Texas men's swimming hosts the Sam Kendrick's Classic before a ranking battle with LSU – The Daily Texan

Texas men's swimming and diving begins its first season in the SEC with two major meets. On Thursday, October 3rd, Texas will host the Sam Kendrick's Classic before heading to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face Louisiana State on October 11th.

“I've never been to LSU and I don't think anyone on the team has raced there before,” said returning graduate swimmer Coby Carrozza. “It’s always fun to step onto a new campus… and race in a new pool.”

The Sam Kendrick's Classic, formerly known as the Orange-White meet, showcases the men's team and provides insight into the swimmers poised for big seasons.

The Longhorns are coming off their 28th Big 12 Championship victory and a seventh-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. With a preseason ranking of No. 3 and chasing a national championship win, Texas is expected to make a strong entry in the SEC.

There have been some big changes in the Forty Acres since last season. After longtime coach Eddie Reese retired last June, the Longhorns brought in Bob Bowman, one of the most prolific swimming coaches in the world. Bowman has coached Olympians Michael Phelps and Léon Marchand to multiple gold medals and previously coached at Michigan from 2005-08 and Arizona State from 2015-2024, where he won the national championship with Marchand.

“It’s just a completely different style of coaching,” Carrozza said. “For a non-swimmer, I would say Bob just likes throwing meters and getting us in really good shape.”

In addition to Bowman, a big addition to the team is transfer Aaron Shackell, who won the men's 400m freestyle at the Olympic Trials and placed eighth at the Olympics.

While the team may look a little different than last year, the Longhorns still have key returners like Carrozza and senior Luke Hobson.

Texas will need that consistency as the Longhorns enter the SEC, where the competition will be much tougher than the Big 12. The Big 12 only has a single team in the preseason rankings, No. 6 Arizona State, this year attended the conference. On the other hand, the SEC has eight ranked teams besides the Longhorns, including No. 2 Florida, No. 8 Georgia, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 16 Auburn, No. 17 Alabama, No. 23 Louisiana State and No. 25Kentucky.

Despite the difficult competition, Carrozza is ready to take advantage of the opportunity to compete in the SEC.

“We will definitely be ready,” Carrozza said. “We've been working really hard… and I'm definitely very confident that we'll be ready to go by spring.”

The team is looking forward to a good start to the season in the Sam Kendrick's Classic and Dual meet against No. 23-ranked Louisiana State.

“I’m looking forward to the race,” said Carrozza. “We are all ready; … it’s really just about racing, having fun and seeing where you are in the season.”

Despite finishing third in the preseason polls, Carrozza emphasized that the team is not focused on expectations.

“We just focus on expectations day by day,” Carrozza said. “And then the rest of the season will take care of itself if we take care of each day first.”