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Scoutyn Jackson has announced her commitment to swim for West Virginia University beginning in the fall of 2026. She publicized the news on SwimCloud, writing:
I am so incredibly excited and humbled to announce my verbal commitment to the University of West Virginia to continue my academic and athletic career. I’d like to thank my parents, friends, and most importantly my coaches and teammates for vigorously supporting me throughout my swimming career. I’d also like to thank Coach Walker, Sydney, and Brent for this opportunity. I cannot wait to see what the next four years entail and I am so grateful to be a mountaineer!!
A senior at the Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Illinois, Jackson has been a member of the Tigers’ swimming and diving team since her sophomore year. In addition to competing for her high school team, she currently trains year-round with Seahawks Swim Club, where she primarily specializes in backstroke, butterfly, and sprint freestyle.
Jackson is a two-time qualifier for Winter Junior Championships, having first qualified in 2024 when she placed 90th in the 100 back (56.94), 95th in the 100 fly (57.30), and 127th in the 50 free (24.14). This past December, she improved across the board with a 68th-place finish in the 100 back (56.49), 74th in the 200 back (2:03.94), and 117th in the 50 free (24.04).
At the high school level, Jackson has been a consistent presence at the IHSA State Championships. As a sophomore in 2023, she touched 19th in the 100 back (57.72) and 24th in the 100 fly (57.94). She broke through to the ‘A’ final as a junior in 2024, finishing eighth in the 100 back (56.75) while also placing 23rd in the 100 fly (57.20) and helping the 200 free relay take seventh and the 200 medley relay finish 12th.
At her final state meet this past November, Jackson stepped up as a team player by swimming all three relays and forgoing an individual event where Edwardsville needed depth. She touched ninth in the 100 back (55.69) and helped Edwardsville reach a pair of relay finals with eighth-place finishes in both the 200 medley relay (25.54 leadoff) and 200 free relay, where she posted a personal-best 23.77 leadoff. She also posted a 52.27 split on the 400 free relay that took 13th.
Her personal bests come from various in-season meets, with her 100 fly set at Speedo Sectionals in Columbia in March 2024, her 100 back of 55.69 at the IHSA Girls Sectionals in November 2024, her 200 back at Speedo Sectionals in Columbia in March 2025, and her 100 free at the SwimStrong Dryland meet in March 2025.
Top SCY Times:
- 50 Freestyle: 23.77
- 100 Freestyle: 52.42
- 100 Backstroke: 55.07
- 200 Backstroke: 2:02.44
- 100 Butterfly: 56.10
A Division I program, West Virginia competes in the Big 12 Conference, with the Mountaineer women placing ninth out of 10 teams at the 2025 Big 12 Conference Championships. To make the ‘C’ finals at last season’s meet, it took times of 54.99/1:59.84 in the 100/200 back, 23.17/50.48 in the 50/100 free, and 55.09 in the 100 fly, putting Jackson less than a tenth away from scoring range in the 100 back.
On the team itself, Jackson would have ranked third in the 100 back, fourth in the 50 free and 100 fly, and sixth in the 100 free and 200 back last season. With the team’s top sprint backstroker, Natasha Whittall (54.16), set to graduate in May, Jackson’s 55.07 in the 100 back positions her well to step into a larger role next season, particularly helpful for dual meets and medley relays.
She’ll overlap one season with Delaney Cox (54.33/1:57.50) before potentially taking over as the primary backstroker for medley relays.
Jackson won’t be alone in making an impact, as the incoming recruiting class brings several talented additions to Morgantown. Maggie Wright contributes backstroke depth with times of 55.77 and 1:59.35, while Evelyn Quick has been 23.44/51.63 in sprint free and 54.26 in fly. Taylor Clements brings similar speed with a 23.03/50.81 free and a 56.80 fly, and the three should push each other for spots on the sprint free relays.
The full list of recruits currently set to join them next fall includes Aivleen Walsh (IM/distance free), Abby Hill (breast/distance free), Ireland Gilligan (breast/IM), Rowan Baglole (fly), and Gabriella Marim (breast/IM).
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Great article!! I had a friend swim at West Virginia when I swam at Davidson, and he told me great stories about his experience there. My guess is Scoutyn is probably a great student. She’s obviously had to spell her name for every teacher and all her friends since first grade. And her acceptance comment was notably personal and thoughtful. The last three swimmer comments I read described being “apart” of their new team. Of course, they mean ‘Part’, or possibly A Part. None of that from Scoutyn. After I formed my clueless judgment that Scoutyn was a good student, I looked at her again and thought: “She’s a swimmer, she has the name thing, she looks smart (whatever that… Read more »