Canadian World Junior Champion Jade Hannah Transfers to LSU
Canadian international Jade Hannah is transferring from USC to LSU, she announced via social media this week.
Hannah spent her freshman year in Southern California, where she finished eighth in the 200 backstroke at the Pac-12 Championships. She was also part of a 400 medley relay team that finished second.
Hannah, 20, will have three years of eligibility remaining.
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Hannah is a distinguished international swimmer for Canada. At just 15 years of age, she won gold in the 50 backstroke at the 2017 World Junior Championships, a watershed performance for the Canadian program. She also bronze in the 100 back and gold medals in the 400 medley relay and 400 mixed medley relay at that meet in Indianapolis. The former relay set a world junior record.
At the 2019 World Juniors, the British Columbia native added gold in the 100 and 200 back, silver in the 50 back and a pair of bronze medals in the relays.
Her senior breakthrough hasn’t come quite yet, though, due in part to the depth in the Canadian backstroke program. Kylie Masse owns three Olympic backstroke medals and three world titles. Taylor Ruck is a mainstay of the program, and Ingrid Wilm has set Canadian records over 50 meters. Maggie MacNeil also dabbles in backstroke, having won gold in word-record time in the 50 at the World Short-Course Championships in Abu Dhabi in 2021.
Hannah will join MacNeil down in Baton Rouge, after the Olympic gold medalist elected to take her fifth year of eligibility with the Tigers. MacNeil, who spent four years at the University of Michigan, had originally committed to the University of California.
