Sprint freestyler Clara Baggett from the Newburgh Sea Creatures team in Indiana has verbally committed to the Louisville Cardinals.
She’s the third public verbal commitment from a talented Newburgh Sea Creatures senior class – though the other two, Christie Jensen and Lilly King, are both going to Indiana.
Baggett has been amazingly consistent throughout her high school career. At the Indiana State Championship meets, in her three years of high school, she was 23.26 as a freshman, 23.26 as a sophomore, and 23.26 as a junior. She went .01 faster as a freshman at a regional meet for her lifetime best in that event of 23.25.
Her 100 free has, in relative terms, been “all over the board,” but only in relative terms. As a freshman, she was 50.75, as a sophomore she was 50.46, and as a junior, she was a 50.74. The only returning swimmer that placed higher than Baggett’s 4th-place finish at last year’s state meet is Amy Bilquist, an uncommitted and highly-sought-after senior also in the class of 2015.
As secondary events, Baggett has been 1:53.42 in the 200 free, and could possibly contribute on the Cardinals’ 200 medley relay as a butterflier in the long-term, but the sprint freestyles are really her bread-and-butter.
As Louisville has continued to climb the NCAA ranks, including their highest-ever finish of 15th at nationals last season, their sprint freestyle group has lagged behind. While Baggett hasn’t made huge improvements since her freshman year of high school, she does have good size at 5’10” and is a Summer Junior Nationals qualifier in long course (26.89 in the 50 free). Her best would have made an improvement to Louisville’s 200 and 400 free relays at NCAA’s last year.
Baggett attends Reitz High School after representing Mount Vernon at the last three Indiana State Championship meets.
