NEW COMMIT: Liberty Township, Ohio native and high school junior Jacob McDonald has announced his verbal commitment to the University of Tennessee and will suit up for the Vols as a member of the class of 2024.
McDonald does his club swimming with Mason Manta Rays and owns seven Winter Juniors (or faster) standards. He most recently competed in his future home pool at the TYR Pro Swim Series – Knoxville where he placed eighth in the 200m free. He took sixth in the 500 free and achieved four new lifetime bests at Juniors East last month after earning a trio of personal bests at Junior Nationals this past summer. McDonald was the 100 fly runner-up and placed third in the 50 fly at the ISCA Junior National Championships in March. Also competing for Lakota East High School, McDonald is a three-time Ohio State Championship finalist. He took sixth in the 500 free and seventh in the 200 free during his sophomore season after placing sixth in the 500 as a freshman.
He told Swimming World:
“I’m very excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim for the University of Tennessee. I’m thankful for my family, coaches, and teammates who have helped me along the way. I’m looking forward to being apart of an amazing team! Go Vols!”
His best times include:
- 100 back – 49.22
- 200 back – 1:47.66
- 100 fly – 49.08
- 200 fly – 1:50.37
- 100 free – 46.25
- 200 free – 1:40.98
- 500 free – 4:23.21
Although he’s not quite in scoring range just yet at the SEC Championships, McDonald has continuously made improvements each season with 1.5 years of club swimming still to go before arriving in Knoxville. Under head coach Matt Kredich, the Vols finished fourth at conferences last season.
If you have a commitment to share, please send a photo and quote via email to hs@swimmingworld.com.
