World Championships Qualifier Andrei-Theodor Proca To Compete For NC State Starting Fall 2026

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World Championships qualifier Andrei-Theodor Proca has committed to swim for North Carolina State University beginning in the fall of 2026. He publicized the news via a joint Instagram post with the Wolfpack:

A Romanian native, Proca trains with Clubul Sportiv Municipal Pitesti and specializes in distance freestyle.

Proca has improved his lifetime bests each year of his career, but really elevated his profile over the past 12 months. A year ago, his LCM bests were 1:53.52, 3:57.46, 8:05.43, and 15:23.25 in the 200, 400, 800, and 1500 free. He has since lowered those marks to 1:52.35, 3:53.88, 8:01.53, and 15:01.66, dropping over three seconds in the 400, four seconds in the 800, and over 13 seconds in the 1500.

His SCM times have also made a leap forward, with Proca improving from 1:48.77, 3:48.87, 7:46.86, and 14:39.42 in the 200, 400, 800, and 1500 free to his current PBs of 1:48.30, 3:46.84, 7:39.62, and 14:37.51.

His breakout stretch began at the Romanian National Championships (LCM) last April, where he posted his current lifetime bests in the 200 free and 400 free, as well as then-personal bests of 8:01.53 and 15:10.19 in the 800 and 1500 free. Official placements are unavailable, but he was the fastest junior in the 400, 800, and 1500 free and second-fastest among juniors in the 200 free.

A few weeks later, Proca lined up at the Canet leg of the Mare Nostrum Series, where he shattered his 1500 free best by eight and a half seconds to clock his current personal best, taking second place behind 2024 world champion Daniel Wiffen of Ireland.

Proca went on to represent Romania at the European Junior Championships in July, finishing fourth in both the 800 free (7:58.18) and 1500 free (15:11.77) and 10th in the 400 free (3:55.80), with the 800 marking his first time breaking the eight-minute barrier. It was his second time qualifying for the meet after taking fourth in the 1500, fifth in the 800, and 16th in the 400 a year prior, with his pre-Romanian Nationals best times.

At the World Junior Championships in August, Proca picked up a pair of eighth-place finishes in the 800 and 1500 free, clocking his current personal best of 7:56.67 in the former and 15:14.47 in the latter. He also placed 16th in the 400 free, getting to the wall in 3:54.37.

Proca most recently competed at the European Short Course Championships in December, where he touched the wall in 7:39.62 for 10th in the 800 free, 14:37.51 for 12th in the 1500 free, and 3:46.84 for 36th in the 400 free. All of his previous bests were set at the World Short Course Championships a year prior, where he finished 12th in the 1500 free, 23rd in the 800 free, and 31st in the 400 free.

Being an international recruit, Proca has never competed in a short course yards pool, having swum exclusively in short course meters and long course meters.

Best Times

A Division I program, NC State competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with the Wolfpack taking third out of 15 teams at this season’s conference championships. The team is currently battling at the NCAA Championships; they sit seventh with one session remaining.

Based on Proca’s fastest converted times, he would have won the 1650 free at ACCs, placed sixth in the 500 free, and narrowly missed a second swim in the 200 free, where 1:34.69 was needed. His converted 1650 time of 14:32.27 would have placed fifth at NCAAs, while it took 4:12.75 to score in the 500 free.

On the team’s projected 2026-27 depth chart, factoring in graduations and incoming recruits, Proca is slated to rank first in the 1650 free, second in the 500 free, and 11th in the 200 free. He is projected to form a formidable distance duo alongside current freshman Max Carlsen, who swept the 500 and 1650 at the ACC Championships with team-leading times of 4:09.44 and 14:32.68. He later finished 12th in the 1650 and 15th in the 500 at NCAAs, where he was the team’s sole distance scorer.

With no other Wolfpack swimmer currently under 4:15 in the 500 or 14:50 in the mile, the two figure to anchor the distance corps together over the next three years.

Currently set to join Proca in Raleigh in the fall are Sam Marsteiner (4:22.68/15:16.91 & 1:44.60 200 fly), Austin Temple (sprint free), Liam Carrington (sprint free/back), Ethan Holloway (sprint free, fly, & back), and Jan Gajda (breast/IM), who should all make for strong training partners over the next four years.