Two more transfers are heading out of Corvallis and will be transferring prior to next season. Allison Gillespie and Delise Batiza will both be joining the Road Runners as they transition to the WAC next season.
Gillespie is predominantly a 100-200 freestyler, and anchored four of the Beavers’ relays at last year’s Pac-12 Championships in her freshman season. With three years of eligibility left, she should slide into a similar role in Bakersfield. Her new team is graduating Rachel McCall, their best swimmer, off of last year’s team, which makes Gillespie’s best times in the three freestyle distances better than any returning swimmer for CSUB (23.76, 51.39, 1:51.32).
McCall was also the team’s best breaststroker, and though it’s not her primary event, Gillespie’s 1:05.14 will make her the team’s top sprint breaststroker as well. If she develops anything like the swimmer whose role she’ll be filling, this will be a very positive move for both sides.
Along with her comes teammate Batiza, who also has three years of eligibility left. She’s a great distance freestyler and a summer nationals qualifier. Most of Batiza’s best times are still from when she was in high school in Northern California, but she has huge potential. That includes a 1:50.09 in the 200 free and a 4:50.35 in the 500, the latter of which is by-far the best mark on the current CUSB team. Her 1000-free time (though not an official event at the D-I level) is 27 seconds faster than the CUSB School-Record. She was a three-time CIF Champion in high school.
This continues head coach Chris Hansen’s rebuilding project in Bakersfield, where he has turned the program around relatively quickly. These two are part of a stellar 8-strong class that also includes Canadian Nicolette Goncalves, who is a 1:03 100 butterflier in long course (roughly a 55 in yards). Another good name in the class is Kelsey Lange out of San Jose, who is a 52.38 in the 100 free coming out of high school.
Shelby Webber going to Texas, and Rachel O’Brien going to Cal Poly.
The Beaver’s athletic department is drowning in red ink. Maybe the swimmers leaving Oregon State know something that the public does not.
That’s my fear as well