COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M men’s swimming & diving signed eight standouts with a bright future waiting for them in Aggieland. The recruiting class consists of seven swimmers and a diver. Collin Fuchs and David Oderinde are already teammates at Klein and in PACK. Jerard Jacinto hails from Caloocan, Philippines and is a veteran on the Philippines National Team. Carter Nelson, Vincent Ribeiro, Alexander Sanchez and Elijah Sohn round out the swimming class, while Kyle Sanchez is the lone diver.
“We really like the chemistry that this group already has,” said head coach Jay Holmes about the signing class. “Even though they haven’t all been together at the same place, when they have been together they have been really good. This class will have big shoes to fill, so we are counting on them a lot. Counting on them to have a great senior year and summer, so that when they get there they will be ready to go.”
Collin Fuchs – Back, IM | Houston, Texas
Collin Fuchs swam for the club PACK, coached by Mike McCauley for six year. He holds club records in the 200 back (1:46.63) and the 100 back (49.16). While attending Klein Oak High School, Fuchs enters his senior season as a three-year letterwinner and holds two school records in the 200 free relay (1:25.91) and 400 free relay (3:04.61). Fuchs notched a sixth-place finish in the 100 back and fourth-place finish the 400 free relay at the 2019 6A State Championships. Fuchs earned the Silver Key Scholastic Award for his academic performance.
Jerard Jacinto, Back/Free | Caloocan, Philippines
Jerard Jacinto is a three-year member of the Philippines National Team, coached under Jenny Guerrero, where he became a five-time junior national record holder and two-time national record holder. Jacinto recently broke the national record in the 100 back with a time of 56.27 at the seventh FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary on August 29, 2019. Jacinto attends high school at De La Salle Santiago Zobel where he is coached by Garry Domingo and is a member of the Core Committee Commission Youth organization.
Carter Nelson, Free | Columbia, Ill.
Carter Nelson is an eight-year member of the Flyers Aquatic swim team, coached by Derek Shipp. Nelson collected club awards for Most Memorable Swim (2017-18), Hardest Worker (2016-17) and Swimmer of the Year (2016-17). As a four-year letterwinner at Columbia High School, Nelson holds three records and is coached by Kelly Landgraf. Nelson participated in two events at the state championships each year with the team, with top-10 finishes to cap off his 2018-19 season. Additionally, Nelson received IHSA All-State honors in 2019 and was named to the USA Swimming Scholastic All-American in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
David Oderinde, Free/Fly/Back | Houston, Texas
David Oderinde swam for PACK under Coach Mike McCauley for nine years. Oderinde is a four-year letterwinner at Klein Oak High School under coach Kyle Subda. Oderinde was named Swimmer of the Meet at the Klein School District Meet in 2019 and holds the District 14-6A record in the 100 fly (2019) and the 100 back (2018). Oderinde placed in the top 10 in the state finals in the 50 free (2019), 100 fly (2019), 100 free (2018) and 100 back (2018). Oderinde is an active member of the National Honor Society.
Vincent Ribeiro, Breast/IM | Round Rock, Texas
Vincent Ribeiro is a seven-year member of the Nitro Swimming club, coached under Florian Rudholf. Ribeiro was awarded back-to-back club MVP’s in 2018 and 2019. As a four-year letterwinner at Round Rock and swimming for head coach Tom Arrendondo, Ribeiro won the 2019 Texas 6A 200 IM state championship and is the runner-up in the 100 breast. His state championship time of 1:47.98 eclipsed Round Rock’s 200 IM record time. Ribeiro is the reigning three-time MVP of the Round Rock swimming squad.
Alexander Sanchez, Breast/Fly | Plano, Texas
Alexander Sanchez is a letterwinner at Plano Senior, coached by Xandra Damon. As a junior, Sanchez was named team captain and placed fifth in 2019 UIL 6A State Championships in both the 100 breast and 100 fly. Sanchez also won the District 7-6A title in the 100 breast and 100 fly, in addition to placing first and second in the 100 breast and 100 fly, respectively, at regionals. Additionally Sanchez is a two-year member of Metroplex Aquatics, coached by Hyung sun Kim.
Kyle Sanchez, Diving | Mansfield, Texas
Kyle Sanchez is a four-year member of the Mansfield Diving Club, coached by Andrew Serie. Serie also serves as Sanchez’ high school coach at Lake Ridge. As a four-year letterwinner, Sanchez won the 2019 6A 1-meter diving State Championship with a score of 513.45 and placed fifth in the 2017 6A State Championship. Sanchez earned TISCA Academic All-Texas honors for his junior year in 2018-19. Additionally, Sanchez is a member of his class student council.
Elijah Sohn, Free/Fly | Aledo, Texas
Elijah Sohn is a two-year member of the Fort Worth Area swim team, coached by Ron Forrest, and is also a four-year letterwinner at Aledo. Coached under Tiffany Williams, Sohn notched a 2019 state championship in the 200 free with a record-best time of 1:38.83 and placed third in the 100 free. Sohn holds eight school records in 500 free, 200 free, 100 free, 50 free, 100 fly, 100 back, 100 breast and 200 IM. Sohn flexes his academic performance, ranking in the top four percentile of his class.
Just a terrific class coming in next year!! Can hardly wait to have them on campus. Appears that we will continue to gig em forever👍👍
Nelson is fun to watch race. He’s still a little raw from a tech standpoint, but he’s really explosive and he swims with a lot of guts.
Looks like he will fit in very well with the Aggie Family! Great choice on his part. Looking forward to having him on campus next fall!! Gig em forever 👍👍