The state of Nevada is good for a few top recruits every year that usually stand out well above the rest. In last year’s class, it was Robbie Hommel, who is now at Stanford. The year before, it was Cody Miller (Indiana) and Zane Grothe (Auburn) who were two of the top male freshman swimmers in the country. It doesn’t usually take the top swimmers out of the Silver State to make big scores on the NCAA level.
And now, UNLV has made enough of an impression on the state’s high school crop that they have kept the state’s best prospect, Dylan Wolf, close to home, which is a big mark for them.
The Rebels have put together a great string of 8-straight victories in the Mountain West Conference, and for two-straight years they’ve been the highest-placing non-BCS team at the NCAA Championships. Their success isn’t built to be fleeting, either. Each year, they bring in two or three recruits who are capable of sustaining the team’s success, and Wolf is the first of those verbals this season.
He doesn’t fit the mold of a typical UNLV recruit, where the focus is mostly on putting together outstanding relays. UNLV has some good recent history with distance freestylers, however, in the form of School Record holder Kier Maitland, who completed his eligibility last season. As a freshman, he will probably crack the UNLV top-10 lists in at least four events as a freshman. He won’t be needed as a 100 butterflier for the medley relays (he’s got a 49.30), but after Cody Roberts graduates (he’s a junior this season) he could be in position to take that spot as well.
