first year of college. Wished I would have taken a gap year, but that wasn’t a thing in the 1970s. Qualified for what was then known as Junior Olympics the summer before college as my first national level meet.
wow, this is really impressive.
Bot
Congratulation from your Papa on a much deserved opportunity.
That headline was one big flex.
5’3 entering senior year!? How tall is he now?
5’8″ and still growing…
Stretch Armstrong is gonna keep growing and drop another minute!
In all seriousness, great story!