Benjamin Walker was a senior on the Texas A&M men's swimming & diving team in 2019-20. Walker became A&M's first individual SEC swimming champion when he earned gold in the 200 Breaststroke as a junior. Nearing the peak of a strong senior season, Walker repeated as the 200 Breaststroke SEC Champion at the 2020 SEC Championships. His final shot at NCAA Championships, like many, was cut short. The school record holder in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke takes a look back at an unexpected career in Aggieland.
When I came to Texas A&M, I was at the tail-end of a rocky year of swimming that had left me wanting to quit the sport. As a high school senior, I told Jay Holmes and Jason Calanog that I would be committing to the University of Georgia. Despite living in Houston, I had no personal connections to Texas A&M. I had grown up a Longhorn fan and never truly took the time to appreciate what A&M stood for. In my last email to Jay and Jason after committing to Georgia, I told them that I believed in their vision for where they wanted to take the A&M team and was excited to see it happen. I had absolutely no idea that I would be fortunate enough to be a part of that journey.
After signing a letter of intent to Georgia in the fall of 2015, I spent most of my senior year focused on enjoying time with my high school friends and not nearly enough time focused on swimming. Around April of 2016, my lack of care for swimming finally caught up, and I wanted to quit the sport. At that moment, I had absolutely no desire to swim at A&M, but started to be very intrigued by the possibility of attending classes there and being closer to home (I had been accepted to Mays Business School at A&M in the fall of my senior year). The Georgia coaches were very respectful and allowed me to fully release from my commitment, which meant I would be allowed to walk-on the team at A&M, if I wanted to. I wasn't sure how Jay and Jason would feel about it, or if I really wanted to burden them with an indecisive swimmer on the verge of wanting to quit. But my parents convinced me to try, and Jay and Jason gave me a second chance. I am incredibly thankful to all of them for preventing me from quitting the sport too early.
That is how my time at Texas A&M started. I have always viewed my opportunities here through the eyes of someone who very nearly missed out on these opportunities, who was fortunate enough to get a second chance and absolutely wanted to make the most of it. The problem was, by the time I got to campus in 2016, I wasn't the same swimmer that Jay and Jason had recruited. I was out of shape and nowhere near the speed of my high school times. Mentally and physically, I had a long road ahead of me. I spent most of my freshman and sophomore years learning everything that I could, inside and outside of the pool. I couldn't really get worse than the point I started from and was determined to find any opportunity to get better. I am incredibly thankful for the role models that I had during my early years here. Mauro Castillo, Jonathan Tybur and Brock Bonetti (and many others) played a huge role in changing the course of the team's history, as well as my own swimming career. My first season went so poorly that I would not have believed I was capable of ever becoming an NCAA All-American or winning SECs, but seeing those three guys compete so well and do such impressive things kept me believing in what the team, including myself, was capable of.
My freshman year, the team got eighth place at SECs and 16th at NCAAs. All I contributed that year were six individual points at SECs (out of a max. 96). It was a frustrating, but necessary step for the team and for me. The next year, our team moved up to second at SECs led by incredible performances by so many people. We again missed the top 10 at NCAAs, with a 14th-place finish, but felt that the next year would truly be our year. After bringing in the best recruiting class in our program's history, my junior year held very high expectations. We ended up getting fourth at SECs and 17th at NCAAs. It was a disappointment, but knowing that it wasn't the end of my journey was reassuring. My class was determined to make senior year the best yet and, in many ways, it was the best year of the four years I was fortunate enough to have at A&M. We placed second at SECs, and at NCAAs we were seeded to get sixth place, 70 points ahead of seventh and less than 10 behind our goal of top 4. Because the NCAA meet was cancelled last month, I will never know what our ultimate ending would have been. However, this is what I do know:
Becoming a part of this team was the most important difference in my athletic career. It filled me with a passion and purpose that I had never experienced before in the sport. Dual meets, championship meets, practices, and just hanging out were all amplified by the deeper connection that was built through realizing that our friendships meant something more to one another. We were representing each other and our university in every way, which made the things we do seem so much more important. The pride that I have in representing Texas A&M is unmatched. I will forever cherish the moments provided by this experience. My classmates Mike Thibert, Jake Gibbons, Adam Koster, and I promised each other amidst a disappointing freshman season that we would do something special before we left A&M and leave behind a legacy, and I believe we did that.
I suppose my perspective might be different than others', but my gratitude far exceeds my disappointment when reflecting on my collegiate career. Despite an unforeseeable and difficult circumstance that ended my career a month early, I still realize how incredibly fortunate I am to be graduating from Texas A&M as a student-athlete with the experiences that I was a part of. Like I said before, my experience has always been viewed through the eyes of someone who almost missed out on these amazing opportunities. I will always feel indebted to Jay and Jason for giving me a second chance. I have brothers for life from this team.
As I move on from this team and into the next phase of life, I hope that the new and remaining members of the team take it to greater heights than I was capable of. I hope my fellow seniors are able to be proud of what we did accomplish despite what was taken away. I hope Jay and Jason get the SEC title and NCAA top-four finish that they deserved this season. To all the people mentioned and unmentioned, thank you. The relationships built from my athletic career will always outweigh the awards, and I am grateful to have so many incredible relationships with people at this university. My time at Texas A&M was incredibly special and I am thankful to be an Aggie.
When I came to Texas A&M, I was at the tail-end of a rocky year of swimming that had left me wanting to quit the sport. As a high school senior, I told Jay Holmes and Jason Calanog that I would be committing to the University of Georgia. Despite living in Houston, I had no personal connections to Texas A&M. I had grown up a Longhorn fan and never truly took the time to appreciate what A&M stood for. In my last email to Jay and Jason after committing to Georgia, I told them that I believed in their vision for where they wanted to take the A&M team and was excited to see it happen. I had absolutely no idea that I would be fortunate enough to be a part of that journey.
After signing a letter of intent to Georgia in the fall of 2015, I spent most of my senior year focused on enjoying time with my high school friends and not nearly enough time focused on swimming. Around April of 2016, my lack of care for swimming finally caught up, and I wanted to quit the sport. At that moment, I had absolutely no desire to swim at A&M, but started to be very intrigued by the possibility of attending classes there and being closer to home (I had been accepted to Mays Business School at A&M in the fall of my senior year). The Georgia coaches were very respectful and allowed me to fully release from my commitment, which meant I would be allowed to walk-on the team at A&M, if I wanted to. I wasn't sure how Jay and Jason would feel about it, or if I really wanted to burden them with an indecisive swimmer on the verge of wanting to quit. But my parents convinced me to try, and Jay and Jason gave me a second chance. I am incredibly thankful to all of them for preventing me from quitting the sport too early.
That is how my time at Texas A&M started. I have always viewed my opportunities here through the eyes of someone who very nearly missed out on these opportunities, who was fortunate enough to get a second chance and absolutely wanted to make the most of it. The problem was, by the time I got to campus in 2016, I wasn't the same swimmer that Jay and Jason had recruited. I was out of shape and nowhere near the speed of my high school times. Mentally and physically, I had a long road ahead of me. I spent most of my freshman and sophomore years learning everything that I could, inside and outside of the pool. I couldn't really get worse than the point I started from and was determined to find any opportunity to get better. I am incredibly thankful for the role models that I had during my early years here. Mauro Castillo, Jonathan Tybur and Brock Bonetti (and many others) played a huge role in changing the course of the team's history, as well as my own swimming career. My first season went so poorly that I would not have believed I was capable of ever becoming an NCAA All-American or winning SECs, but seeing those three guys compete so well and do such impressive things kept me believing in what the team, including myself, was capable of.
My freshman year, the team got eighth place at SECs and 16th at NCAAs. All I contributed that year were six individual points at SECs (out of a max. 96). It was a frustrating, but necessary step for the team and for me. The next year, our team moved up to second at SECs led by incredible performances by so many people. We again missed the top 10 at NCAAs, with a 14th-place finish, but felt that the next year would truly be our year. After bringing in the best recruiting class in our program's history, my junior year held very high expectations. We ended up getting fourth at SECs and 17th at NCAAs. It was a disappointment, but knowing that it wasn't the end of my journey was reassuring. My class was determined to make senior year the best yet and, in many ways, it was the best year of the four years I was fortunate enough to have at A&M. We placed second at SECs, and at NCAAs we were seeded to get sixth place, 70 points ahead of seventh and less than 10 behind our goal of top 4. Because the NCAA meet was cancelled last month, I will never know what our ultimate ending would have been. However, this is what I do know:
Becoming a part of this team was the most important difference in my athletic career. It filled me with a passion and purpose that I had never experienced before in the sport. Dual meets, championship meets, practices, and just hanging out were all amplified by the deeper connection that was built through realizing that our friendships meant something more to one another. We were representing each other and our university in every way, which made the things we do seem so much more important. The pride that I have in representing Texas A&M is unmatched. I will forever cherish the moments provided by this experience. My classmates Mike Thibert, Jake Gibbons, Adam Koster, and I promised each other amidst a disappointing freshman season that we would do something special before we left A&M and leave behind a legacy, and I believe we did that.
I suppose my perspective might be different than others', but my gratitude far exceeds my disappointment when reflecting on my collegiate career. Despite an unforeseeable and difficult circumstance that ended my career a month early, I still realize how incredibly fortunate I am to be graduating from Texas A&M as a student-athlete with the experiences that I was a part of. Like I said before, my experience has always been viewed through the eyes of someone who almost missed out on these amazing opportunities. I will always feel indebted to Jay and Jason for giving me a second chance. I have brothers for life from this team.
As I move on from this team and into the next phase of life, I hope that the new and remaining members of the team take it to greater heights than I was capable of. I hope my fellow seniors are able to be proud of what we did accomplish despite what was taken away. I hope Jay and Jason get the SEC title and NCAA top-four finish that they deserved this season. To all the people mentioned and unmentioned, thank you. The relationships built from my athletic career will always outweigh the awards, and I am grateful to have so many incredible relationships with people at this university. My time at Texas A&M was incredibly special and I am thankful to be an Aggie.