The University of Texas has named its men’s team captains for the 2024-2025 NCAA Swimming & Diving season. This is the program’s first season under the combined leadership of new Director of Swimming, Bob Bowman, though the women’s team retains head coach Carol Capitani, and at least initially, it seems like will maintain some autonomy (they have not yet announced captains).
Texas 2024-2025 Men’s Swimming & Diving Captains
- Will Modglin, Sophomore
- Ryan Branon, Junior
- Luke Hobson, Senior
- Coby Carrozza, 5th Year
A Texas team that has historically been loaded with stars, the four captains including three of the team’s five individual swimming scorers from last year’s NCAA Championship meet, of which only four return (Nathaniel Germonprez is the other).
That includes the program’s top returning scorer Luke Hobson, the defending NCAA Champion in the 200 yard free and the Olympic bronze medalist in the 200 meter free.
Carrozza was on Texas’ 800 free relay, last year’s best, at NCAAs alongside Hobson and individually placed 5th in the 500 free. Modglin won the B Final of the 100 back at NCAAs and earlier in the season became the fastest-ever freshman in the event. Branon finished 3rd in the 200 fly at the Big 12 Championships last season after a career-best of 1:42.79 during a Time Trial, though he didn’t qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The captaincy also includes one swimmer from each returning class, sophomore through 5th years. With only very rare exception, the 2024-2025 NCAA season will be the final season of the COVID-19-awarded 5th years of eligibility.
Those returning stars will be supplemented by a couple of high-powered transfers, including Rex Maurer from Stanford, who was 3rd at last year’s Pac-12 Championships in the 200 back, 400 IM, and 500 free; and who won the 400 free and 400 IM at the Speedo Summer Championships, for which he did most of his preparations with Bowman in Austin. The team will also add junior transfer Hubert Kos, the Olympic gold medalist in the 200 back, who followed Bowman from Arizona State. Junior Michael Cotter from NC State, a former #3 ranked recruit in the country who never really got his footing in two seasons in Raleigh, also joins the Longhorns next season.
The Texas men finished 7th at last year’s NCAA Championships with 189 individual points: their lowest finish since 2005 in the last season of legendary head coach Eddie Reese before retirement.
While strong rosters from Cal, Florida, and Indiana are probably too far ahead for the Longhorns to catch this season, even with those additions, a talented Texas team should be back in the top 5 this season if Bowman can have the same success he did at Arizona State, where he led top recruits and developmental swimmers alike to NCAA points.
Kos scored 48, and the three transfers, at their best, should make a positive impact on Texas’ relays.
Interesting that each captain if from a different class (Soph, Jr, Sr and 5th year). I wonder if they did that on purpose or if it just worked out that way?
This is a solid group of guys who will take their leadership roles seriously. I like the model of having one per class.
What might the rare instances be of someone getting a Covid 5th year after this season? We really need to be done with these 5th years.
Someone who competed as a freshman in the 2020-2021 season, but has red-shirted any year since. Case in point: David Johnston (https://swimswam.com/david-johnston-taking-olympic-redshirt-will-return-to-texas-in-2024-25/).
Why wouldn’t Carson Foster come back?
He would only have to forfeit the 50k in Olympic money right? Which seems like it would be less than potential NIL + rev share money
Dude probably had a wedding to pay for
Shackell?
Hehehehehe…..
Does Texas normally do captains?
Absolutely. Not sure that it ever made SwimSwam, but yes, they’ve done it for decades.
Doesn’t Ryan Branon spell his last name with two ns, not three?