Larry Yu from Pomona-Pitzer, Alex McCormick from WashU, and Neil Mortimer from Colby have all entered the transfer portal to potentially use their COVID-19 fifth year of eligibility.
Yu is currently a senior at Pomona-Pitzer. This past season, Yu was 6th in the 200 breast (1:58.82) and 8th in the 200 IM (3:59.23) at the 2023 NCAA Division III Championships. Yu notched personal best times in both events during prelims swimming a 1:58.05 in prelims of the 200 breast and a 3:52.09 in prelims of the 400 IM.
As a sophomore, Yu finished 7th in the 400 IM (3:56.52) at the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships.
Yu’s best SCY times are:
- 400 IM: 3:52.09
- 200 breast: 1:58.05
- 500 free: 4:26.28
McCormick is in his senior year at WashU-St. Louis. McCormick made three Division III NCAA ‘A’ finals this past season, finishing 2nd in the 200 back (1:43.59), 3rd in the 200 IM (1:47.18), and 7th in the 100 back (47.61). As a sophomore, McCormick was 5th in the 200 back.
McCormick’s best SCY times are:
- 100 back: 47.61
- 200 back: 1:43.59
- 200 IM: 1:47.18
Mortimer is a senior at Colby and finished 6th in the 100 fly (47.62) and 7th in the 50 free (20.18) this past season. Mortimer swam huge personal best times this season after not qualifying for NCAAs as a sophomore.
Mortimer’s best SCY times are:
- 50 free: 19.86
- 100 free: 45.91
- 100 fly: 47.33
The class of 2024 is the last class with the additional “fifth year” of eligibility due to COVID-19. Over the past few years, numerous Division III (and Division II) swimmers have made the jump to Division I.
This upcoming season, highlighting the men’s side are Tanner Filion and Liam McDonnell who will both use their final year at Notre Dame. Filion won the 100 and 200 backstrokes while McDonnell was 2nd in the 100 back and 4th in the 100 fly.
I will miss this after the COVID waiver phase passes.
They should permanently allow D3 grad transfers to D1 for a single extra “see what you can do” year. As long as they’re working towards an advanced degree (many d3 schools don’t have postgraduate programs) it’s a win win!